Tips For School Lunches

1.Start with the lunch box:

Even small children have distinct preferences about what they carry.It can be the cartoon favourite of the season or the colour they like most.Some children would eat anything you put in her favourite coloured Lunch Box unquestioningly.Take your little one with you to select his own lunch box.

2.Get kids to participate:

Keep lots of healthy food in the house,and let your child include whatever he likes best in his lunch box.

3.What will it be?

Are you planning a snack or a meal?If its a mid morning meal and your little one has breakfast at home before leaving, you can pack a small sandwich or a cookie for his meal.But if its a lunch meal, then, you need to pack more substantial meal.Seek your child's help in planning that meal.Ask her what she would prefer to eat and work with that.If she wants to eat a paratha, ask her if she would like some vegetable or curds with that.Add a fruit or cookie or a milkshake of her choice to that.The goal is to pack a protein, a grain, and a fruit or vegetable.Dessert should not be an everyday item, and milk or juice with no additives is the ideal drink.Some kids do not like messy foods and prefer finger foods.Others cant eat dry stuff.

4.Presentation:

Presentation is also important when selecting and preparing foods.Kids like fun shapes,colors, and textures.You can make a sandwich more appealing by decorating the wrapping with a sticker or by cutting the sandwich with a cookie cutter.Cut the veggies using cookie cutters so that your child will learn while he's eating...cut out his/her name in carrots,capsicum or any other firm vegetables.

5.Dont Overpack:

Too much food can be,well,just too much.If your child tends to eat half a sandwich,then just send half a sandwich.That way she wont feel pressured to eat more than she needs.

6.Find Out What Other Parents Are Sending To School:

Peer pressure is a big issue,try to coordinate lunches with parents of your child's friends.This stops competition,and its fun for the kids to discover they have identical meals.

7.Include A Few Surprises:

Think of the lunch you pack as your child's one connection to home during the day.Let her find a new pencil, key chain, or a few stickers-something totally unexpected.Personal notes and non-edible treats are big hits,because they remind kids that parents are thinking of them during school day.You can also include labesl on food as your child is learning to read.