Most kids are into about their 3rd week of
school. Are you getting tired of packing the SAME school lunches every day? Here are my 6
rules for keeping school lunch exciting.
Sending a
square sandwich with at typical prepackaged side and the usual juice box is SO old school! There are so many ways to make
their lunch cute and fun! The easiest
and most basic? Cookies cutters!! You can use them to cut sandwiches, veggies,
cheese and you can even make cookies with them ;). Pack a lunch with a color theme. Use cupcake toppers/toothpicks as forks or
kabobs. Use different colored and shaped
containers.
2. Variety
is the spice of life
Don’t send the
same thing day in and day out. You don’t
have to be the best chef in the world or the most creative person to think of
different things to pack. Even the
pickiest eater will get tired of the same thing over and over. Plus how boring is it to open your lunch
everyday and see the same thing. “But my
kid will only eat PB&J!” you say?
That’s fine. Switch up the flavor
of jelly, get different varieties of peanut butter, you can even change up the
bread between whole grain, raisin bread or Goldfish shaped bread.
3. Give up control.
One of the things my oldest
likes to do is to pack his own lunch. He
takes pride in it and I can guarantee he’ll eat it every time. Do I check it to make sure it’s well balanced
and isn’t packed full of cookies? Sure I
do, but he doesn’t know that. If your
child isn’t old enough to make and pack their own lunch there are other ways
they can take control. They can go
grocery shopping with you and pick out what they’d like for the week. This is also a great opportunity to take them
to the farmers market to find healthy produce.
You can also make a menu for the week.
Make a list of what you have in the kitchen and have them choose. Organize it by type of food like Lunches Fit for a Kid does.
4. No new surprises.
4. No new surprises.
I don’t feel like school
is the time to be surprising your child with a new food to try. If they don’t like it or refuse to try it
then they are left hungry for the rest of the day. It’s very hard to concentrate in school or
have fun without fuel. Also you may
loose their trust and they’ll be leery of what you may send them in the future.
5. Don’t forget a treat
I’m all about a well balanced diet. I use whole grain. I pack fresh fruits and/or veggies. I limit processed foods. I make sure they get protein. And I also make sure to pack a treat. It’s usually a cookie or a piece of candy. Nothing crazy or too big. But lets face it, adult or child, who doesn’t enjoy a mid-day snack!
6. Send some love
“We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth.” Virginia Satir, family therapist. Put a hug in their lunch. One of my favorite ways is to write notes on their lunch containers with dry erase markers. Even non-readers know what a heart or smiley face mean. You can write on a banana with a toothpick. Use the toothpick to gently carve your message into the top layer of the peel. The writing will brown and your message will appear by lunchtime. You can even buy pre-printed cards that have sweet notes on one side and interesting facts on the other. There are many ways to let your child know you are thinking about them and hoping they are having a great day.
I hope this has helped you think of some new ways to
keep you and your child from getting into a lunchtime rut. Check out my Pinterest board for some fun visuals and ideas.
What
are some of your favorite ways to keep lunch exciting? Post a picture of a cool lunch on Granolaville's Facebook wall and SHARE!
Feeding Happy & Healthy Kids in Granolaville,
~ Jenn
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