Packing school lunches can sometimes be a challenge. Coming up with some different and fun lunch ideas that your kids will actually eat can often be a daunting task. Something to remember about creating a lunch menu is to keep it simple. You don’t have to come up with extensive menu plans every week, whether it be for suppers or lunches. Your main goal is to serve nutritious foods with a little bit of variety.
Here are 10 tips and tricks to packing “kid approved” lunches:
#1 When you make your kids’ favorite supper, make sure to make extra so that you can pack leftovers for them the next day. They will love having mom’s best cooking at school!
#2 Involve your kids in the menu planning process. This way, they are more likely to eat their lunch when they have had a say in what is in there, which ensures they get the proper nutrition they need during their school day. And, you won’t be coming home to full lunch boxes, wondering what they ate that day!
#3 Cut sandwich bread with fun-shaped cookie cutters. You can even use mini cookie cutters and make some mini sandwiches. You can fill with you child’s favorite filling, like chicken, ham, cheese or almond butter.
#4 Make up a delicious rice salad. You can easily use up last night’s leftover brown rice or quinoa and mix in cut up veggies for a tasty and nutritious meal. For extra nutrition, create a homemade dressing to go with it – olive oil + coconut vinegar + sea salt + lemon juice + herbs. Get creative!
#5 Add healthy snacks to their lunch, like kale chips, homemade trail mix (raisins + nuts + seeds + popcorn) and fresh fruit.
#6 Take some kabob sticks (with pointy end cut off) and add things like grapes, strawberries, cherry tomatoes, and other cut up fruits and vegetables and a few cubes of cheese. Kids love these fun snacks!
#7 Make your own fruit salad by cutting up and mixing different fruit you have on hand for a healthy and energizing snack.
#8 Create some healthy homemade dips to go along with cut up fruits or veggies. Mix yogurt and sour cream or sour cream and mayonnaise and add some herbs or seasonings for an easy and delicious dip. You can even get the kids to make their own creations!
#9 Keep in mind when choosing any food that organic and local is best, especially for meat and dairy products.
#10 Don’t forget a little note so your child knows you’ve also packed love into their lunchbox!