Packing a kids lunch

I pack lunches for myself and my husband and we try to mix it up a bit...

Mains:
Wraps - Tuna Salad, Egg Salad or Deli Meat
Salad with Chopped Boiled Eggs or leftover protein from dinner (Sliced pre-made chicken fingers, steak) and cheese
Tuna Melts - Made in advance
Sliced Sausage, Crackers or cut up Naan bread and a couple of Laughing Cow wedges
BLT wraps or sandwiches (more fun with lattice bacon http://kitchensimplicity.com/lattice-bacon/)

Fun Sides/snacks:
Low fat yogurt with berries (Frozen or Fresh) and granola
Low Sugar Jello with fruit inside

I round out most of these with fruit, salad (romaine/spinach/cabbage) or cut vegetables, occasionally crispers, cookies, nuts or something of that sort.

As a kid who got a packed lunch every day from their health-freak mom haha -

- granola bar (you can get yogurt dipped ones, ones with chocolate chips etc.)
- an apple or other piece of fruit
- a sandwich: wholewheat bread, with either cheese and tomato or tuna fish

that was basically it.

Grapes are really good because you can just put them in a small sandwich bag or box. Fruit can be tricky because if it's cut it goes brownish and isn't as tasty, and whole pieces, if they're just floating around in a school bag, can get bruised.
Instead of chips, what about a small sandwich bag of flavored rice crackers? They're just as tasty, and very low cal (and ofc you can get low sodium ones too etc.). The bars that Uncle Toby's and Kelloggs make are really great too - they're low calories, but still sweet.

The bento boxes are such great ideas. I didn't have one, but I did have a lunch box that had little compartments. Plus it had the cutest cat on it. Always a bonus.

Good luck!

My kids love mini bagel pizzas. I cheat and get the turkey pepperoni and let them add whatever other veggie toppings they like. (Typically we have mushrooms, onions, black olives - and if I am lucky I will saute spinach with the mushrooms and onions to sneak in another veggie). I use the mini sara lee smooth and soft whole wheat bagels - and each bagel pizza is about 70 calories. They are good hot or cold. (*Tip - put the bagels on a foil lined pan - and toast in the oven before adding the sauce and toppings, to keep it from being soggy.)

I make chicken wraps (with the mission spinach wraps or the sun dried tomato wraps - but you could use a 100 calorie tortilla too). Last night I made these actually. I use Fage Fat Free Greek Yogurt as the dressing, and mix with garlic powder, dill and black pepper, and spread it on. I add 1/2 cup cubed chicken (I poach it), 1 cup spring lettuce mix, an ounce or two of fresh mozzarella cheese, and some mandarin orange segments (I use canned). My boys loved it. You could always serve the 'dip' of the yogurt mixture on the side if you are afraid it will be soggy. (1/2 of the wrap was about 200 calories, with 23 grams of protein!)

Other things we made regularly:
Peanut Butter and Banana sandwiches
Taco salad (put the salsa and sour cream (or I have been fooling my kids with Fage instead!) at the bottom then the meat, a bean salad (I typically make a similar version of this - http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/RecipePage.aspx?recipeId=131941) and the lettuce at the top.
Chicken & Bacon Salad (easily served in a pita pocket) - I make the dressing with equal parts (usually 2 TBSP) of Fage and Reduced Fat Mayo (with Olive Oil), with a splash of white vinegar and add in a seeded and chopped cucumber and a chopped roma tomato or two, and season with black pepper and a little salt. Then layer the lettuce/baby spinach if you can sneak it in, chopped chicken, and sauce and top with a few pieces of crumbled bacon (I use the center cut so three pieces is only 70 calories!)

And about the chips - what about healthy chip options: like baked varieties? My kids love popcorn so that is a low-calorie option as well. My kids love to dip anything - so what about making a low-calorie dip and serving pretzels or veggies with it? Skinnytaste.com has a number of great healthy dip recipes.

Good luck!

This is a great post. I, too allow my kids some of the junk food and try t o balance it with whole wheat bread for pbj. My daughter loves cottage cheese, she used to like boiled eggs (i think someone at school told her they stink so she wont eat them now). There is always some time of fruit, usually grapes, apple, strawberries, pineapple in it. They love it mixed as a fruit salad too. They take a yogurt or finger jello almost every day. The only drink they get is water. All that being said, today is pizza day. Guess what my son is eating??

I follow the main course, salty/crunchy side, fruit and "dessert"

Main course is pretty much a turkey or chicken cold cut kind of wrap or sandwich. I vary the cheese and condiment (stick with mustard or splash of olive oil/vinegar for lower calorie though) for variety as well as what I put it in... either those pepperidge whole wheat sandwich flats, "smart" wraps (great source of protein and fiber) or just plain whole wheat bread (I only serve my kids grains that are at least 3 grams of dietary fiber though).

Salty/crunchy side is peanuts, or the whole fiber cheese/crackers, smart-pop popcorn. Sometimes some baby carrots with a bit of hummus or celery with peanut butter as dip. (If your kid is that picky, the latter might not work).

Fruit depends on season but is often apple slices or tangerine... or sometimes no sugar added applesauce (both kids crazy about that stuff) or other individually no sugar contained peaches, pineapple, mandarin oranges, etc.

Dessert is those various fiber added based treats (so not totally empty calories)... FiberOne, Kellogs Fiber Plus and WhoNu cookies.

Beverage is Fruitables Juice box and small pint size of water (I re-use the same bottles to avoid adding to landfill).

Both my kids are very healthy... including their weight.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bountiful-Bento/165764990200309 These look healthy & fun to eat as well :happy:

my two year old is insanely picky, but i think its just a toddler thing. hell typically have any fruit [banana, strawberrys, grapes, apple] along with either some kinda pasta dish with jjjjjust a little sauce or a cereal bar type thing. be wont eat sandwiches, pizza, chicken nuggets unless theyre mcdonalds which i cant stand buying... he likes yogurt also the tube ones are the easiest to make less of a mess.

edit: looking through those bento box pictures i forgot he loves cucumbers too. im gonna try the snap peas and see if hell go for those. as with any kid, veggies are much harder to push than fruits. but i get him to eat a good amount of spinach in green smoothies