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One of my friends in high school had a bologna sandwich in his lunch every day I knew him; and every day for ten years before that. To this day he can’t pass packaged bologna without wanting to throw up in the butcher aisle. I remember wondering to myself what his mother’s problem was. Was she lazy? Was he that picky? What was the big deal to pack a school lunch?

Then I had school-aged kids of my own.

No other words can tire me out faster. Getting up early and packing lunches is one of my least favourite parts about parenting. It’s mostly coming up with ideas that will not only nourish the kids, but ensure that the lunch bag doesn’t come back as full as it left. Being a caterer, I do have a few ideas about how a meal should be prepared, so I follow those general guidelines when I prepare the kids lunches.

Some of my general guidelines for packed lunches:

· The lunch, as whole, must contain something from each of the four major food groups, featuring mostly fruit and vegetables and one “treat” to take care of their sweet tooth.
· Avoid pre-packaged food as much as possible. Yes, they’re convenient, but they’re also expensive and loaded with extra salt and preservatives.
· Mix it up. Don’t send a sandwich every day, but vary it with wraps, rolls, salads or cereal.
· Prepare homemade sweet treats and freeze them. Muffins and cookies are a big hit and making them yourself assures you know what is going in to them.
· Let the kids help with their lunches by getting them to prepare the non-perishable items the night before and leaving them on the counter. This task is easy for even the youngest children with a bit of supervision.

There are days and weeks when I really don’t feel like thinking about lunches. I slip up and I’ve been known to give in to the kids’ requests for Lunchables or whatnot and that’s okay. A special treat every once in a while doesn’t hurt anyone. Overall though, the last thing I want is for my kids to be bored or disgusted when they open up their lunch.

Here are some sample lunches and ideas for when you just can’t even fathom anything new:

· Prepare homemade “Lunchables” by cutting up fresh cheese, meat and crackers. Make combos such as Swiss/Ham/Whole Grain Crackers, Monterey Jack/Spicy Sausage/Tortilla Crisp Crackers or Cheddar/Turkey/Ritz Crackers.
· Have leftover salad from dinner? Place salad in small portable containers and provide small bags of croutons and cheese and dressing in a separate container for the child to add at lunchtime.
· Pour cereal into a typical sandwich container and provide milk in a small thermos.
· Make your own pizzas. Pre-make small pizza crusts and freeze. Pop into their lunch bag still frozen to thaw by lunchtime. Include pepperoni, cheese, vegetables and sauce for them to prepare.
· Take advantage of the versatility of a thermos by branching beyond soup or pasta. Insert warm chicken nuggets, chili, or rice and bean casserole. A great way to use up leftovers!
· When packing yogurt, include a small container of granola, nuts (if allowed by school) or raisins to include.

I’d love to hear other ideas from you all as well! The more tools I have in my Packed Lunch Kit, the better!

[tags]kids, children, parents, parenting, nutrition, nutritional guidance, lunch, school, four food groups, healthy, caring, love[/tags]
Photo graciously provided by aJ GAZMEN - GucciBeaR, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved