The nutritional value of school lunches has improved through the years. Unfortunately, the healthy items are often offered alongside cafeteria staples that kids prefer, like pizza, cheeseburgers and fries.
Kids should consume most of their daily calories at breakfast and lunch. How do you make sure your kids are getting a midday meal that gives them enough healthy nourishment and brainpower to make it through the afternoon?
Packing your kids’ lunches ensures they bring healthy food to school, and it allows you to involve them in meal planning and prep. If children help plan the meal and choose things they like to eat, they’re more likely to finish the whole lunch.
One lunchroom goal: Avoid empty calories from foods like white bread, fatty meats, fried chips, sweetened beverages, cookies and candy. And don’t be fooled by high-sugar foods disguised as healthy options such as granola bars, juice boxes and yogurts with toppings like sprinkles.
When planning a healthy lunch, try to include a balance of whole grains such as whole wheat bread or a tortilla, fruits or vegetables, and protein like lean meats (turkey, chicken, or ham), hard boiled eggs, a cheese stick, or beans. Kids eat with their eyes just like adults so adding colorful chopped fruits and vegetables can make a lunch more appealing. Don’t forget those fun dips like guacamole, a yogurt based ranch dressing, or hummus for the vegetables! For a sweet treat add dried fruit, trail mix or 100% fruit leather. A water bottle or low-fat milk are great drink choices.
During food prep, talk about how eating a variety of foods will give them energy for growing, getting good grades and performing their best at sports and all the other things they want to do. It also will help them stay healthy.
Meal planning can be tough for parents after a busy day, so here are five days of nutritious, inexpensive lunch ideas. For a beverage, include milk or water instead of soda or juice drinks.
- Mini-pizza Monday: Top a whole-wheat English muffin with pizza sauce, leftover veggies and shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake just until the cheese melts.
- Taco Tuesday: Fill a whole-wheat tortilla with refried beans or leftover chicken, shredded cheese, salsa and lettuce.
- Soup-er Wednesday: Fill a thermos with vegetable soup. Include a hardboiled egg, cheese and whole wheat crackers on the side.
- Parfait Thursday: Layer vanilla or fruit-flavored Greek yogurt, berries and low-fat granola in a thermos. Serve with whole-grain pita chips and hummus.
- "Stick It Out, It's Almost the Weekend" Friday: Skewer rolled-up turkey slices, cherry tomatoes, cheese cubes and grapes to make a kabob. Serve with whole-grain crackers.
