Kids Lunches Beyond Sandwiches!

Sunday afternoon I was hanging out with a former client who has become like family. She and I had lunch and went shopping for school supplies and baby items. She3 asked me a question and I had to think a while in order to answer. Her question was what kind of lunches can I fed the kids besides sandwiches all the time. I answered her before we left with tortilla roll ups, but considering we had just left Tin Drum I felt a little silly because a cold noodle salad came to mind when I got home. Then I saw a fun commercial on food network about making fun animals from rice cakes or sandwich bread.

Sending your kids to school with lunches they will actually eat and not scip or trade is a challenge or every Mom. So, let's start by incorporating your children's favorite foods in every lunch. Now, I hope you have fed your kids such a variety of foods that they have faves from every food group so the meals can be well balanced. Here are a few ideas.

Sandwich-free Lunches

• Hummus, raw veggies, cheese cubes, and apple wedges
• Greek yogurt dip (use your favorite yogurt and add lots of herbs for ranch, blue cheese crumbles, parmesan, or some grated onion and cucumber, add some spices salt and pepper,yum), with a variety of dippers veggies, crackers, pretzels, and a fruit cup
• Quinoa salad with walnuts, cranberries, sunflower seeds, with a poppy seed dressing, with raw veggies and dip
• Sliced cucumbers with dressing,lunch meat, cheese slices, pickles, olives crinkle carrots and a banana
• Broccoli salad with chunks of chicken, crushed dried ramen noodles, sunflower seeds, raisins, minced onion, walnuts, grape tomatoes and a sweet dressing
• 2 small cups of peanut butter with dippers baby carrots, celery sticks,pretzels, apple slices
• Chicken salad made with almonds and grapes, with crackers, and raw broccoli add a dip
• Rice cakes spread with almond butter and honey, a veggie salad of spinach, apples,and slivered almonds with a dressing on the side

Drinks

Hydration is an important part of keeping the brain functioning well in support of learning so choose drinks which will support hydration.My friend chose Honest juice boxes for her boys, which I think is a great choice. Consider coconut water which comes in a variety of flavors including pineapple, peach mango, and chocolate. Bottled water with a flavor enhancer. If you own a soda steam fizzy water in a bottle with fruit floating in it. Milk is always a good choice cow, almond, or goat.  Also, making your kids a frozen fruit smoothie which will thaw out by lunch time will give them a fun drink.

The best thing you can do for planning lunches is to get  your kids involved. If taking them to the store is too much. Sit at home in front of the computer and shop online. Get the kids to pick some things they would like. Then on Saturday get into he kitchen together and make lunches and freeze them for the week. This gives kids a chance to pick it out, make it, and each evening decude what they want to put in the fridge for the next day. Pop in a cooler pack and send them off to school with lunch choices they have made themselves.

Lunch Box Notes

One thing I love is lunch box notes it is a great way to connect with your kids in a small way. One current commercial shows a mom writing her notes on the top of a fruit bowl. That's a cute idea. Also, you could do fun things like emojis, pictures, thank you notes, the choices are endless and your kids will like the surprise. By the way your spouse would too.

Need more ideas? Check out these blog posts.

10 Sandwich Free Lunch Ideas

37 Lunch Ideas from Celebrity Chefs

I hope this helps you get your kids to eat their lunch each day and gets them out of the not eating or swapping mode!

Believe in Parenting

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