All of the kids are back in school now and summer is almost officially over (Fall starts on Friday, September 22nd). Are you struggling already with trying to pack healthy school lunches for your kids that they will actually eat? Do you want to encourage them to eat a wider variety of healthy fresh fruits and vegetables? Do you find it difficult to find the time to plan, prep, and pack school lunches? Well, I have the perfect solution for you! Make your kids build-their-own bento box style lunches!
Bento box style lunches are a fun alternative to the same old boring PB&J sandwich and chips. Also, they offer the opportunity for your child to enjoy a greater variety of foods to provide them with a healthier and more balanced lunch. Plus, it will help to make your life easier if they take more responsibility to plan and pack their own lunches. Even my four year old niece is able to help do this, and she absolutely LOVES doing so!
All you need to do is buy some bento box style lunch containers. I love the Rubbermaid Lunch Blox. They come in 3 styles: an entree kit (as shown in the photo above), a salad kit, and a sandwich kit, and they even make coordinating lunch bags that the kits fit perfectly into. I purchased 4 entree kits and 1 lunch bag for my son. This way, I can pack all 4 of his lunches for the week ahead of time on Sunday, store them in the fridge, and just pop one in the lunch bag (with the freezer blocks that are included in the kit) in the morning. I usually let him buy school lunch on Friday as a reward (plus I find that food only stays fresh for about 4-5 days). These kits are also great to pack meals for myself and my husband as well. They can be purchased at most Publix stores and of course online on Amazon for between $7 and $12 each, and the lunch bags cost about $15.
Although I encourage my son to pack his own lunch, I provide him with certain rules to follow. I believe that giving him some freedom to make choices, while also providing some limitations of his choices is the key. That way, he feels that he is getting what he wants, while I also feel good about giving him what he needs.
Helpful Tips:
I require my son to pick one item from each of the 4 categories: fruit, veggie, protein, and starch. Then he may pick any additional item that he wants to include as a "treat". I recommend making a list of the various types of fruits, veggies, proteins, starches and "mom-approved treats". Some examples from my list that Aiden enjoys include the following:
- Fruits: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, grapes, cherries, apple slices (with nut butter or caramel), watermelon chunks, or 1/2 of a banana,.
- Veggies: celery sticks with blue cheese, baby carrots with ranch dressing, sliced cucumbers with hummus, broccoli florets with french onion dip, or a garden salad with dressing of choice.
- Proteins: sliced or cubed meats such as chicken, turkey, ham, or roast beef, sliced, cubed, or stick cheese, peel-and-eat shrimp with cocktail sauce, tuna salad, hard boiled eggs, black beans, kidney beans, lentils, or nuts/nut butters
- Starches: crackers, pita chips, pretzel chips, breads, tortillas, rice, pasta, potatoes.
- "Treats": yogurt covered raisins, chocolate covered raisins, fiber one brownies, cheesecake bars, lemon bars, or granola bars
Make a similar list and ask your child to choose one item from each of the categories to build their own balanced bento box lunch. P.S. - I would not recommend taking them to the grocery store to pick these items out with you, as they will likely be tempted by many sugary junk foods in the aisles that they would rather pick over the more healthy choices you have given them, and who wants to get in a fight with their kid in the middle of Publix, right?
When you are ready to prep and pack your child's lunches, take out the bento boxes (or lunch blox) and all of the foods that they chose, and encourage your child to help you. This is a great opportunity to teach them about healthy balanced nutrition. You can keep it simple and pack the same thing for the entire week, or have more of a variety for each day.
Most importantly, get creative and have fun! Please feel free to comment with any additional ideas or suggestions you may come up with as you make your own unique bento box lunches.
Healthy Wishes,
Katrina