Top 6 Tips for Packing a Healthy Lunch

Written by Lauren Girdler
Reviewed by Gloria Tsang, RD
Published in August 2008

(HealthCastle.com) As the start of another school year approaches, you're looking for ways to provide your child with a lunch that is healthy, as well as being something they will want to eat. This is the perfect time of year to introduce a new healthy lunch routine that's fun for both of you.

Dr. Julie Miller Jones, the national nutrition advisor to the California Raisin Marketing Board, says that getting kids to eat a healthy lunch doesn't have to be difficult if you follow a few simple guidelines. Jones, along with registered dietician Mary Lee Chin and the California Raisins have created a list to help make lunch preparation easy and enjoyable.

Six tips for providing kids with a healthy lunch

• Eat with your eyes. A soggy peanut butter sandwich with grape jelly soaking through is not very appealing. Instead, take a look at pre-packaged items that travel well and maintain their good looks, like single-serve applesauce and other canned fruits, string cheese, snack-sized California raisins, or small containers of yogurt. Or, try collecting small individualized packets of mustard, ketchup, and salad dressing to send with lunch, avoiding soggy sandwiches.
  
  
• Avoid bread boredom. Think variety when "sandwiching" your school lunches. Try whole grain raisin bread, pita bread, whole grain rolls, mini-bagels or flavored bagels, or even whole wheat tortillas to make wraps.
  
  
• Introduce new food combinations. Before surprising your kids with unidentified foods, have a frank talk with them about the variety of healthful foods they have to choose from, and on the first try serve small portions. Instead of the usual peanut butter, dip your favorite pretzels or celery sticks in hummus or new butters such as sunflower seed, cashew, and almond.
  
  
• Make it fun! Encourage kids to be involved in preparation and selection of new, healthful foods. For younger kids, it can be fun to create a fruit and vegetable bingo board. If your child packs and eats a particular fruit or vegetable, he or she can put a sticker on the bingo board. Once "bingo" is achieved, the child receives an agreed-upon prize - such as a walk to the park, a favorite game, or a special activity with a parent.
  
  
• It's all in the presentation. Creativity can go a long way when getting kids to eat healthy, like fruit and cheese kabobs. Alternate chunks of fruit with small cheese cubes on a thin straw. Or create roll-ups of tortillas filled with cheese and lunch meat around a pickle.
  
  
• Just add color. Provide fun, colorful ingredients in the lunch with nutritious toppings for their foods, such as cherry tomatoes, golden California raisins, or diced red or green peppers. Or, try colorful sandwich wraps that come in red, green, or yellow.