Healthy School Lunches to Pack

A great way to save money and ensure a healthy lunch is to pack one and send it to school with your child. You can save by buying many of these items in bulk. Also consider buying the fruits and veggies whole;it takes more time and work but it will save you quite a bit of money.You can also use reusable plastic containers and silverware. Just remind your child to bring them home and not throw them away.

Fruit and veggies is a great way to keep our children healthy. The only problem is getting them to eat them. A way to dress up celery is to add peanut butter and raisins. It tastes great and travels to school great as well. Apples can always be served with caramel. Carrots are great with ranch as are many veggies. You can add pepper to cantaloupe for a change in taste. Add different sauces and dips that your child likes or mix fruits with yogurt and add granola.

One recipe My children and I love is extremely healthy and does not have to be warmed up. I don't have a name for it but it is a wrap cut into smaller sections for children. The following is the ingredients I use, but you can always change it up or even make it vegetarian. I start with a tortilla either white,wheat,or any other will work. Then you can use a spread I use mayo,like I said though you can change it up and be creative. Then add your fillings chopped veggies and lettuce work great you can add shredded cheese. If you want to keep in vegetarian you can stop here and wrap it up. Otherwise you can add shredded meat or even cold cuts to it. When you are finished start wrapping it. After that cut it cross way into small hand held sizes.

You can always use different salads as well for your child's lunch. You can make a regular one with lettuce and add what ever ingredients you wish. There are so many different salads out there;you can search and experiment with it. One great one is tomato,cucumber and onion. You just chop all these ingredients and mix them together. Then add half water and half vinegar and let them soak. You can add salt and pepper to taste if you wish. You may also want to consider using fruits and making a salad to switch things up. You can also use healthier dressings such as vinegar,oil,or cider dressings. Just remember to be creative with it.

There are several options for sides to keep it healthy. You can make a trail mix. With this you can use any ingredients,just try and keep it as healthy as possible. You can also make a large amount and store it for later. This will lower costs and save some time. You can also use the veggies for a side with dips as stated before. Another option is to use pita chips or rice chips. You can pare these with ranch as well if your child is allowed to have them. Seeds are a great option,though if your child has allergies you will want to check with a doctor first. Pumpkin seeds can be roasted and even flavored and then eaten. There are several different seeds you can try and they are very healthy and filling.

You can even come up with healthy alternatives for the desert. Gelatin is always a great option and you can even get sugar free now days. Dried fruit is a great alternative and comes in many varieties., Caramelized apples work well also and if need be you can make them sugar free as well. You can also use the yogurt mentioned earlier for the dessert. There are also many healthier snakes out there in the health food or organic section in your super market. Some examples are rice cakes,rice chips,veggie chips,etc. If you want you can even top the rice cakes with different ingredients;jelly,peanut butter, or any other topping that will work for you.