Packing a healthy lunch that your child will eat can be daunting and frustrating. You can make your child's lunch more exciting by adding a few new options to the lunchbox. According to Joan Lunden and Myron Winick, authors of "Growing Up Healthy: Protecting Your Child From Diseases Now Through Adulthood," your child's lunch should include two servings of grain and one serving of protein. Add a fruit and vegetable, and your child will have a well-rounded, healthy lunch to get excited about.
Wraps
A wrap is a tortilla filled with any of your child's favorite sandwich ingredients. Choose any flavor of tortilla, including whole wheat, sun-dried tomato or vegetable, according to your child's taste. Fill it with ingredients like lean turkey or tuna, with shredded vegetables like carrots, cucumbers, peppers or olives. Hummus with vegetables, or peanut butter with bananas are other options your child might enjoy.
Pasta Salad
According to Parents Magazine, pasta salad in your child's lunchbox is a balanced meal in one bowl. Serve your child's favorite pasta shape with chopped pieces of chicken and vegetables. Lunden and Winick add that a pasta salad with low-fat cheese and beans offers several food groups in one meal. Experiment with different ingredients to see what combinations your child likes best.
Creative Sandwiches
If your child is tired of the same old peanut butter and jelly on bread, try more interesting options to get him excited about lunch. Serve a banana in a hot dog bun spread with peanut butter, suggests Lunden and Winick. Parents Magazine suggests trying crackers instead of bread. You can pack crackers with any number of ingredients, including peanut butter, cheese, hummus or lean lunch meat. Try cutting sandwiches made with bread into fun shapes using cookie cutters. This will make a plain sandwich more creative.
Healthy Side Dishes
Instead of potato chips, fruit roll-ups or cookies as side dishes, Parents Magazine suggests sending healthier options that your child enjoys as a way to offer exciting tastes and textures. Your child's favorite fruits are a healthy option. Whole wheat pretzels or crackers and rice cakes are different foods that are also healthy. Other suggestions include dried fruit, nuts, yogurt, applesauce, granola bars and baked potato chips.
References
- "Growing Up Healthy: Protecting Your Child From Diseases Now Through Adulthood"; Joan Lunden and Myron Winick; 2004
- Parents Magazine: 8 Fun Lunch and Snack Ideas
- Parents Magazine: Healthy Lunchbox Suggestions
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