Six Healthy Lunch Ideas For Your Kids
Don't run out of ideas for your child's lunch box this year. Get inspired and try something new for back-to-school days. It is important to keep offering your kids healthy lunch box choices in a variety of ways, as children learn to eat what is familiar to them. Foods such as sandwiches can be prepared the night before or on the weekend, frozen, then taken for each day's lunch box. Keep in mind to include fruit and vegetables in your child's lunch box.
1. Pasta Salad
This is a quick and easy to prepare meal and a great option to make using leftover ingredients. You can prepare this pasta salad ahead of time and feast on it all week.
Health Tip: Choose whole wheat pasta for the extra fiber that will help keep your child fuller longer.
Healthy things to pack:
- Whole wheat pasta
- Italian dressing
- Cherry tomatoes
- Lightly cooked broccoli (fresh or frozen)
- Lightly cooked green beans (fresh or frozen)
- Cheese
2. Chicken Salad
Kids nowadays enjoy healthy meals, and if you have a child who enjoys chicken salad sandwiches, try breaking it down. Teach your kids how to make their own sandwich with crackers or how to dip the bell peppers into the chicken salad. Allow them to go wild and experiment with ingredients by making sandwiches with apple slices.
Things to pack:
- Whole wheat crackers
- Sliced bell peppers
- Apple slices
3. Homemade Prepackaged Meals
Most kids love prepackaged mini-meals, but to make them feel a parent's love, offer to make a homemade one of their own.
Things to pack:
- Low sodium turkey
- Cheese
- Whole wheat crackers
- Cooked green beans (fresh or frozen)
- Apple slices
- Nut or seed butter
4. Seed Butter Cracker Sandwich
It's a new year, explore new possibilities, and throw away your old sandwich recipes. Change things up a bit with your own nut butter cracker sandwiches.
Things to pack:
- Nut or seed butter spread on 10 whole wheat crackers to make 5 cracker sandwiches
- Greek yogurt or cottage cheese
- Sliced bell peppers
- Strawberries and blueberries
5. Tacos For Lunch
Do your kids enjoy tacos? Do you have some that are left over? Don't let them go to waste yet! We all know how great tacos taste when cold, and it's a given that your child will have fun putting them together on their own for their taste.
Things to pack:
- Your chicken or beef with taco seasoning
- Shredded cheese
- Tomatoes or salsa
- Lettuce
- Mini guacamole to-go cup
- Watermelon
Health Tip: Make this meal vegetarian by swapping the ground meat for lentils or beans.
6. Deli For Lunch
A great feature in your child's packed lunch without having to resort to a sandwich is deli meat. This lunch is a five-star rating because it covers all the food groups, and your child will be the cool kid at school.
Things to pack:
- Low sodium ham
- String cheese
- Hummus
- Celery and pita for dipping
- Banana