Way To Make School Meals Healthy?
The daunting task of preparing nutritious school lunches-which the kids are actually going to eat-can put a damper on your enthusiasm.
As a school mom with thousands of lunches packed, let me give you some tips to support healthier school food:
- Organize your kitchen, so that lunch equipment can be easily found. This means having a cupboard where your lunch boxes are kept sealed.
Get reusable containers for products that, like pears or prums, appear to get squished in sacks. Not only would the kids fail to eat the fruit, it will create mess in the bag you will need to clean up.
- Engage the kids in preparing lunches. The older they are-the more they can help prepare their own lunches. You are more likely to eat what you feed them by having a say in what is packed up.
- Buy ahead and plan well with healthy school lunches. Break the cheese into cubes; cook quick, precut fruit with some eggs.
- In your snack cupboard, have nutritious snacks, etc. They seem to last longer so you already have some healthy snacks at your disposal when you do not have time to rush out to the grocery store.
Buy items that are packaged individually ready to throw in the bin, or get small baggies or reusable containers to carry items for snack.
- For dinner, make extra meals and hold the leftovers to heat in the morning and pack them into a thermos. (Remember adding snack fruits and vegetables). Even residuals from meals can be stored and used for possible lunches.
Prepare what you can the previous night and avoid messy foods, have a strong odor or become mushy.
If most of the lunch ends up in the garbage, it will not satisfy either you or your boy. Planning and planning are the keys to putting together lunches that your kids will love.