It’s that time of year again! D
Lunches seem to be the most common meal people struggle with; finding something tasty, healthy, something your child will eat, and still keep it uncomplicated can be a challenge for many. I personally find breakfast and dinners easy to throw together. But lunches do feel a little more like a chore at times, especially when I have worked
If you have kids, then you know the struggle of putting together a healthy packed school lunch that they have to take responsibility and eat on there own. Not to mention, finding something to pack that they will actually eat! So if you’re thinking “what the heck am I going to make my little one(s) for lunch”, I hear you loud and clear! This is why I’ve put together a couple of healthy lunch box ideas that are toddler/kid-approved!
Even if you have the pickiest eater on your hand and say that “there is nothing my kid will eat!” don’t stress, all of it is fazes they go through. Try to focus on the stuff they will eat and just make it a bit better. If this means your child is eating pasta for the 6th time this week, don’t worry about it! Try a rice-based pasta instead of gluten and just keep trying to introduce healthy foods and make sure they taste really good too!
Im going to focus on mainly finger food lunches. I find that finger food is always the easiest to pack and you can incorporate some really great things that are finger foods. Remember keep it simple! I also will add a few ideas for cooked lunch meals. Trust me you will find something in here that will work for you!
Finger foods:
- sliced meats (look for nitrate-free lunch meats)
- sliced cheeses (avoid Kraft single slices, look for smaller companies)
- organic animal crackers
- seed crackers (Mary’s)
- olives
- Pickles
- cut-up fruit – grapes, melon, apples, mango, watermelon, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, kiwi, bananas, oranges…
- sliced veggies – cucumbers, carrots, celery (with goat cheese instead of cheese wiz), broccoli, cauliflower, peas, baby tomatoes, mushrooms…
- cubed roasted chicken, turkey, roast beef, sausages….
Hard boiled eggs- homemade dips and sauces – bbq sauce, mayo, hummus…
- any organic/ good for you pre-packaged snacks that are nut-free
Cooked or prepared lunch ideas….. that are not sandwiches
- Homemade pizza or flatbread with simple toppings on it. – grocery stores have awesome ready to top flatbreads and organic simple pizzas that you can jazz up yourself with things like – bacon, different cheeses, veggies, pineapple…. customize it for your wee ones!
- Homemade chicken fingers (recipe on Better Health Clinics blog)
- Creamy broccoli salad (recipe on BetterHealth Clinics blog)
- Two bite egg and bacon muffins (recipe on BetterHealth Clinics blog)
- Power smoothie – great for a fast healthy breakfast (recipe on BetterHealth Clinics blog)
- Blueberry chia pudding
Hopefully some of these ideas you can roll with and will help you get some healthy nutrious food into your wee ones.
