Healthy School Lunches Kids Will Beg for

The dreaded lunch sack sits waiting. Day after day you must come up with meals for your family and included in that challenge is the school lunch. The crinkly brown bags that were wrinkled and wilting by noon time are now replaced by Eco-friendly insulated colorful containers that beckon to you to outdo yourself. The problem is, it's the same old food. You can liven up those meals, inviting your children to wonder what to expect each day, when they hungrily open up that Velcro enclosure.

Party Platter Foods I have been taking care of three children during part of summer vacation. During the hot weather I decided to pull things from the fridge and cupboards that I have served for party foods. All you need to do is dip into the vegetable crisper and pull out the fresh veggies your children will eat. Slice cucumbers into chips, carrots into sticks, small broccoli flowers and miniature cauliflower 'brains' and pack them into a dish with a secure cover. Place a couple of cheese strips and a few grain-rich crackers in a second container. Children will amuse themselves and build 'sandwiches' with thin crackers, apple slices coated in orange or lemon juice, cheese and cucumber. Add a peanut butter or salad dressing dip in to a tiny container and you have a filling healthy meal that a child loves. The kids I've been caring for now beg, please make us a platter Auntie. Boys and girls love to eat finger foods which are much more manageable than an over-sized sandwich that is falling apart.

Salads A simple salad can be appealing to a child when it is presented in a new way. Roll tuna or chicken salad into a crispy lettuce leaf or tortilla for a yummy tuna or chicken salad 'log'. Load a serving of Chef Salad into a taco shell with dressing on the side. Add green, macaroni, tuna or chicken salad to a small hand held pita pocket for a contained meal. Strips of green and colored peppers can give a crunchy addtion to the mix.

Bits and Pieces There are many healthy things that you can incorporate into a lunch that includes a small thermos of soup or the dreaded same 'ol sandwich. Remember to name the meals that you prepare for your children. Kids love having names for their food dishes. Boys love a name that could give a gross-out factor to share with their friends. For instance, you can fill a sliced pear half with cottage cheese, place raisin eyes and almond ears, a wispy carrot stick tail to turn the dairy and fruit meal into a small animal like a mouse. Full a cored apple with a mixture of peanut butter and raisins with a protruding worm fruit snack for a delicious meal addition. Pack a small dish with pineapple chunks and cherries in it. Add in stick pretzels for your little one to pick up the fruit with for an edible toothpick. Use left-overs from the previous evening meal. Cut meats into thin strips, slice a piece of left-over cheeseburger pie or dice a pork chop and add it to a diced fresh pear and chopped walnuts for small container meals. Cold packs add the opportunity to have a cold, crisp meal when using the insulated lunch bags.

Sandwiches Dress up the boring sandwich with rolls and bagels. Peanut butter and honey on a raisin bagel is a yummy meal. Sliced chicken, sprouts and cheese go nicely with a crescent or home made yeast roll. If you are trying to use up that loaf of bread in the pantry try cutting a favorite sandwich with cookie cutter shapes to entice your child to keep and eat his entire lunch. You can find a wide variety of healthy breads to fill with various fixings for your child to take for lunch.

You can come up with creative healthy lunches for your children. Many lunches can be prepared the previous night. Put your thinking cap on, munch on a cucumber chip or cauliflower brain and go to work.