Packing food and drinks into a child's lunchbox can become repetitive. Children may even consider their lunches boring. Lunches can be made less tedious and more exciting with a few simple ideas. In addition, packed lunches can be made more nutritious with some forethought. Some of these lunchbox ideas work to help children's eating habits and to make a packed lunchbox more interesting to children and parent alike.
Involve Kids
Bring the children into the decision-making process when packing lunchboxes. They will better understand the choices that parents and caregivers make when selecting particular food and drink for lunches. Ask the children during the next trip to the supermarket to select cookie cutter shapes, which can be used later to cut those shapes out of cheese or other lunch selections.
Buy in Bulk
Instead of packing individually packaged servings, such as small bags of pretzels, buy in bulk to save money. The individual servings can then be packed into the lunchbox by packing the serving into an airtight container.
Save on Packaging
Instead of using things like disposable plastic baggies for packing lunches, use small airtight containers. Some lunchboxes are manufactured with the containers in them so everyone will know ahead of time that the containers will fit into the lunchbox. This is not only cost effective, because the need for a continuous supply of plastic baggies will be gone, but it also helps to reduce waste, which is a bonus for the environment.
Make Lunch Different
Instead of using regular sandwich bread, try using pita bread or tortillas, making sandwiches not only look different, but taste different, too. If children express positive attitudes toward the new bread choices, the type of bread selected on different days can be alternated or picked randomly to give children a daily surprise.
Make Different Packing Choices
Pack the sandwich extras, such as lettuce and tomato, in a separate baggie or container so the bread doesn't get soggy. Different extras can make lunchtime more interesting to children, surprising them with the day's sandwich extras. Also, the contents of a lunchbox can be kept cool by packing a frozen juice box into the lunchbox. When the weather turns cool, a warm lunch could be appreciated by a kid. Warm soup, stew or chili will stay warm if they are packed in insulated containers that fit into the lunchbox. Proper utensils should be included for these warm dishes.
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