Back-to-school mania has begun. We prepare our children as much as we can for this annual occasion: we get them new clothes, we buy their school supplies, and we show them their bus route. However, have you thought about lunches?
Oops, did I say the “L-word” too soon?
Before the back-to-school season overwhelms you, this is a great time to plan for your child’s lunches. Here are a few tips to do so:
- Consult with your child. What do they like in their lunch?
- Does your child’s school have any restrictions to food (i.e. no nuts or peanut butter)? Make note of these so that your child’s lunch doesn’t include the offending items.
- Make a list of easy to prepare lunches. A few of our favourites are: sandwiches, pita pockets, lettuce wraps, crackers/cheese/sausage, and hummus with crackers.
- Make a list of easy to prepare complementary snacks. Fruits, berries, veggie sticks, applesauce, and muffins may be good items to consider.
- Keep your lists handy and add to them whenever you think of a new lunch idea.
- Use your list of lunch ideas as a tool to help plan your child’s lunches for the week.
- Encourage your child to help with the task of making his/her lunches. They’re more likely to enjoy something that they helped to prepare.
- What about a “treat”? It’s preferable to include a treat which will also provide some nutritional value. We recently tried Mott’s Fruitsations + Veggie Fruit Snacks and we think they’re a great snack for a school lunch!
Disclosure – I am participating in the Mott’s Fruitsations + Veggie fruit snacks Blogger Campaign by Mom Central Canada. I received compensation as a thank you for participating and for sharing my honest opinion. The opinions on this blog are my own.
My family was invited to taste test Mott’s Fruitsations + Veggies fruit snacks.
These little treats are available in two flavour combinations (Berry and Assorted Fruits).
The fruit snacks are made with various fruit concentrates, as well as carrot concentrates. Each 22 gram pouch contains: 80 calories, 0 grams fat, 19 grams carbs, 30 mg sodium, 10 grams sugar, 100 % DV for vitamin C and 4% DV for vitamin A.
We loved the taste and my daughter was delighted by the fun shapes (she especially loved the carrot shape)!
It’s important to include fresh fruits, berries, and/or veggies in your school-age child’s lunch. However, why not choose a healthier “treat” as well?
What makes these treats even more exciting is that they are gluten-free, dairy-free, and nut-free! This means they are one of the few snacks that are SAFE for school lunchrooms.
I’m thinking that Mott’s Fruitsations + Veggie Fruit Snacks would even be a great alternative to hand out on Halloween (but I won’t get ahead of myself… let’s get back to school first).
LIFE MADE DELICIOUS GIVEAWAY
Who doesn’t love winning and/or saving money?! Visit the Life Made Delicious Facebook page HERE to enter a contest that could make back-to-school shopping much more affordable! Life Made Delicious has three $500 gift cards up for grabs until September 8th, 2013! Also, on the Life Made Delicious Facebook page there will be a chance to get a $0.50 off coupon (available on Facebook August 8th while quantities last).
What a great list. I don’t have kiddos yet but as a former (THANKFULLY!!) nanny I definitely see the value in this!
Also, I don’t know if you’re a no-reply blogger on purpose. If you are, that’s totally fine but if not, I just wrote a tutorial on how to become a reply blogger when your blog is hooked up with Google+ like yours is. :-)
http://www.simplemomentsstick.com/2013/08/no-reply-bloggers-wordpress-and-google.html
Great tips! Thanks for sharing Jennifer!
Tiffany
I can tell by your suggestions to “list” you are extremely organized. I keep a list of dinner dishes so it makes it easier to figure out “what’s for dinner” but it didn’t occur to me to do this for snacks or lunches! It’s a no brainer! Thanks for helping me realize that
I like the list. My kids are currently going to a school, which gives us a menu. It’s mandatory to follow. Some don’t. But, if we do, the kids get a star, daily ;)
It’s at home where on my twins does not want to eat. Bwahaa!
take care. Thanks for the email.
Xo
Z
I love the list…my baby girl isn’t old enough for school lunches, but my teacher-husband could benefit from some creativity in the lunch department! I will have to use some of your ideas on him! ;)