How To Pack Healthier Lunches Your Child Will Actually Eat

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When you're getting your child ready for school, you are probably more concerned with making sure that he or she gets to school on time, rather than the health content of his or her lunch. However, you need to give your child's lunch some consideration in order to make sure that he or she stays healthy and has enough energy during the school day to focus and do well. Here are some tips for packing healthier lunches that your child will actually eat.

1. Improve on the Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

Kids love peanut butter and jelly, but parents might not like the calorie content of the entire meal. In order to increase the number of nutrients that your child is getting and reduce the number of calories, you are going to want to swap out the boring white bread for some more interesting options. You can switch to whole wheat bread, which tends to have more protein and nutrients. You could make your child a peanut butter and jelly wrap instead, because a wrap tends to be lower in empty calories and has a lower sugar content. There are a multitude of different wraps that you can choose from, including wraps that are fortified with vitamins or made out of whole grains. Finally, you can try a whole wheat pita pocket that will hold the peanut butter and jelly quite nicely.

2. Make Veggies Appetizing

Invest in some special containers for your children's vegetables. There are containers that have places where you can store an ice pack so that the veggies stay cold. There are also containers that include a little well for dips so that you can include your child's favorite veggie dip. By keeping your child's veggies cold and adding the incentive of dip, you will be able to increase the chances that they will actually eat them.

3. Use Fruit for Dessert and Snacks

Finally, you want to avoid giving your children Oreos or other snack foods due to their poor nutritional level, but you are also going to want to make sure that your children don't feel left out when their friends have snacks like those. Instead of giving your children sugary snacks, give them cut up fruits, like grapes or pieces of apple, with a dip that you make yourself. This dip should be sweet and can be made out of peanut butter, yogurt, or any other types of foods that would taste excellent with fruit. You could also purchase dips that they make at the store if you are running short on time. Another interesting option for a snack is to give your children dried fruit, rather than chips or crackers.

For more information, talk to school nutrition services, such as New Horizon Foods.

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11 August 2015