Creating a healthy school lunch for children is an important task that will contribute to keeping their overall health strong. It is best to use natural foods in school lunches and avoid commercial packaged foods, notes Parenting.org. Use a wide variety of ingredients for school lunches. This will keep the lunches interesting and nutritious.
Chili, Fruit & Vegetable Slices
A container of vegetarian chili is an unusual and healthy lunch food. Add a bag of cherries, chunks of pineapple or slices of other fruits or vegetables such as kiwi, red peppers or slices of mango to the lunch, suggests ConsumerReports.org.
Hummus with Celery & Carrots
Hummus, which is made from chick peas, is a healthy lunch food with a high level of protein. A small container of hummus is easy to transport for a school lunch. Add a bag of vegetables to dip in the hummus. Good choices include sliced sticks of celery, carrot sticks and chunks of cucumber, notes Parenting.org. Hummus is easy to make at home.
Yogurt, Fruit, Air-Popped Popcorn
A container of yogurt and some chunks of fresh fruit make a healthy lunch, notes KidsHealth.org. Add a small bag of air-popped popcorn to the meal for a healthy dessert.
Turkey, Strawberries & Apricots
A turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread provides protein at lunch. Add some healthy fruits to complete a meal. A bag with fresh strawberries, dried apricots and some grapes will provide a wide range of vitamins and be very tasty and enjoyable, notes ConsumerReports.org.
Soup, Melon & Cheese
A container of soup is a healthy foundation for a school lunch, notes ConsumerReports.org. Making soup at home to use in school lunches ensures that the soup will be free of the chemicals found in canned commercial soups. Add a bag containing a slice of melon such as honey dew or cantaloupe and a several chunks of low-fat cheese to ensure that the meal provides a wide range of nutrients.
Low-fat Chicken Sandwich, Raisins & Nuts
Use low-fat chicken to make a sandwich in a whole wheat pita. Add some dark green lettuce to the sandwich for more nutrients. Add a bag of raisins and low-salt nuts to complete the meal, notes Parenting.org. Use nuts other than peanuts, as many schools ban this nut due to allergies.
Milk, Juice or Water
Pack a thermos of water or low-fat milk or provide change to buy the milk in the school cafeteria. If a child prefers juice, use only real juice, notes ConsumerReports.org. Water the juice down with 50 percent water to limit the sugar level in the beverage. Find a child safety thermos to transport the beverage to school.
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