Lunch often gets gone astray in the hustle and bustle of getting kids off to school in the morning. Busy kids necessitate a healthy school lunch to boost their energy which ultimately led them to concentrate and learn on their school tasks.

Many of you may prefer to give your child lunch money rather than pack a midday meal, but it’s worth reconsidering bag lunch boxes as they are much healthier than standard cafeteria food items. Mostly it’s often difficult for moms to decide what to give for lunch that should be nutritious and healthy.

It’s not that easy to make healthy changes in kids. Encourage kids to help prepare their lunch, also make a food list of their choices for their lunch box and praise your child when they choose healthy foods for their lunch box. There are limited times for children to eat, especially at school. Children may prefer to play with friends rather than eating.

Packed Lunch Boxes:

It’s very important to make sure that kids lunch boxes should be healthy, this means food with lot of nutrients that fulfill children’s needs. A balanced packed lunch should contain.

• Starchy foods: These are bread, rice, potatoes, and pasta.
• Protein foods: Includes meat, fish, eggs, beans and others.
• A dairy item: this could be a flavored milk, cheese or yogurt.
• Vegetables or salad and a portion of fruit.

Starchy foods are good source of energy, and should make up a third of the lunch box. Obviously instead of sandwiches, you can give bagels, pita bread, and wraps. Give priority to brown or whole meal instead of white bread.
Children prefer finger foods like whole meal crackers or breadsticks with a low fat cheese spread. Replace chocolate bars and cakes with fresh fruits, dried fruits or unsalted nuts.  Give variety in foods daily like, kiwi or melon.

Useful Lunch Box Tips:

Following are some healthy lunch box tips that you can offer your kid;

• A sandwich made with lean meat, light tuna fish or peanut butter with jelly.
• You can boost nutrition and increase your child’s interest in his/her lunch box by adding a shredded cabbage, chopped celery or water chestnut to an egg or tuna salad. Also try this one, combine chopped grapes with diced chicken and mayonnaise for a tasty chicken salad.
• Tortilla wraps with shredded cheese, chopped chicken and cut vegetables.
• A cup of low-fat yogurt, whole wheat cracker and a fruit.
• 1-2 tablespoons of wholegrain crackers or bagel and fruit or vegetables.
• ½ cup low fat cottage cheese, whole grain crackers and cherry tomatoes.

Find Out Why Your Kid is Not Interested in Having Lunch?

Most of the time it’s a serious question for moms that why my child left his / her food?
This situation can be frustrating; there are many reasons for this. Following points might help you out;

• Your child may have an issue with his/ her lunch box container. They might prefer a brown paper bag or want a latest fashion in lunch boxes, or it may be difficult for them to open.
• Include a variety; same menu can bore your child’s appetite. For younger children, cut the sandwiches into different shapes, like triangles, squares or strips.
• Make sure the food is not sticky, and is manageable and easy to eat. Some children are put off by fiddly packaging or just don’t like getting sticky hands.
•  Fruits should be made easier to eat like, peel an orange and cut into sections, or cut a kiwi fruit in half and include a spoon in the lunch box.
• If your child hardly eats anything from their lunch box despite your best effort, try to ensure that they have a nutritious breakfast and dinner.

With all the above suggestions and tips, it’s for sure that you’ll be able to levy the nutritional importance of a healthy lunch box, and also this will help you to understand how to handle the daily lunch box hassles.