Peanut reminded me this morning (as I hand him lunch money) that I’ve fallen off the pedestal from being queen of lunch awesomeness. For the majority of the school year I made sure the kids brought healthy lunches they could enjoy and others would drool over. When kids and teachers make comments about the lunch they wished they were eating, you can’t help but throw your hands up in the air and grin ear to ear.
Seems I’ve fallen and have to redeem myself again. Peanut says he misses his lunches and doesn’t want to eat the school food anymore. Can I blame him? School lunches STILL aren’t as healthy as they should be, fun to eat, or really taste that great. And to be honest I miss hearing the raves about my awesome lunches and knowing everything my kids eat are not filled with lots of sugar, fat, and salt.
Something I’ve learned is that healthy meals for kids (and even adults) don’t need to be plain and boring. There are many different ways to present meals to kids that are both fun and healthy to eat.
Forget the all too familiar old sandwich, use other things to fill or wrap in. Think tortillas, flat bread, homemade bread, bagels, lettuce, english muffins, or no wrap at all…
Use different vegetable cutters to add cute designs or add texture to vegetables and fruits. Think crinkle cut carrots…
Use cookie cutters to cut out sandwiches or to make homemade baked “chips”. Tortillas baked in Halloween shapes were a hit with a container of salsa for dipping…
Heat up left overs and put into fun containers. Home cooked dinners bring home away from home…
Think different colors, textures, flavors, and even arrangements. Think “outside of the box”. The more appealing something looks, the more likely it will be eaten.
Looks like it’s back to the mommy kitchen board for me. Time to get creative once again!
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