Packing different healthy lunch ideas for kids everyday requires a lot of planning and creativity and add it to it the concerns of making the meals healthy and nutritious. It might seem like a daunting task but we have creative solutions for you.

One of the biggest challenges that one meets when trying to eat or live healthily is making healthy meals on the go. This is most especially so when it involves children. However, with the right plans and with some creativity as well - you can create simple meals that are nutritious and fun to eat as well.

One of the most important parts when it comes to creating brown bag lunches is choosing the right foods that will be placed into those brown bags. This is very important because when you place in foods that your family loves, you can be sure that they will also eat what they bring, instead of trading them in for Twinkies.

When you create a healthy brown bag lunch for your family, try to put in at least three from the following choices:

 One serving of canned, fresh or frozen fruit or vegetable. You can also have fruit salad.

One serving of whole grain product like skim milk, nonfat yogurt, cheese or yogurt drink.

A serving of meat, peanut butter, eggs, legumes, hummus and other forms of protein.

When you prepare brown bag lunches for your family, you can also include your whole family in the process. You can gather them around the kitchen and lunch choices on the table - that way, they get to choose what they want to eat. Involving the children in their meals preparation helps them understand the importance of making healthy food choices at an early age.

 

When you pack your family's lunch bags, you can throw in some creativity - let them choose their own lunch boxes or bags. Other healthy lunch ideas for kids when it comes to packing brown bag lunches are to set aside a shelf that's accessible to your family. Place all packaging materials such as plastic bags, paper bags, plastic utensils, straws and table napkins. This way, they can easily prepare healthy take out meals on their own as well.

One of the biggest problems when coming up with healthy lunch ideas for kids is making sure your little ones will actually eat them! There is no point preparing a lunch, if your kids swap it with their classmates, or when at home, simply push it around the plate and hope you don't notice.

One great way of getting round this is by making kids part of the healthy eating process. Getting them to start preparing their meals and at the same time educating them about healthy lunch ideas for kids.

The key with this is to start off easy. Try something like a feta chicken roll-up with humus or low-fat ranch dressing. The key is to pick something that will be fun for them to do (with supervision) and rolls-ups are always fun (but usually messy!). Pita bread is also a great, fun option for the kids. Help them make a tuna salad with light mayo, celery and onion. An alternative to this is to add tomato and avocado instead. Your kids will have great fun stuffing this mix in to a pita!

Although you will only provide healthy ingredients, let them make choices within healthy parameters. Ask them about the foods they would like to put into their wrap. Ask them why and describe a little bit about the nutritional value of the food at the same time. This means that kids are having fun and learning all at once!

When your kids have a little more knowledge about healthy lunch ideas for kids, I think it's a great idea to make them part of the menu organization for the week. You can start healthy lunch ideas for kids; just give them a few choices. Would they prefer carrot sticks or celery sticks? Which snacks would they like, humus or salsa and re-fried beans.

Whichever option they go for, encourage them and keep educating them to the healthy aspects of each of their choices. Maybe, even try some new combinations together - even when they do not work, this is great fun!

Making sure our kids eat healthy food has, rightly so, become a national obsession and I am sure, like most parents, you want healthy lunch ideas for kids to help your kids be motivated, full of energy and reaching their true potential.

Whole Wheat or Multi Grain Bread - Sandwiches are staples when it comes to lunch bags, but stay away from the white bread. Similarly, use whole wheat flour for making muffins and pies for lunch boxes. If possible, homemade bread is a wonderful option.

Healthy Dips - Dips are the life of toddler and kid's lunch boxes. You can make them healthier by replacing store-bought ketchup with homemade dips made of fresh tomatoes and vegetables or hummus.

Hot Lunches in a Thermos - Pack hot lunches that can be made in quickly in a thermos so that they remain hot till lunch break. You can pack rice or brown rice in the thermos and top it with baked beans in sauce, chili, thick meaty soups, pasta sauces etc.

Homemade McDonald's Meals - Kids love anything that comes out of a McDonald's box. Give them the same dose of fun by packing homemade burgers, pizzas and hot dogs for lunch.

Sit down with your kids and create a list of healthy lunch ideas for kids. Pack leftovers. Place lunch-worthy leftovers in the lunch box area in your refrigerator.

Encourage new items. Have your kids make their own nutritious lunches. Prepare shredded vegetables, meat and sauce, include a tortilla and let them assemble their own lunch at school.

Great healthy lunch ideas for kids are easy to find if you follow these rules: Keep it simple, don't overstretch yourself, get your little one's input and introduce things slowly. You will be a family full of healthy eaters in no time.  

 

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