With school starting, you are probably looking for ways to make your child’s lunch nutritious, tasty, and easy to fix. One way to handle the inevitable, “What’s for lunch today?” question is to make a menu at the beginning of each month or week. Have your child come up with a list of favorite foods and then round them out with some healthy additions. Chart them onto your calendar and the chore of coming up with ideas is completed.
If your lunch choices seem too boring, try adding variety to the mix. Instead of just sliced bread for sandwiches, use pita bread, bagels, English muffins, hot dog buns, or tortillas. Use cookie cutters to cut sandwiches and fruit slices into fun shapes. Make a pizza sandwich by spreading pizza sauce, cheese, and some toppings inside a split pita bread. Fill a cored apple with peanut butter and raisins. Add surprises like popcorn balls, or dry cereal and shredded coconut for sprinkling on desserts. Instead of jelly, top peanut butter sandwiches with raisins, sunflower seeds, or honey.
To make lunch preparation easier, consider freezing your bread first. You won’t tear the bread when spreading with peanut butter and the sandwich will be thawed and fresh by lunchtime. Buy some small plastic containers to hold leftovers after dinner. These can be sent for lunch with little prep time in the morning.
To make lunch fun, write a little note with a joke or riddle. Include a picture, comic strip, or word game to add even more enjoyment.
Enclave at Woodbridge Apartments in Sugar Land, Texas realizes how important your child’s health is. We invite you to incorporate these suggestions into your child’s daily meal plan.