Saturday, September 8, 2012
Back to School, Back to Lunch !
6:35 PM | 
Posted by
Kaplan Center for Health and Wellness
By Mary Oleksowicz, MSTOM , L. Ac
Welcoming the children to the school year is always a time
filled with memories and hopes. For many mothers, ( including myself) , it is
also a time to try and keep the lunchbox not only healthy but exciting . This week,
we will look at healthy back to school meal options for lunch, breakfast and
dinner !
Diversity in the lunchbox not only makes children more
likely to eat lunch but sets healthy eating habits for the future. As with traditional meal planning , the key
to nutritional health is of course portion size and inclusion of fruits,
veggies and low-fat proteins.
In addition to the traditional sandwiches , Bento box
approached to lunch are great for kids . Bento box lunches and their associated
storage boxes are a great way to allow children to have fun as they eat. The
segmented containers allow space for appropriate portions of not only fruits and protein but also dips to prevent
sogginess! Most children enjoy
snacking and this approach allows you to
quickly and easily “swap” out one or two items during the course of the week to
allow for variety.
Some easy items to try out include:
- Coring and slicing apples and turning them into “bread”, squirt with a bit of apple juice to prevent browning and fill with your favorite nut butter, semi soft cheese or even tuna salad !
- Fruit kabobs on pretzel sticks . You can either prepare or allow older children to build them themselves. I also include cheese or curry and cinnamon baked tofu for protein . Fruit yogurt as a ‘dip’ is also an object .
Be sure to involve the children in the decision process ! Next time we will visit easy breakfast ideas.
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