Fun and healthy lunches for school
My 13-year old daughter was in a really bad mood after school
one day last spring.
Some of the boys in her class were teasing her, she said,
because of the food items she had in her lunch bag. The lack of
chips, candies and sodas prompted these boys to tell the rest of
her class she was on a diet. My response was this
–
”
Honey, I guess I love you more than their mothers love them.
”
Fun and healthy lunches for school
My 13-year old daughter was in a really bad mood after school one day last spring.
Some of the boys in her class were teasing her, she said, because of the food items she had in her lunch bag. The lack of chips, candies and sodas prompted these boys to tell the rest of her class she was on a diet. My response was this – “Honey, I guess I love you more than their mothers love them.”
Which isn’t true, I know. But the point I was trying to make, and one she understands now, is that one of the ways I express love for my children is preparing healthy meals for them, even when it comes to their brown bag lunches.
Healthy lunches and snacks are important – numerous studies show nutritious diets help students concentrate better in the classroom. The challenge for parents, however, is coming up with different ways to make those healthy lunches attractive to children.
Anyone who has children or who has been around children knows that unless they are trained early, healthy food options will rarely be a kid’s first choice. One year, when my now 21-year old was in sixth grade, he helped out in the mornings by making lunch for him and his younger brother. It was about three weeks before I discovered those lunches consisted of dry cereal in a baggie and lots of Little Debbie snacks.
Since then, I’ve changed my lunch food buying habits drastically. A diet high in fat, salt and refined carbohydrates diminishes mental alertness, according to the Better Health Channel Web site. So children eating these kinds of foods are more likely to end up tired at the end of the day, not to mention become candidates for heart disease, high blood pressure and obesity later in life.
Today, my kids’ lunches tend to include lots of fresh fruits or veggies with a low-fat dip, yogurt and mozzarella cheese sticks, lean meats such as turkey and chicken, peanut butter, hard boiled eggs and whole grain breads and crackers. I try to pick foods which are easy to prepare, but are still fresh after spending the morning in their lunch bags.
The Better Health Channel’s Web site offers several suggestions for lunch box foods as well. Some of these include: fresh or canned fruit over fruit roll-ups or dried fruits (these tend to be higher in sugar and lower in fiber); vegetables such as snap peas, celery, carrots or cucumbers with a low-fat ranch or vegetable dip; yogurts over puddings; sugar-free Jell-O cups; crackers and cheese; and homemade muffins or cookies over store-bought ones. The site also suggests purchasing either an insulated lunch bag or including a frozen water bottle to help keep foods safe as well as healthy.
The important thing to remember is to avoid making too many changes to your child’s brown bag lunch all at once. Commercials as well as peer pressure go a long way towards influencing kids’ food choices. Replacing just one or two unhealthy snacks with more nutritious ones gives your child time to embrace the changes.
One way I try to get the girls excited by their healthy lunches is creating “fun” sandwiches, or what I call “the main meal option.” I’ll come up with different ways of providing protein, such as cheese and fruit kabobs or turkey roll-ups (lean turkey and cheese rolled up in a tortilla). The girls still get teased sometimes, but I’ve noticed they aren’t dragging when I pick them up at the end of each school day. And when they eat their lunches, they always know their mommy loves them.
Lunch on a Stick
(Adapted from a recipe by Pillsbury)
½ lb. chopped cooked turkey breast
½ lb. mozzarella and cheddar cheese cubes
1 cucumber, chopped
Cherry tomatoes
6 strawberries, halved and hulled
1 peach or nectarine, chopped
1 apple, chopped
Red or green seedless grapes
Thread chosen food items onto a skewer until full, leaving just enough room at each end to hold it. Wrap skewers in foil to preserve freshness and to help prevent “pokings” when your child grabs one out of the lunch box. Makes approximately eight to 10 kabobs.
Jazzed up PB&J
(Adapted from a recipe by Betty Crocker)
½ c. peanut butter
3 tbsp. apricot preserves or preserves of your choice
8 slices raisin bread
2 medium peeled eating apples, thinly sliced
Salad greens, if desired
Mix peanut butter and preserves; spread on four slices of bread. Arrange apple slices and salad greens on mixture Top with remaining bread. Makes four sandwiches.
Sunny Snack Bar
(Recipe courtesy of mealsmatter.com)
I like this recipe because it is a great way to get my kids to eat extra fruits and veggies without them knowing.
2 c. carrots, finely shredded, about 3 medium carrots
¼ c. dried apricots, chopped
½ c. golden raisins
2 c. quick cooking oats
½ c. chopped walnuts
1 12-oz. can of apple juice concentrate, thawed
pinch of cinnamon
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all dry ingredients and mix well. Add apple juice concentrate and stir until evenly moistened. Place in a greased 9×11 glass baking dish, pressing ingredients firmly into pan. Bake for approximately 40 minutes, or until bars are brown. Allow to cool completely before slicing. Makes 18 bars.
