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Ready or not, the new school year is here. For some families, this can mean transitioning from relaxing, quiet summers to busy, activity—filled school days. This transition also impacts parents and adds to your already busy days. Packing lunches every day for your kids can get mundane and time-consuming, but we have some tips to make lunches not only more healthy but more fun!
You don’t necessarily have to reinvent the wheel every morning or week; you may even have a child who would prefer the same thing every single day. And, if it’s balanced and healthy, why fix what isn’t broken? For other children, they may like variety.
For kids who do like to change it up, try to incorporate the following:
- 1 protein
- 1-2 fruits
- 1 veggie
- 1 dairy/alternative
- 1 crunchy snack
- 1 small sweet
This provides a framework to go off of without viewing lunch as a blank slate every day. Now this doesn’t mean you can’t include other things, too! For example, you may want to give your kid a turkey roll up on a tortilla. Adding in a grain or bread is ok too!
Here is a week of balanced lunches:
Monday: Peanut butter & Jelly (of course, a timeless crowd favorite), with some grapes, carrots & Greek yogurt ranch, animal crackers, and a few mini cookies.
Tuesday: Chicken nuggets & sauce, an apple, cucumbers, Babybel cheese, Goldfish, and fruit leather.
Wednesday: Bento box with jerky, hard boiled eggs, berries, bell peppers, cheddar cheese cubes, crackers, and dark-chocolate covered raisins.
Thursday: Tuna salad with crackers, pineapple and mango, avocado with everything bagel seasoning, yogurt, and natural fruit gummies.
Fun Friday: Chicken fried rice (Don’t overlook leftovers from dinner the night before – especially if you have a thermos or your child has access to a microwave), kiwi, bell peppers, cheese stick, nori seaweed, and a granola bars.
As you can see above, it doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel. Make sure to remember dinner leftovers as a healthy (and easy!) option for your kids lunch the next day. If you notice a lot of food coming home with your kid, make sure to ask them what they like and don’t like. Remember that their taste buds can change by the day, so something they loved one day, they may skip on the next day.
If you find yourself strapped for time in the morning, it may be best to make lunches the night before. After you’ve put your child down for bed, you may have a few moments of silence to get meal prep done for the next day, or maybe even the whole week.
Ready To Enroll Your Child? Call KRK Today
The school year is just beginning; call to enroll your children in a VPK program. Kids R’ Kids at Avalon Park offers a nationally renowned program with a state-of-the-art, safe environment to prepare your kids for their learning adventure. We’re family-owned and operated, and our staff is dedicated, highly trained, and vetted for your peace of mind.