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How to Pack a
Healthy Lunch As parents we are responsible for the well being of our children. We provide them homes to live in, clean clothes to wear, friends to play with and food to eat. Many of us, however, are overwhelmed with the prospect of getting our children to eat healthy food. Children would rather eat pizza and macaroni and cheese than a carrot stick or apple slice. The good news is that it is easy to sneak in healthy choices and most of the time your kids won't even know! Here are some easy ways to get started. 1. Find out what your kids are willing to eat. Sit down with
your kids and make a list of what they are willing to take in their lunchbox.
Don't worry if all they list are less than healthy items. Set up a weekly
chart and have them choose what they will take for lunch for each day
of the week. Again, don't worry if they just pick unhealthy food. 2. Begin thinking of creative ways to sneak in healthy food. This
can seem overwhelming - it's not! If your child chooses to take a peanut
butter and jelly sandwich, make it on 100% whole grain bread and instead
of jelly add banana or apple slices. If your child chooses pizza make
them yourself. Toast a whole wheat English muffin and top with pizza sauce.
Shred a red bell pepper on top of the sauce and then add mozzarella cheese.
You've just added a vegetable and chances are your child won't even notice!
Try serving fruits and vegetables with dippers - kids love to dip their
food. Good choices are salsa, hummus or guacamole for vegetables and peanut
butter or yogurt for fruits. 3. If something doesn't work, keep trying. If your child isn't
warming to your first ideas, don't give up! Keep thinking of ways to sneak
in those healthy options! You will come up with something that does work
if you are persistent! 4. Always include fruits and vegetables. Even if your child is
less than enthusiastic about eating their five a day keep offering them.
At the same time, leave out cookies, candy and chips. Your child will
be hungry enough to at least try the fruits and vegetables and may even
end up liking them! 5. Model healthy eating. Your child isn't too likely to eat healthy
if they don't see you eating healthy yourself. Pack your lunches together
so your child sees that you are taking the same food. They'll be much
more willing to try it if they know you are too. Don't even buy the junk
- then it won't be available anyway. We all know eating healthy is important. Getting your kids to eat nutritious food doesn't have to be stressful. Find out what they like, come up with some sneaky ways to include healthy choices, don't give up and model healthy eating. With these simple steps, your kids will be eating healthy in no time! Sara Ipatenco is the owner of Smart Health for Families |
