Making Lunch Fun

Parents are always on the look-out for ways to get their children to eat more healthfully. School lunches can be especially problematic, since parents have no control over what is served in the cafeteria. One smart approach is to fill lunch boxes with foods that children will actually eat, and that will keep them away from the lunch line and the vending machine! Packing some fun into a lunch box can certainly make a parent's "nutrition mission" that much easier to accomplish. Making lunch fun is easy with a few guidelines and a little creativity. The most important requirement is knowledge of the individual child's likes and dislikes. If someone hates corn every time it's served at home, it's doubtful he'll be happy to see it in his lunch box.

Those pre-packed boxes found in the deli meat case are favorites of children everywhere (you know the ones, with the sugary drink and candy), but don't exactly qualify as health food. Homemade versions of Lunchables are not difficult to put together, and children can help prepare them. That can be a fun activity in itself. Use favorite luncheon meats and cheeses, and cut with cute cookie cutters to the approximate size of crackers. These can travel in separate containers, and assembled at school. Add a drink and dessert, and lunch is good to go.

Sandwich pinwheels made with tortillas are easy to assemble, and they make an attractive presentation. Choose tortilla size as appropriate for the diner. Taco-sized are fine for many younger children, but older diners or those with bigger appetites might prefer the burrito-sized variety. The process is simple: Spread a tortilla lightly with mayonaise or cream cheese, and layer with choice of luncheon meat and/or cheese, lettuce and tomato, and roll up. Rolls can be sliced into 1-inch sections and secured by packing tightly together in a sandwich container. The pinwheel idea is also very good with non-meat options. Try tuna, egg salad, or hummus with thinly-sliced cucumber. Yum!

Since children love to "dip" (one of the few times it's okay to play with their food), parents usually can't go wrong adding a dip-able to the lunch box, whether as entree or dessert. Some popular ones include:

-the timeless favorite of carrot and celery sticks with a small container of Ranch dressing;
-chicken nuggets with a side of BBQ sauce or ketchup;
-sliced apples with a small side of caramel sauce;
-strawberries, sliced peaches, kiwi, or apples with vanilla-flavored yogurt for dipping.
Depending on age appropriateness, fruit kabobs are also a nice treat. All it takes is a wooden skewer and melon balls, pineapple, and strawberries (or any fruit of choice that stays on the skewer.) Simply alternate fruit pieces on the skewer, pack, and go!
So you see how simple it can be to make lunch fun for children. Along with the ideas given here, all it takes is a little planning and creativity to end the lunch box blues for good.