Healthy School Lunches, Fueling the Brain
school lunch prepared by following Super Healthy Kids’ lunch guidelines
When it comes to packing healthy school lunches, there is one thing above all that is critical to success. Let your kids pack it themselves! I learned this the hard way. After I packed my oldest child’s lunch for a year, carefully putting in the best fruits and vegetables, I found out he wasn’t even eating it…. His entire lunch would either be thrown away, or traded with his classmates. I heard from his teacher he swapped his entire lunch for a single candy corn one day! Unbelievable. From that day forward, my kids were required to pack their school lunches themselves. That way, my morning stress was alleviated, and they only put things in their lunch that they wanted to eat.
The only way to truly make this work, though, is to provide guidelines. At Super Healthy Kids, the pack-your-own-lunch guidelines are as follows:
1) Pick a fruit:
- Banana
- Apple or applesauce
- Orange slices
- Fruit leather
- Fruit juice
- Grapes
- Kiwi
2) Pick a vegetable:
- Carrots
- Celery
- Peppers
- Green beans
- Salad
3) Pick a whole grain:
- Whole wheat bread
- Whole wheat bagels
- Whole wheat pita bread
- Whole wheat wrap
4) Pick a protein:
- Nuts
- Peanut butter
- Deli meat
- Soy beans
That’s it! I know if they are packing their own lunch by following the guidelines we’ve outlined, they are in a great position to eat a healthy school lunch, have brain fuel for the whole day, and not waste food. This lunch (see image above) was one my daughter Erica recently put together. It contained a mandarin orange, whole wheat tortilla, turkey, lettuce, tomatoes, and avocado. Lunches like this are easy to assemble when kids know their options. And with summer break just around the corning, you can still require your child to make lunch themselves!
For more meal ideas and healthy school lunch plans, visit Super Healthy Kids.
Parents and teachers: If you have tips or advice about how to get healthy lunches in the hands and bellies of our students, we want to hear about it! Leave your comments below.
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