Packing lunches for kids

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Since I have been on MFP, I am much more conscious of what I'm putting in my body and now that concern is trickling down to my kids. I used to make them a white bread sandwich with American cheese and lunchmeat, a bag of Cheezits, a bag of cookies, and some kind of fruit. I'm no longer buying Cheezits and cookies so what the heck to I pack for them? Today was a whole wheat sandwich with turkey and provolone with romaine lettuce, a cup of mandarin oranges, sliced cucumbers and a capri sun with fruit and vegetable juice. I'm pretty happy with that but I want to know what other healthy sides I can put in there. I've noticed in the past that if I didn't mix it up, lunches would come home uneaten. FYI, the 3year old will do yogurt, but the older two wont because it doesn't stay cold and it grosses them out. Fair enough, lol. Oh and peanut free to protect out peanut allergy friends!

Help please!

Replies

  • jonesin_am
    jonesin_am Posts: 404 Member
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    Homemade granola with whatever dried fruit they like, some chia seeds, oats and soy nuts.
    Carrot stick with ranch for dipping. I try to sneak in hummus sometimes but they still haven't warmed up to that.
    Any fruit - my kids will always eat kiwi.
    Ants on a log - celery with peanut butter (or sunbutter in your case) with raisins
    Homemade fruit muffins - I usually use half whole wheat flour and try to add something else like chia seeds in. I also use applesauce instead of butter, etc.

    It's a little more work but you can make homemade baked goods that kids usually like but substitute some unhealthy ingredients for healthier options and try to add in some other nutritous stuff. Sometimes my concoctions are a complete failure but sometimes I get a good one to add to the recipe book.
  • stellabobella79
    stellabobella79 Posts: 44 Member
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    Oh the fruit muffins idea is great. I can freeze them ahead of time and just toss it in their bag and it will thaw by lunchtime. I think I'll buy sun butter too. I've tried almond butter but it was a no-go. Love the idea of ants on a log...my kids would get a kick out of that. Ive raised cracker loving kids so any ideas on replacing Cheezits, goldfish, ritz etc?

    My 7 year old is built like a lineman (and in fact is on the offensive line in fall football) but we've had a lazy winter and his muscles are getting replaced with fat. Baseball starts soon and he will be active again but I know I need to give him better choices in the home. I WILL NOT say a word to him about portion control because all my kids are good with eating when they are hungry and stopping when they are full, I just would love better stuff for him to choose from. More ideas would be great.
  • TammyKeaten
    TammyKeaten Posts: 61 Member
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    Cheese sticks and applesauce, maybe some carrot sticks with ranch and clementine oranges!
  • jfauci
    jfauci Posts: 531 Member
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    Well, my son is easy as he eats the same thing EVERY DAY for lunch - yogurt, fruit and crackers. That's heathly, so I'm not worried.

    My daughter is not nearly as healthy and, if I let her, would eat Nutella every day. I sometimes give her chicken breast with crackers on the side, or a salad with chicken breast cut up. She will also eat carrots and brocolli with lite racnch dressing. It's a struggle though.Lunches with her often become a battle.
  • andrearaquel48
    andrearaquel48 Posts: 102 Member
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    I bought some thermos containers and often fill those with leftovers in the morning to mix things up and give them a change from sandwiches. I'll heat up left over pasta, rice and beans, chicken and veggies, whatever we had for dinner, and throw those in the kids lunches in place of sandwiches. I also give them little containers full of almonds, walnuts or cashews, and sometimes some raisens. (Again, I bought a bunch of stainless steel containers with rubber lids so I can fill those up with whatever I have handy in the pantry). I usually cut up some apples, oranges, carrots, celery or cucumber, or put in a whole mandarin orange (I skip the canned mandarins because they have a lot of sugar, same with Capri Sun - I just put water in a reusable bottle.) I sometimes put unsweetened apple sauce in their lunches. String cheese or cubed cheddar or jack is a good high-protein snack. For cracker replacement you could try Snap Pea Crisps, pretzels, rice cakes, or whole grain crackers. I avoid the processed snack-size pre-packed foods because they tend to be very high in sodium and have so many ingredients I can't identify. I try to stick to whole foods as much as possible. Oh, and I agree with muffins - those are a healthy, easy addition to the kids lunches.
  • cdh5068
    cdh5068 Posts: 26
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    Maybe you could try making some homemade crackers? I just googled "healthy homemade cheese crackers" and there are a ton of recipes. You can even get the kids involved in making them