How to Pack a Fun Lunch for a Vegan Child

Packing a lunch for any child, vegetarian or otherwise, can be a challenge. The trick is to pack something you know your child will eat, that doesn't look too strange compared to other kids' lunches, and that offers a few nutrients to boot.

Things You'll Need

• Dried Fruits
• Fresh Fruit
• Soy Foods Like Tofu
• Soy Milk
• Soy-based Deli Slices
• Vegetable Juices
• Veggie Burger
• Veggie Cheese
• Veggie Slices

Instructions

1. Test out foods at home and see if your child will eat them before packing them up as a lunch.

2. Find out what facilities are available for lunch. Is there a microwave available? Is there a place to get hot water if it's needed - for example, to reconstitute dried soup? This can help you plan meals.

3. Ask your child what kinds of meals he or she would like to take for lunch. You may not go by your child's suggestions exactly, but it can give you a good idea of what he or she will actually eat.

4. Make creative sandwiches. Use ingredients such as avocados, tomatoes, sprouts and soy cheese. Or use a tofu cheese spread. The combinations are endless.

5. Choose veggie deli slices if your child wants a sandwich that looks similar to what other kids are eating. Fake meat slices come in a variety of flavors and look very much like the real thing.

6. Get out the peanut butter and jelly in a pinch. Peanut butter is nutritious and high in protein. Choose a jelly that's sweetened with fruit juice. Make the sandwich on whole-grain bread.

7. Pack half a sandwich and a cup of soup. There are several "natural" brands that make dehydrated soups, and they are completely vegetarian and contain no questionable additives.

8. Prepare your own delicious soup and pack it up in a thermos. Pack in whole-grain crackers with a veggie cheese spread.

9. Choose a veggie burger on a whole-grain bun if there's a microwave available. Add pickles, tomatoes, lettuce and onions for your child to add on top once the burger is heated.

10. Consider "nibble" food. Pack some veggie deli slices and crackers; sliced fresh vegetables such as carrots and celery with a dip your child likes; fresh fruit; trail mix; some slices of soy cheese; a tofu smoothie in a thermos, and so on.

11. Don't forget a drink - a small container of rice or soy milk or a container of fruit or vegetable juice.

Tips & Warnings

• Vegetarian eating is not boring, nor is it difficult to come up with packed children's lunches. Children can be picky, regardless of the family dietary preferences, so it is important to know what your child likes.

• Add whole-grain pretzels, trail mix or dried fruit as a snack.

• Pack dessert, which can be tofu chocolate pudding, a cookie sweetened with fruit juice, or a fresh fruit salad.