Yes, you can find a sack lunch that your kids will like and that’s healthy, too—even if they don’t know it!
If you commonly open your child’s lunch box after school only
to find half of its contents untouched, don’t despair; Sally Sampson,
founder of the family cooking magazine ChopChop,
has some tips to make school lunch planning and prep a little easier.
We also asked Sampson to suggest kid-tested ideas that work well for
sack lunches, then grouped them into three mix-and-match lists (see “Lunch Box Boogie”, below) for a fun way to put together some back-to-school lunch menus.
Involve your child in preparing his own lunches. “Kids who cook have a more diverse palate,” says Sampson, who has authored 21 cookbooks. “Cooking” could be as simple as tossing a salad or stuffing almonds into dates; whatever the dish, Sampson has found that children are more likely to eat it when they’ve helped make it.
Don’t force your child to eat a certain food. If your child is reluctant to try something new, just keep including it in her lunch box. Eventually, she might very well decide on her own to give it a taste.
Combine new foods with favorite ones. Doing this can help overcome some kids’ resistance to eating unfamiliar or just plain unliked ingredients. “If you pair the hated food with the beloved food,” Sampson says, “it creates a conflict, and they’ll want to try it.”
Shift (gradually) to healthier versions of familiar foods. Switching from standard pasta to whole wheat, for example, or from whole milk to low-fat is a relatively simple way to boost kids’ intake of nutritious foods. To make new flavors easier to get used to, start by substituting a quarter of the total amount with the healthier food, then slowly increase that quantity until the original food is phased out.
Apply the morning clothes principle to school lunches. The popular trick that makes it easier for some parents to get their kids dressed before school—you know, offering them shirt A or shirt B instead of the whole closet—works just as well with meals. “Do you want the apple or the banana with your lunch today?” lets children express their preferences without opening up the entire kitchen pantry for discussion.
Have a variety of food items readily available. This is a good one for parents and kids, and can be useful both for school lunch boxes and after-school snacks. For example, wash and cut up a batch of strawberries and leave the bowl on the counter; that way, you’ll reach for those first if your child needs a little something extra in her lunch bag or you need a quick bite before dinner.
Involve your child in preparing his own lunches. “Kids who cook have a more diverse palate,” says Sampson, who has authored 21 cookbooks. “Cooking” could be as simple as tossing a salad or stuffing almonds into dates; whatever the dish, Sampson has found that children are more likely to eat it when they’ve helped make it.
Don’t force your child to eat a certain food. If your child is reluctant to try something new, just keep including it in her lunch box. Eventually, she might very well decide on her own to give it a taste.
Combine new foods with favorite ones. Doing this can help overcome some kids’ resistance to eating unfamiliar or just plain unliked ingredients. “If you pair the hated food with the beloved food,” Sampson says, “it creates a conflict, and they’ll want to try it.”
Shift (gradually) to healthier versions of familiar foods. Switching from standard pasta to whole wheat, for example, or from whole milk to low-fat is a relatively simple way to boost kids’ intake of nutritious foods. To make new flavors easier to get used to, start by substituting a quarter of the total amount with the healthier food, then slowly increase that quantity until the original food is phased out.
Apply the morning clothes principle to school lunches. The popular trick that makes it easier for some parents to get their kids dressed before school—you know, offering them shirt A or shirt B instead of the whole closet—works just as well with meals. “Do you want the apple or the banana with your lunch today?” lets children express their preferences without opening up the entire kitchen pantry for discussion.
Have a variety of food items readily available. This is a good one for parents and kids, and can be useful both for school lunch boxes and after-school snacks. For example, wash and cut up a batch of strawberries and leave the bowl on the counter; that way, you’ll reach for those first if your child needs a little something extra in her lunch bag or you need a quick bite before dinner.
Lunch Box Boogie
Choose one item from each column or read across a row for a well-rounded and fun sack lunch; a frozen juice box or insulated pack is great for keeping lunch bags cold.
MAIN COURSES |
SIDE DISHES |
DESSERTS |
| Chicken salad With a twist: Season the chicken with tarragon for a new flavor |
Bell peppers with cherry tomatoes With a twist: Roast along with zucchini and squash for a dish that’s good hot or cold |
Banana-cocoa bread |
| Tuna salad With a twist: Try low-fat yogurt instead of mayo to moisten the tuna |
Whole grain crackers | Fresh fruit kebabs |
| Peanut butter and jelly sandwich With a twist: Spread the peanut butter on a rice cake or corn cakes instead of bread |
Lightly steamed (still crunchy) green beans or shelled edamame beans | Carrot cupcake |
| Vegetarian or turkey chili | Corn bread | Dates stuffed with almonds |
| Hummus or white bean dip With a twist: Make a salad instead by sautéing whole chickpeas or white beans with greens like spinach or kale |
Pita chips and raw veggies | 1 or 2 squares of dark chocolate |
| Tabouli | Sesame noodles | Frozen grapes |
| Corn and black bean salad | Ranch dressing and veggie sticks | Dried cherries and golden raisins |
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