by Tierney O'Hara

Created on: August 18, 2011   Last Updated: December 13, 2011

Happy children and healthy lunches

How nice it would be if our children enjoyed eating all the healthy foods we place into their lunch bags. Unfortunately, no matter how much thought we put into their lunches, nor how healthy these lunches are, it won’t matter if they refuse to eat their lunch because they just don’t like the taste, texture or looks of the foods. By planning ahead, you can usually accomplish your goal of packing a healthy lunch your child will enjoy.

-Check with your school district about limitations

Each school district is different. Before you pack a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich, make sure peanut butter is allowed in the lunch room. Some schools do not allow any type of sweet including chocolate milk so get the list of banned foods before you plan your children’s lunch menus.

Some schools insist upon children bringing a "green lunch" which means no bottled water or disposable baggies, for example. It’s important to know the rules prior to the first day of school so that your child's lunch is in compliance.

-Check with your children about what foods they love

Take a few minutes to discuss lunch with your children.  Let them tell you what foods they would really like to have for lunch.  Of course you can’t fill a lunch box with chocolate and potato chips, but you might be surprised to hear they love pickles, olives or raw green beans.

- Choose foods they eat at home

One mistake some parents make with school lunches is to fill lunch bags with foods their children don’t eat at home. If your children won’t eat tuna salad at home, they won’t eat it at school either, so choose foods you know your children enjoy so that your carefully packaged school lunch doesn’t end up in the garbage pail or traded to a schoolmate. 

-Add in a new food each week

Although most of the foods in the lunch bag should be your child’s favorites, it’s good to add in a small quantity of a new food since you have a “captive audience.” A few cherry tomatoes, a couple of carrot sticks, maybe a new type of cheese can be tucked into the lunchbox and might be tasted if your child is hungry enough.

-Variety isn’t always the spice of life

As adults we love variety in our foods, but children are often more comfortable eating familiar favorites even if they have the same lunch for the entire week. If your child loves bananas then pack a banana even if it’s Monday through Friday;

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