Assembling an amazing school lunch isn’t just about cutting sandwiches into cartoon shapes and spelling out “Have a great day!” in raisins (though if that’s your thing, by all means go for it!). Instead of spending hours on difficult lunchbox endeavors, here are five doable strategies that will save you time, simplify lunch packing, and most importantly, help you pack lunches that your kids will actually eat.
1. Invest In A Bento Box.
Location may be everything in real estate, but presentation is everything in lunch packing. Trust me when I say that bento lunchboxes — containers with several separate compartments — have the power to make a completely random assortment of food look stunning. Got a handful of grapes, a few bites of grilled chicken and a half of a bell pepper kicking around in the fridge? Tuck them into the little compartments and they will suddenly look delicious. It’s magic.
2. Use The Rule Of Four.
When I’m packing lunches, I have a mental checklist to make sure I’m covering my bases: a source of protein, a source of carbohydrates (preferably whole grain), a source of calcium, and a fruit or vegetable (preferably both!). As a dietitian, I know there are nutrients that kids need to perform well — like protein to keep them full and carbs to keep their energy up — as well as nutrients that many kids are missing out on, like fiber and potassium. It’s easy to second-guess yourself when making lunches, wondering if what you’re packing is what your child needs, so establishing those four goals in my head simplifies the process.
3. Repurpose Leftovers.
A wise fellow mom once gave me this tip: Pack lunches when you’re cleaning up after dinner. That way you’ve got instant food to pack (leftovers!) and your ingredients are already out anyway. When I started fixing lunch directly after dinner, two things happened: I suddenly reclaimed that time I had spent packing lunch boxes before bed or the next morning. And I discovered that my third grader will happily eat cold roasted broccoli and that my middle schooler likes leftover pasta in a thermos.
4. Cut Yourself Some Slack.
Sure, it’s nice to make meals from scratch when possible. But do yourself a favor and stock some packaged options for lunch boxes, too. When you have an especially hectic morning, you’ll be so glad you did. And, luckily, there are a lot of easy and healthy packaged options available. When I’m at the supermarket, I pick up SimplyNature fruit squeezies and unsweetened applesauce, Happy Farms string cheese, Elevation energy bars and Lunch Buddies mandarin oranges. These can be quickly thrown into lunch boxes. Bonus: They make it easy for your kid to pack his or her own lunch!
5. Think Finger Food.
Most kids don’t have a lot of time to eat lunch at school (or they’re too busy gabbing to their friends to focus on food). But there’s no doubt they need nourishment to get them through the afternoon. I try to pack things they can munch on easily and quickly. That means I try to slice fruit instead of packing it whole, cut sandwiches in half so they’re easy to hold with one hand, and lean on foods that pack a lot of nutrients in a small space like cheese cubes, whole grain crackers, dried fruit and yogurt.
Making healthy food easy and appealing is so important for kids — both at home and at school. This idea prompted a program I started four years ago at my son’s school called The Fruit Ninjas. When I noticed that lots of kids were throwing away the whole oranges and apples that came with the school meal, I decided to organize a group of parent volunteers to slice the fruit for them. Now kids are eating more fresh fruit every day (and the school is now wasting less food too!). You can read more about it here.
With nearly 1,600 stores nationwide locations, including Southern California, ALDI offers a wide variety of affordable priced organic fruits, vegetables and locally grown produce to modern, on-the-go families who care about nutrition. ALDI plans to open additional stores throughout Southern California before the end of the year. By the end of 2018, there will be nearly 2,000 ALDI stores from coast to coast, serving 45 million customers.
Sally Kuzemchak, MS, RD, is a registered dietitian, educator, and mom who serves on the ALDI Advisory Council. She blogs at Real Mom Nutrition and wrote a cookbook for busy families with Cooking Light called Dinnertime Survival Guide. You can find her on Facebook and Twitter.