By Wendy

Labor Day is over and the kids have officially started school! Now it’s time to shift gears and start thinking about how you can pack a healthy school lunch for your kids to ensure they get all the nutrients they need to satisfy their hunger and growing bodies. From all the back to back classes kids have these days, it’s important you give them healthy food that tastes great and gets their brains working. Here are 5 tips on how to pack a healthy school lunch for your children:

1- Pack a well-balanced lunch: this should include something from each major food group. This will help your kids get a good variety of delicious foods to enjoy at lunch that will keep them full and alert for their afternoon classes.

2- Involve your kids in packing lunch: getting input from your kids on what they want to eat will get them excited about their lunch and ensures they eat it. The last thing you want is for your kids to bring home an uneaten school lunch and be hungry for the entire school day.

3- Avoid anything with peanuts: more and more schools are banning lunches that contain peanuts and/or products containing traces of peanut oils.  So leave the peanut butter and anything else that may contain traces of peanuts, at home for their afterschool snack.

4- Keep foods at the right temperature: for items that should be cold, use mini ice packs. For hot foods, try using a thermos. Lunch bags with insulation can do double duty, like this great insulated lunch bag that are not only cute but reusable.

5- Make school lunch preparation quick and easy to pack: this will make it easy for you to get everything packed and ready to go in the morning without too much stress.

Hope these tips help you give your kids a healthy school lunch that will help keep them full and alert for the entire school day. Do you have any other great tips on how to pack a healthy, well-balanced lunch? We’d love to hear them!

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Wendy Yu is a digital marketing professional living in New York City. When she’s not using the power of social media to share ideas on how to be more environmentally friendly, she is exploring the city, trying local foods, and learning more about how she can reduce her carbon footprint.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Green Halloween® or our partners.

Packing a “zero waste” lunch (that’s healthier for your child and the planet)

School is back in swing and, for many parents, that means packing disposable lunches.

But did you know that according to www.wastefreelunches.org doing so creates an average of 67 pounds of waste per year? For the average elementary school, that’s 18,000 pounds a year. For the entire country of elementary schools? It equals  1.2 billion pounds.

Fear not, busy moms and dads, we’ve got six simple ways you can save the planet and your money, too.

1.      Do away with disposable paper bags and choose reusable lunch boxes, bags or baskets instead. Be sure they’re durable (so they’ll last) and PVC and lead-free. Bags or boxes made of recycled materials such as old soda bottles earn you bonus points.

2.      Pack food in reusable containers rather than disposable paper, wax, foil or plastic. This option is also the safest for your child when you choose organic cotton, stainless steel or glass instead. How to save money? Save small glass jars from other foods and reuse for lunches.

3.      Send beverages in reusable stainless steel containers. Skip the plastic and coated aluminum.

4.      Use cloth napkins. Buy or make yourself using pinking shears and squares cut from (sturdy) fabric scraps. Cotton and naturally anti-microbial hemp are ideal materials.

5.      Choose reusable utensils: stainless steel (find at a thrift store) or bamboo.

6.      Ask your child to bring all uneaten food and food scraps home. Compost. OR, talk to your child’s school about starting a composting program there.

Resources:

• http://www.myhealthyschool.com
• http://www.greenschools.net
• http://www.greenschoolsalliance.org

School activity: Our 4th annual ChicoBag & Green Halloween trick-or-treat design contest will soon be open for all children up to age 13! What a fun, fall activity for family or classroom. Last year’s contest was featured in Real Simple magazine and 10% of the sale of the bags support the national Green Halloween® initiative. If your student artist would like to enter, click here for details. BONUS: Here’s a free Green Halloween teacher’s toolkit with even more ways to celebrate the season sustainably!

And check out Green Halloween founder, Corey Colwell-Lipson‘s, ideas for an “Eco-Friendly Lunchbox” in ParentMap magazine!

Green Halloween® is a nationwide non-profit initiative started by mother-daughter team Corey Colwell-Lipson and Lynn Colwell. In 2011, Green Halloween became a program of EcoMom® Alliance and has events in cities across the U.S.