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.

Now that we’ve gotten half way through the school year it can sometimes be challenging to come up with creative lunch ideas. I find it helpful to mix up the lunch gear, bags and foods I use in order to keep things interesting.

In this lunch we’ve put together some California rolls, veggies, grapes and a side bag with rice crackers. I find that kids really enjoy the bento style when it comes to their lunches because it’s visually appealing, it keeps foods from touching and it just makes it more fun!  There are all kinds of great lunch gear these days…I love using re-useable cloth bags instead of clear plastic bags…especially ones with fruit and veggie graphics!!

We also always do our best to include at least two colors of produce into every lunch we prepare as we’re always striving to eat a rainbow of colorful fruit and veggies everyday!

Happy Healthy Eating
Kia

Kia Robertson is a mom, children’s book author and the creator of the Today I Ate A Rainbow kit; a tool that helps parents establish healthy habits by setting the goal of eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables every day. Kia is passionate about creating tools that help parents raise healthy kids!

Our school year is winding down, just two weeks to go, that means we won’t be making school lunches for a couple of months!  So before we put away our lunch gear I thought I’d share how we tackle school lunches! Making lunches is a group effort at our house…that way one person isn’t left having to make lunches every single day. We have fun putting together healthy combinations and since we’re the Today I Ate A Rainbow family, we’re always sure to include colourful fruits and veggies!!!

I  like to involve Hannah in the lunch making process because I think it’s important for her to feel comfortable in kitchen and learn skills that will last a lifetime! We usually put together her lunches the night before school because our mornings are busy enough! She washes the fruit and veggies, chops things that are easy such as cucumbers, fills her water bottle and helps out any way that she can.  Our goal is for her to make her own lunches so the more we teach her now…the sooner that will happen!

The only thing I always do myself, is write her a note. Sometimes it’s a knock knock joke, sometimes it’s just a funny doodle, and others are messages of encouragement and love! It’s a way for me to be a part of her day at school and remind her that she’s special!

Making lunches together is a great time to connect with your child!  If your kids are finished the school year already then get them involved in making lunches at home!  Maybe they’ll even make you lunch one day!

Happy Healthy Eating
Kia

Kia Robertson is a mom and the creator of the Today I Ate A Rainbow kit; a tool that helps parents establish healthy habits by setting the goal of eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables every day. Kia is passionate about creating tools that help parents raise healthy kids!