How to Pack a Healthy School Lunch

As parents we constantly worry about the nutrition our children are receiving. Even today with school lunch programs in effect it is often questionable just how healthy those school lunches sometimes are. If you worry about the food your child is eating at lunch time then packing a lunch for them each day may be the best solution and put your mind at ease.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• lunch box
• ice pack
• thermos
• sandwich baggies

1. Set down with your child and make a list of things they like to eat and would like to pack for lunch. A packed lunch is not limited to just sandwiches and chips anymore if you have the right tools. Make lunch fun and different and those little ones will eat much better then they would seeing a cold turkey sandwich in their lunch boxes every day.
2. Sandwiches are still good choices for the lunch box but try a variety of different ways to make the sandwiches. Use bagels or other breads instead of plain loaf bread all the time for a change and mix and math filling to make it exciting. Leave off the condiments so it won't get soggy, but put in small packets instead so the child can add it to the sandwich when it's time to eat.
3. Fruits and veggies are a must for a healthy meal! Cutting up various fruits for easy handling is a great way to get your kids to eat them. You can also try making small fruit kabobs with tooth picks as a fun alternative. Include dips with the veggies. Dips make the process more fun and kids won't pay attention to the fact their eating their vegetables.
4. Pasta salads of any time go well in lunch boxes too. Add veggies to the pasta for an added twist.
5. On cold days when they need a little something to warm them up pack hot soup or heat up leftovers from the night before and put in a thermos. Preheat the thermos by adding hot water and letting it sit at least 10 minutes. Dump the water out and add the food and it will still be warm by lunch time.
6. Use sandwich baggies and small containers to pack the food easily so it doesn't get all mixed together. Use ice packs or frozen juice boxes with food that needs to stay cool and the thermos for things you would like to keep warm.
7. Fill a water bottle half full the night before and freeze and then following morning fill the rest of the way with water. By lunch time the ice will have melted enough that the child has a nice cold bottle of water to drink with their lunch.

Tips & Warnings

• Always wash out the lunch box before refilling with food each day to prevent germs from contaminating food.