Lunch Box Ideas for Kids

You may be stuck for a good packed lunch idea. You are aware that some foods are unhealthy but may not be sure how they can be avoided. In this article I will give you some ideas and tips for packed lunches that are healthy.

You may well feel anxious when you are planning to give your kid a healthy packed lunch, but may not be sure that it is something they will eat. A child who will not eat a healthy packed lunch is as unhealthy as a child who eats junk food for lunch. It can be a big pressure on the part of the parents. But there are some tips you can follow to ease the stress and achieve balance.

The watchword here is 'balance' which lies in you establishing a good food habit in which your children have the essential nutrients for healthy growth, while also including a bit of novelty so they don't see the food as a bad thing in their lives.

Ideas for Lunchboxes

Sandwiches - They need to contain some protein (meat, cheese or egg) and a fruit or a vegetable. If your kid will not eat vegetables, then you can add fruits to add some sweetness. You can make the sandwich more flavorsome by using relish or mayonnaise/salad cream. Other examples are: cheddar with tomato relish, cream cheese with banana, ham with tomato, chicken with sliced tomato, sultanas and egg mayo, and grapes with chicken.

Bread - White bread seems to be no good as a source of nutrients. If your child insists on white bread, you can slowly wean them off by making sandwiches from one slice white and one slice brown bread.

Fruit - Children generally are more likely to consume fruit if the fruit has been chopped and stored in a Tupperware container, rather than when you give a whole fresh fruit to them. If your child doesn't like fruit, you can try a mix of blueberries, grapes, raspberries and strawberries. If your child does like fruit, you can go for a mix of grape, apple, and orange. You may want to squirt some lemon juice over it to impede the process of the mixture turning brown.

Snacks - The recommended ones are cheese slices with tomato, dried fruits and nuts, homemade cake made using honey (replacing sugar) and banana, hummus and carrot sticks, and root veggie crisps.

You may want to involve your kids when making snacks during weekends. Then they will be motivated to eat them as part of their week lunches. You can make muffins using wholemeal flour, blueberries and half sugar/half honey. You can slice potatoes finely, dowse them in olive oil and add some sea salt and then bake it in an oven until it gets golden brown, so you get good homemade crisps.

For those children who like savories, give them thin veggies sticks added with cheese. If your child likes sweet tastes, encourage him or her to eat fruits.

You need to take the process in small steps and you should not give up. Eventually you will be able to train your child on healthy eating habits.