Healthy Lunch, Happy Child

"When the bell rang for lunch Frances sat down next to her friend Albert.  "What do you have today? said Frances.  "I have a cream cheese-cucumber-and-tomato sandwich on rye bread," said Albert.  "And a pickle to go with it.  And a hard-boiled egg and a little cardboard shaker of salt to go with that.  And a thermos bottle of milk.  And a bunch of grapes and a tangerine.  And a cup custard with a spoon to eat it with. What do you have?"  "

 That priceless segment from Bread and Jam For Frances by Russell and Lillian Hoban makes me smile every time. It reminds me of my middle-school days...my friends and I sitting around the big round lunch table, with our lunches proudly spread out on our napkins. We talked and ate and talked some more, until the lunch lady kicked us out for our daily dose of the playground. That was in the 70's, before the tidal-wave of pre-packaged and largely unhealthy snacks hit the market. Sure, a few of the 'lucky' kids brought potato chips or the occasional Hostess ho-ho, but for the most part, we ate sandwiches, apples, carrot sticks and homemade cookies for dessert.

Browsing through the Sunday newspaper supplements this morning, I got the impression that in today's world a typical packed lunch consists of processed lunchable-type meals, corn-syrup based yogurt drinks, plastic cups of fruit or pudding, artificially colored 'fruit snacks' and sugar-laden cereal bars. These things might be OK every once in awhile, but on a regular basis they are BAD NEWS for the health of our kids. 

But it doesn't have to be this way. It's really quite easy to pack a healthy lunch - and you don't have to spend a lot of time or money. Here are some tips for packing a healthy lunch that your kids will love...

Sandwiches & Beyond

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  (image by Fauxtographical via flickr)
  There's nothing wrong with a plain old sandwich, but you might score more points by trying something new...
• Instead of peanut butter & jelly, try almond butter & agave nectar.
• Instead of ham & cheese, try a healthy BLT (made with nitrate-free turkey bacon.)
• Instead of plain bread, try a tortilla wrap, mini pitas or rice cakes (I recently discovered some very thinly sliced, round, multigrain sandwich thins that my boys like a lot.)
• Use cookie cutters to cut sandwiches into cute shapes (just be sure not to waste the scraps...)
• If your child doesn't mind cold food...pizza, grilled cheese or quesadilla wedges can be a nice change of pace.
• Hard-boiled eggs are a good non-sandwich protein.
• Send leftovers of their favorite dinner foods in an insulated thermos. 
• For more healthy lunchbox ideas, check the Vegan Lunch Box cookbook and blog by Jennifer McCann. 

Fruits & Veggies 

• Send your child to school with a rainbow...of colorful fruits & vegetables!
• Prep veggies like cucumbers, red pepper slices or broccoli florets ahead to save time in the morning.
• If you don't have time to prep, pack something easy like grapes, strawberries or baby carrots
• Kids love to dip - so send along a little dipping sauce like ranch dressing, hummus or even this honey-cream cheese fruit dip.
• Check the EWG's shopper's guide to pesticides in produce to know when to buy organic. 

Snacks

• Contrary to popular belief, kids to not need chips in their lunch everyday!
• Send healthier snacks like trail mix, whole grain crackers or pretzels instead.
• Skip the individually packaged snacks - they are wasteful and unnecessary.  A reusable snack bag or small container holds snacks just fine.  (Beware - many organic and natural products tempt you with cute individual packages...so buy a box of bunnies, and leave the little bags behind :))  
• Check the bulk bins at your co-op or grocery store - you may find some fun snack ideas there (just stay away from the malted milk balls, OK?)  I recently found these low-sugar, gummy hearts that are a big hit in the lunchbox! 

Something Sweet 

• My kids always want something sweet in their lunch but I am trying to get away from it....
• Natural fruit leather is plenty sweet. The downside is, it only comes in individual servings. (has anyone had luck making their own? I tried once and failed miserably.)
• I'm not opposed to sending trail mix with some of those healthier M&M's (Sundrops) mixed in every once in awhile. 
• Fig bars or other healthier cookies (I try to stay away from individually packaged cereal/granola bars, but sometimes a Z-bar finds it's way into the lunchbox)
• Matt's cookies - my favorite store-bought brand (made w/out preservatives)
• Homemade cookies - healthier than store-bought cookies laden with preservatives and artificial ingredients.  Here's a recipe for my favorite healthy peanut butter chocolate chip cookies - I use 1/2 white whole wheat, 1/2 all purpose flour.

And of course pack it all up in a reusable lunch bag with a cloth napkin and a reusable water bottle!

What are your tips for packing a healthy, kid-friendly, earth-friendly lunch? 

Comments

[Beth Terry, aka Fake Plastic Fish]

I am loving all these lunch ideas... not for kids, but for me! Following links starting with The Vegan Lunchbox (thanks for that, by the way!) I stumbled across this list of 101 summer salads. I think I have found a new project:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/dining/22mlist.html

Eating healthfully with little to no plastic is a big challenge!

[Green Bean]

Great minds think alike!! I totally remember those lunches that my mom passed. Things I see kids eating these days bear no resemblance. Not good for the environment. Not good for our kids.

Thanks for some new ideas. I'm off to pack lunch for summer camp tomorrow and I guess I'll hold the individually wrapped bag of Cheetos. Just kidding! ;-)

[Anna (Green Talk)]

Great post. I struggle with my boys to eat healthy lunches. They always want the chips.

I also like your chocolate chips recipe you listed. I made one similar to it this weekend and subbed agave (2/3rd to 1) for the sugar and brown sugar. Came out pretty good. My kids said they were fine but still wanted store bought...

[Micaela]

great idea to sub agave for the sugar...I wonder if it changes the texture? I'm going to try it.

[Micaela]

Beth - what an excellent list of summer salads - I bookmarked that instantly!

[Jennifer Taggart,]

Great ideas! I've been making my own version of pre packaged lunches to satisfy my kid (and his desire to be like his friends). Dipping sauces with veggies go over pick, particularly with lots of little containers. My son also loves apple sandwiches - apple slices, peanut butter and raisins . . .

[Micaela]

Jennifer - I love the apple/raisin/peanut butter sandwich idea. Totallytrying that...and soon!

Mindful Momma
http://www.mindfulmomma.com

[Stephanie - Green SAHM]

My daughter is much opposed to most sandwiches, with the exception of grilled cheese made with mozzarella. She rejects quesadillas too.

I make a recipe we call Sand & Shells for her a lot. It has seashell pasta mixed into cooked cracked wheat. She loves it!

Add in some veggies and whatever fruit is at a good price (she loves apples) and my daughter is quite content with what we send in her lunch bag.

And of course her drink in a small Kleen Kanteen. I let her decorate it with some paint pens I had from an old project, and added her name to it. Works great, and she gets mad when field trips come around and they say it all has to be disposable.

[mother earth aka karen hanrahan]

For years we ate something salty/crunchy as a necessity at lunch. Last year we shifted to nuts and seeds packed in baby food jars - perfectly proportioned and if you rotate the varieties it keeps things interesting

[Lisa]

Thanks for all the ideas! My husband takes a lunch each day so these will be helpful.

[mcmilker]

great sandwich ideas - we struggle with that. i recently found fruit leather that comes in a long roll to snip off the bit you want - still a little extra packaging but at least not individual servings

[Sam from Healthy Lunch Ideas]

That was definitely one of my favorite books as a child. I get giddy when I get to read it to children now adays.

[meghan]

Great ideas!!!
I am so using these.

[Jennifer Lo Prete]

Thanks for the new ideas! We recently moved to Barcelona and packing my children's lunches here has thrown me out of my lunch packing rut. Kid's school lunches are several course meals. Nothing pre-packaged except for the lucky kid with yogurt for dessert. I wrote a blog about children's school lunches in Barcelona not that long ago: http://www.orangepolkadot.com/my_weblog/2009/07/childrens-school-lunches.html.

[Rachel R.]

Have you found whole-grain pretzels? Regular pretzels really aren't much better than potato chips - and probably less healthy than many corn chips.

[Ara]

Interesting! Would like to try these ideas someday. Definitely! Well, you might like to try using the stainless steel four tier latch tiffin from Happy Tiffin. You can add any different kinds of your favorite food/snack in four separate plates. By using the stainless steel container, these healthy packed lunch ideas would be more nutritious. The latch tiffins are reusable, eco-friendly, and affordable. Its perfect for camping trips, educational trips, office lunch breaks and tours. ;-)

[Sara S.]

I just got linked to this via today's blog post. I have ALWAYS loved the descriptions of food in the Frances books! I would get hungry just reading them to the kids.

[Julian]

Yes indeed, a healthy lunch make our child being happy.

[Kristin]

Great article & tips! Wanted to pass along a resource from the org I work for that might be useful: www.whatsonmyfood.org. It makes USDA data on pesticides in food searchable - so you can find out what chemicals are likely to be on that apple and those carrots - and what health harms they've been linked to. This can help us parents decide when it's most important to look for organic..

[aviva]

Thanks for this. I LOVE that Frances book, especially that passage. It's amazing to read a book to your child that you loved yourself and re-experience that childhood enjoyment of it.

I also appreciate the lunch advice, although my son is so picky that many of the suggestions won't work for him. I did need the reminder about hard-boiled eggs, which he likes. I couldn't get to the healthy choc-chip cookie recipe, for some reason. I'd love to check that out.

Thanks again, MindfulMomma! :)

[Micaela]

So glad you like the post Aviva. I fixed the link to the cookies so you should be able to access it now!