Pack a Healthy Lunch for Kids
You can go to a lot of effort and make a really healthy lunch, but if your kids won't eat it, it's a wasted effort. Today I'm going to focus on young children. These little people can be tricky to please. Here's a few tips to keep in mind:
Little kids don't like food touching
They like bite size finger foods
Plain, simple foods are usually most appealing for young children
Most kids like to dip food in something: for example, they are more likely to eat a carrot dipped in ranch
If you take just a little time on the weekend to cut up a few vegetables, make some dip, roast or braise a chicken or beef roast, boil some eggs etc. It can make packing lunches a snap.
A cute container like a Yum Box works wonders to help healthy food look appealing to kids. It also keeps the food separate, which is a win for kids.
Children are very self conscious about their food! If it looks different from the goldfish crackers, fruit snacks, Capri Sun, and Oreos that are in everyone else's lunch, a child will get teased. Sad, but true. Kids are immature and very aware of anything that is different. They are also quick to point out anyone who is different. I have a friend who's mom is an excellent Thai cook. She would pack him an amazing lunch full of delicious homemade Thai food each day. Other kids would point out that it was different and make fun of him. As a result, he dumped his lunch in the trash every day, preferring to not eat, than to be ridiculed.
Strategy
Sit down with your child and make a list of healthy foods they like in different food groups, such as fruit, vegetable, raw dairy, protein, etc.
Use the list of foods they like to serve as inspiration when packing their lunch.
Get them involved. They'll be a lot more willing to eat it if they have choices and help pack it.
Get feedback when they come home. Ask what they did, or didn't like. Use it as a time for you to learn and adjust, not to lecture them on not wasting food, or what they should or shouldn't be eating.
You'll likely find out information such as: something may be too hard for them to open; something may be troublesome for them to eat; and often they just don't have enough time.
They are excited and often anxious at lunch time. The easier you can make their food choices for them to eat, the more likely they'll be to do it.
Below is a list of foods that may or may not appeal to your child. Talk it over together, mark what they like and add ideas of your own. It's ok, if there's just a few things they're willing to try. Start with that.
Healthy Lunch Options and Ideas
Vegetables
Carrots
Red, Yellow or Orange Bell Peppers
Celery
Cucumber
Frozen Peas
Tomatoes, especially grape or cherry tomatoes
Green Beans- very lightly steamed to make them easier to eat
Broccoli- very lightly steamed to make it easier to eat
Cauliflower
Zucchini
Roast potatoes
Roast sweet potatoes
Sugar or snap peas
Beets - some kids like them roasted. Some kids will eat them shredded raw and beets are a no go for other kids.
Mushrooms
Green Smoothie (see beverage)
Mixed Veggies in a small mason jar with ranch, similar to the picture below, but your jar will have a lid and the veggies will be trimmed shorter.
Lacto-Fermented Vegetables
Pickles
Lemon Dill Sauerkraut See flavor variations at the bottom of the post.
Any vegetable your child likes can be easily fermented into probiotic pickled goodness. Read more about it here.
Fruit
Apples
Grapes
Orange; Kids are not likely to peel an orange and wedges are awkward to eat. For a better option, slice a thick or thin slice in 4ths. It makes for a nice bite size piece.
Strawberry
Cherries
Mango
Peach
Pear
Raspberry
Blueberry
Banana
Grapes
Watermelon
Canteloupe
Pineapple
Kiwi
Plumb
Apricot
Dried Fruit: my daughter loves dried mangoes. Apples and apricots are other kid friendly dried fruit.
Frozen Fruit When you are low on groceries, frozen fruit can come in handy for packing in lunches. Keep in mind, it will release juice as it thaws, so pack accordingly.
Fruit Smoothie (see raw dairy below)
Dip
Hummus My kids don't like store bought hummus, but they love this.
Bean Dip Follow same instructions for hummus, substituting a different legume for chickpeas and omitting the sesame seeds.
Raw Dairy
Plain raw milk, read about raw milk here, under the Raw Dairy heading
Chocolate raw milk
Banana Nut butter raw milk
Fruit Smoothie; follow the mango lassi recipe, substituting other fruit for the mangoes.
Green Smoothie; follow the mango lassi recipe, substituting other vegetables and fruit for the mangoes. Puree leafy greens yogurt or kefir, until smooth, before adding other ingredients.
Raw Yogurt Top with fruit, a drizzle of maple syrup and granola, if desired.
Flavored Kefir: In a blender, puree 2 cups raw milk kefir, 2 Tbsp. of pure, maple syrup and 1/4 cup fresh or frozen fruit.
Raw Cheese: I generally do little bite size cubes. The shape tends to appeal to kids more than a slice. You could also cut it out in fun shapes. Some kids might like it shredded.
Flavored Raw Cheese: Toss cheese cubes in favorite seasoning.
Protein
Legumes: Kids don't always like beans, but they often enjoy hummus, white bean dip, and pinto bean dip. Follow same instructions for hummus, substituting a different legume for chickpeas and omitting the sesame seeds.
Fish
Shrimp
Whole Grains
Whole grain, sourdough Einkorn Crackers
Whole grain, sourdough pancakes, cut in bite size pieces with pure, organic maple syrup to dip it in.
Tip: If your child doesn't like pure maple syrup, add some vanilla to taste and a little cinnamon, optional
Whole grain, sourdough waffles, cut in bite size pieces with pure, organic maple syrup to dip it in. See tip above.
Whole grain, sourdough crepesWhole grain, sourdough banana muffins
Einkorn Parfait
Oatmeal in a thermos
Popcorn Omit honey for a savory version.
Also see, Deconstructed Salads below
Kid friendly Combinations
Carrots and ranch
Vegetable of choice and hummus
Bell peppers and ranch
Celery and nut butter*
Celery and ranch
Apples and raw cheese
Apples and nut butter
Cucumber and ranch
Fruit and chocolate sauce
Banana and chocolate sauce
Apple, yogurt cheese, granola
Veggie and cheese kabob
Crackers and one of the salsa's above under Dips
Vegetable of choice and guacamole
Cheese, apple, crackers
Roll-Ups
Egg salad crepe roll-up
Chicken salad crepe roll-up
Raw cream cheese and fruit roll-up
Hummus or white bean dip or herbed raw cream cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, raw cheese, roll-up
Herbed cream cheese, cucumber sticks, shredded carrot, sprouts, tomato, and roll-up
Soup
Ramen I think I could make this every day and my daughter would be happy.
Taco, tortilla, tomato, chicken and rice, are other kids friendly soups.
Deconstructed Salads
While I can pack the same lunch for my high school kids as I do for my husband and myself, it just doesn't work for a younger child. This is where deconstructed salads come in. Often, I pack the fixings for a salad, that I am making for the rest of the family, in separate compartments in my daughter's Yum Box. Below are a few examples.
Brown rice, quinoa or buckwheat with taco meat and fixings packed separately
Brown rice, quinoa or buckwheat with bulgogi meat and fixings packed separately
Brown rice, quinoa or buckwheat with teriyaki meat and fixings packed separately.
Kid friendly chicken salad: cubed chicken, cubed cheese, cubed apples and/or grapes, diced celery, wild rice all packed individually.
Nicoise: tuna, egg, tomato, green beans, olives, diced roasted or steamed potatoes, and any other veggies child might enjoy and creamy Italian dressing for dipping.
Honey Mustard Chicken: diced chicken, tomato, carrots, and any other veggies child might enjoy with honey mustard dressing to dip vegetables in.
Other
Raw nut trail mix
If you're trying to convert a fruit snack addict to healthier fare, try something like this.
See my post on How to Pack it all Up