Laurelhurst
Nutrition
Advisory
Committee
What to Pack in Your Child's Lunchbox
It’s the start of a new school year, which begs that difficult question of what do you pack for lunch? We want our kids to eat nutritious lunches so they are ready to learn in the afternoon. But we also know that the kids do not have a lot of time to eat. They also can be picky—going for the sweet stuff first and either trading or throwing away the nutritious stuff.
What can you pack that will actually find its way into your child’s tummy and also help your child be ready to learn? Here are some fun suggestions to help start out the school year!
Tips
- Think variety—rotate choices to make it interesting and prevent boredom.
- Involve your kids—let them help you come up with lunch menus. Get them involved in the shopping and packing.
- Bring it home—ask kids to pack what they don’t eat back into their lunch box so that you can see what they are or are not eating and adjust accordingly.
- Go to lunch—try to meet your kid at school for lunch occasionally to see what really goes on a lunch time.
- Make it fun—add a note, joke, or comic strip as a surprise.
Lunch #1 — What to Pack!
- Turkey in a mini pita pocket
- Small bag of baby carrots, sugar snap peas, and cucumber coins. Make several of these “snack bags” at once to toss in lunches throughout the week or to grab for a quick after-school snack.
- Apple slices
- Mini cheese wedge
Lunch #2 — What to Pack!
- Sliced ham or salami rolled around a cheese stick
- Ants on a log (peanut butter spread on a piece of celery topped with raisins)
- Applesauce
- Graham crackers
Lunch #3 — What to Pack!
- Chicken noodle soup in a thermos
- Carrots with their greens still attached a la Bugs Bunny
- Grapes
- Cheese and crackers—cut cheese into fun shapes that fit on the cracker.
What to Drink—Mix it Up!
- Buy white milk at school—Laurelhurst also offers chocolate and strawberry. These options contain at least twice the sugar of white milk, so you may want to factor this in when planning your menu.
- Kid’s-size water
- 100% fruit juice
Click here to download a pdf version of these tips.