Healthy Lunch Ideas

The 'Back to School' Issue of Parents magazine (Aug or Sep??) had a great article on lunches to pack...they looked very yummy and healthy, plus added some variety. You may be able to find the magazine at the library or look at their website!

hi T. I was lucky enough to have 2 girls who are not picky eaters so they pretty much eat whatever and I have found a few of their favorites are
chicken salad (chicken in a can mixed with mayo and salt and pepper) very easy and they love it on tortilla
refried beans and cheese in a tortilla
scrabled eggs and sausage in a tortilla
frozen meatballs with spagettios (they have all different shapes now,-- dora, spongebob, princess- and they are inexpensive)

hope these ideas help some
just be creative and you will be surprised how easy it can be to come up with ideas!
have fun with it and enjoy your kids at home at this age, as they do grow up very fast.

Try some of the 100 calorie packs (my fave is the strawberry yogurt flavor chex) also if you want something high fiber try Kashi brand granola. I kickbox & work out religiously & my boyfriend is a personal trainer so we are both health nuts. Everyone's idea of 'inexpensive' is different so if these ideas are out of your price range try going for jello pudding snacks or even better most grocery stores have 'buy-this-many-for-this-much' sales on things like yogurt (I love the yoplait yogurt mousse whips) you can get tons of different flavors form fruit to caramel & chocolate. For entres try things like pita sandwiches or subs & hardboiled eggs for an extra snack. Don't forget the fruit. One thing my mom did with me is she would take me shopping with her & we did 'The Fruit of the Week' where I would go & pick out a totally different fruit each & every week which is how I discovered things like star fruit & pamagranite. Good luck in your search but remember that no matter what you're planning to buy to look @ the nutrition info to see how much fat content as well as the SODIUM mgs. Not too many people look for sodium content anymore but my body has become so salt sensitive that I can no longer eat exess salt + it's really bad for you anyway cuz our bodies were never built to process that sort of stuff. Good luck. p.s. Sunbelt makes some pretty good stuff.

make it fun there are recipe sites that show healthy fun foods for kids, but one is carrots can be dipped in lite ranch and put grapes & bananas in a bowl. it is mostly presentation at this age. make faces using olives for eyes and shaved carrot strips for mouths and just be creative. make a face on a burger using these things. on chicken strips use ketchup put two dots for eyes and a happy face line. good luck.

Hi T.-
My daughter takes her lunch to school and I have a four year old and one year old still at home. So, I understand the need for good, healthy lunch ideas. One that I started doing recently is turkey rollups. I buy fresh deli turkey from the case and whole wheat tortillas. I warm up the tortilla and then use the condiment of their choice (mayonaise, mustard, ketchup, salad dressing) and spread over the entire tortilla. Then layer on your slice(s) of turkey and add a slice of cheese on top. I then roll it up like an enchilada and they absolutely love it! Very healthy and filling. You could do it with any meat, tempeh, hummus and vegetables, refried beans and cheese, nut butter and bananas or dried fruit, etc. Also, my kids love noodles. I take whole grain or rice noodles of any shape/size that are already cooked and warm them in a bowl. We then add a little butter or olive oil and some parmesan cheese and mix it up. Sometimes we add slices of nitrate free turkey or beef hot dogs to it. Hope this helps!

I occassionally send my kids with a small tupperware bowl with Tuna Salad and crackers/bread. They also like celery with peanut butter and raisins, also known as Ants on a log. Those are good simple healthy options.

T.,

I don't know how picky of eaters your kids are, but how about cut up raw veggies (peppers, carrots, celery) with hummus. Cottage cheese with pineapple or grape tomatoes. Apples or celery with peanut butter to dip in. Salad (there are great tupperware containers that hold the dressing in the lid and they push a compartment on top to dispense - then shake open and enjoy.) Crackers and cheese. Hope this helps.

J.

scrambled eggs with American cheese
macaroni and cheese
pizza
egg salad sandwich
grilled cheese sandwich
ham on whole grain bread
blueberry muffins
french toast
grits (cream of wheat) or oatmeal (these are not just for breakfast) with brown sugar/cinnamon
cut up fruit: strawberries, cantaloupe, grapes, watermelon, apples, blueberries, peaches, bananas etc.)
cut up raw or cooked veggies: green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, potatoes (loaded with cheese etc.), broccoli etc.
chocolate milk
orange, apple, or grape juice

Hi... some quick ideas off the top of my head.

String cheese, watermelon slices, apple slices, mac n' cheese, eggs (scrammbled or hard boiled), yogurt, cottage cheese with grapes or strawberries, sweet pototo fries (ou can find them in the frozen section of your store), deli turkey rolled up....

there are also some great hot dogs out by oscar meyer... with no nitrates or antibodics... they taste really good!

Good luck... kudos for you for being a healthy mom!

My kids aren't big sandwich lovers, so we've have to be pretty creative. We love the Quaker apple cinnamon mini rice cakes with peanut butter on them. I put two together like a sandwich to keep them from being messy. I also buy the Flatout flat breads in the bakery/deli area. They like them with peanut butter and mini-chocolate chips on them rolled up. Or, we'll do the flavored cream cheese on them. They also like a thermos with Ramen noodles for lunch. They don't really like the Lunchables, but my daughter likes the Lunchable Jr.'s. They are a simple and quick snacky lunch.

I was going to mention the bento boxes too. I have 2 kids, 22 mo and 4 years and often I set them up at their little table with a tray of lunch meat, cheese, whole grain crackers, fruit and veggies, and they feel so big (I know 9 months is a bit young for this). Or I'll fill a muffin tin with a little bit of different things. They like to be able to pick. Other wise, we have a fruit, a veggie (carrot, red pepper, edamame--a favorate, etc.) and usually a cheese and whole grain combo (ww tortilla and cheese, ww bagel and cheese, ww pita with cheese and turkey peperoni). If you're at home with your kids, it's easy to get in a rut with lunch, I do too. If they're eating and eating healthy, feel good!

K.

Hi T.

Have you heard of Bento boxes? Here is a link that has a lot of good ideas for kids lunches;

http://www.lunchlessons.org/

How about apple slices with peanut butter, carrots with dip, whole grain cookies, baked chips, edamame, cucumber sandwiches filled with cream cheese, mini muffins - carrot would get some veggies in, tortillas chips and pico, yogurt with berries, granola bars, ezekiel bread with almond butter and banana, nut & raisin mix, breadsticks and pizza sauce, honey-wheat tortillas are great for peanut butter w/raisins, bananas, or apple slices,.....Good luck!