With the holidays in full swing on top of our already hectic schedules, eating right and living a healthy lifestyle often seem like overwhelming tasks.
Here are some school lunch ideas for parents to help brave the winter months with gusto:
- Cut sandwiches into fun shapes with cookie cutters.
- Use healthy ingredients:
- Avoid meat with nitrates by buying lunch meat from health food stores, which often carry healthier choices.
- Add tasty fillers: sprouts, avocado, lettuce, cucumbers, tomato, cranberry sauce, hummus, pesto, or low-fat cream cheese spread with some herbs.
- Other sandwich ideas:
- Organic peanut butter, almond butter, soy butter, or cashew butter with mashed bananas or pureed fruit.
- For shredded chicken or egg salad sandwiches, add the following to the sandwich mix:
- canola mayonnaise
- grated carrots or zucchini
- diced celery or apples
- dried cranberries
- pine nuts
- flax-seed oil
- herbs; or
- parsley.
- Watch the tuna because there is some concern about levels of mercury it may contain.
- Make sandwich pockets: Use tortillas or pita bread and load it up with a combination of beans, rice, cheese, hummus, or grated vegetables.
- Make a pasta, rice, or couscous salad with olive oil and a hint of flaxseed oil. Add any combination of:
- grilled vegetables
- tomatoes
- herbs
- parsley
- shredded chicken
- sprouts
- sunflower or sesame seeds
- flaxseed
- pesto sauce
- cheese
- diced apples
- celery, or
- grapes.
- For school snacks, try:
- any fruit, dried fruit, or 100 percent fruit leathers (warning: eating lots of dried fruits can promote tooth decay, but it helps if they eat crunchy fresh carrots or an apple after the dried fruit)
- nuts (warning: nuts can cause choking in children under 3 or 4 years of age, so use with caution)
- edamame (soybeans)
- celery with peanut butter
- carrot sticks with ranch dressing or hummus
- pretzels (without the trans fats), or
- whole-grain crackers or bars.
- Water or juice:
- Pack water or 100 percent fruit juice for a drink.
- Freeze the water or fruit juice so it stays cold and keeps the rest of the lunch cold, too.
- Avoid sugary juice drinks with high fructose corn syrup.
- Use leftovers. Plan to use leftovers from a healthy dinner for lunch the next day. Use a thermos to keep soups or chili warm for lunch.
- Make healthy muffins with ingredients like wheat germ, oatmeal, grated carrots, grated zucchini, or bran to pack for lunch.
Dr. Christine Wood is a member of the Scientific Advisory Council for USANA Health Sciences, an international health and nutrition company, a practicing pediatrician in the San Diego area, and author of How to Get Kids to Eat Great & Love It. She is an expert in nutritional medicine for children and speaks on healthy lifestyles to parents worldwide, has been featured in several magazines, television, and radio programs; and works to address childhood obesity with schools, parents, and other health professionals.
