As a parent, one of the main things that you will be aware of is the need to keep your kids healthy. There is so much information in the media about childhood obesity at the moment that all parents feel under an increasing amount of pressure to ensure that their child is eating a healthy and well balanced diet. One of the areas where this can easily be addressed is in packed lunches. It would be easy to just put together a few prepacked snacks, but this is not always particularly healthy. The following tips will help you to create the perfect packed lunch to keep your kids happy and healthy!
Keeping Little Tummies Full
it is important to give your child a lunch that is going to fill their tummy and keep them feeling satisfied until dinner. This will also help them to concentrate on their afternoon school activities. However, there is a balance between providing filling foods and those which are going to make your child feel sluggish and tired. Instead of falling back on the usual sandwich you might want to consider adding a dish of pasta salad or a flask of soup as an alternative. Wraps are also a good option as these can be filled with almost anything from vegetables and meat to cheese and salad. This is a really great way to incorporate healthier foods into the lunch.
Livening Up The Lunch Box
Sometimes it can get a little boring eating the same combination of foods day after day. Instead of doing the basic sandwich, fruit and juice box why not think of some creative ways to make lunchtime a little more interesting. A great option is to make up small pots of jelly and drop in a few pieces of fresh fruit before it sets. This is almost like digging for treasure! You can also change things up by making a little finger food buffet some days. You could include chicken strips, cherry tomatoes, cubes of cheese and some bread sticks.
Lunch Need Not Break The Bank
Parents often find that packing lunch every day can be expensive, but this need not be the case. There are plenty of main meals which can work well in lunch boxes. For example, if you do a roast dinner on a Sunday, then the leftover meat can be added to some salad for lunch boxes on Monday. Dishes like macaroni cheese or sausage rolls can also make great lunch time food. Simply freeze leftovers in small portions that can be used throughout the week.
Keeping your kids healthy can be a challenge, but there are lots of fun ways to make packed lunches better by including home cooked food and fresh ingredients instead of relying on chips and candy.