Back to School: Healthy School Lunches and Snacks

This back-to-school season, leave the Luncheables and commercial, packaged school lunches behind. Your children deserve better! This fall, make lunches and snacks fun, tasty and healthy. Your kids will never tire of these healthy lunchbox ideas, and you'll love how fast they are to make (and how easy they fit into your budget).

The key thing to look for in healthy, fast school lunches is for food that's quick to put together, fun to eat, and small and portable. Think of fun colors, bold flavors and finger-foods. Use this article to jump start your school lunch inspiration, and let your creativity excite your children to eat healthy school lunches and snacks.

Fast, Healthy School Lunches and Snacks for Kids:

Healthy, multi-grain crackers with...

- Hummus

- Cottage Cheese

Health vegetables with...

- Pocket-sized containers of healthy, low-fat dressing

- Small cubes of your child's favorite cheese

Healthy, kid-friendly fruits with...

- Sliced apples with nut butter, be it peanut butter or something more exotic like almond butter (a personal favorite!)

- Sliced apples with cheese slices

- Grapes (always fun to eat, and portable)

- Sliced banana with peanut butter

Leftovers like...

- Baked dinners like lasagna makes excellent, kid-friendly lunches. Just put into a compartmentalized lunch box.

- Salad makes a great leftover. Just remember to pack the dressing separate so the veggies don't get soggy.

Healthy school lunch desserts...

- Yogurt is my favorite after-school snack. It's healthy, but also pleases your children's sweet tooth. Include a little cup of granola for extra fun!

And the ultimate children's school lunch idea: The Sandwich.

Who doesn't love a sandwich? It can be simple or fancy, but it's always easy to eat and always a favorite among kids. Sandwiches are the ultimate healthy, school lunchbox stuffer. Here are some great sandwich ideas for the next time you prepare your kids a healthy school lunch!

- English Roll Sandwich

Forget ordinary sliced bread. Use an English roll for a different sort of sandwich that's just the right size for small hands.

- Middle Eastern Sandwich

Instead of sliced bread, use a pita loaf and stuff it with sprouts and fresh hummus. The unique shape will capture your children's imagination.

- Toasted Bagel Sandwich

Again, depart from traditional bread slices for a fun sandwich using toasted bagel halves.

- A Mexican Sandwich

Use a tortilla, but go one step further than a quesadilla by including hearty sandwich ingredients like sliced lean turkey and fresh vegetables. Or, re-invent the peanut butter and jelly sandwich by using a whole-wheat tortilla instead!