Our Picks and Tips for School Lunch

By: Allison Carpenter; Community Outreach

School is almost back in session! And that means….duh duh duh….lunch.

It's no secret among my friends that I am a huge advocate for a home packed lunch. As parents, we are naturally concerned with the nutrition content of our children’s food and whether or not they are eating the right amounts of it. Packing a lunch puts us more in control of what our children eat. Furthermore, allowing our kids to be a part of the packing and picking process makes them more excited about eating their food.

We here at Berryvale understand the concerns of parents. Parents want to give their kids the nutrition they need, but don’t want them to hate their food. Our children, just like us, want to feel good about the foods they put in their body. So with the help of our Grocery Buyer, Mariah, we have put together our top picks for school lunches, along with some tips to help pick the right mix of foods.

Mix it up and Educate!

Children need balanced nutrition. Mixing up their lunches with a variety of food groups makes their lunch more balanced. Consider a protein, carbohydrate, healthy fats, fruit, and veggies. In produce, we have broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, carrot sticks, celery, avocado, and cherry tomatoes. You can add leafy greens to sandwiches or to homemade berry smoothies (made with Earthbound frozen organic Mixed Berries found in the freezer section). Bananas and apples are always a favorite with young children. We have bags of pink lady apples on sale that make buying apples inexpensive and easy. For dairy, we offer Organic Valley Stringles string cheese—a personal favorite of my daughter—or varieties of yogurts.

Talking with your children about nutrition and teaching them along the way helps them understand why they eat the foods they do. Explaining the power and impact that food has on our bodies and the way proper nutrition can give us the fuel we need to do the things we love will resonate with your kids. Make education fun by using analogies your child can understand at their unique stage in development. As parents, we have so much power in how our children perceive the world around them, and our most powerful tool is education.

For more ideas for school lunch combinations, follow our board on Pinterest: School Lunch Ideas

Pick What Your Kids love!

What do your kids love? Do they love Pb&J? Turkey sandwiches? Avocados? Cherry tomatoes? Apples? Bananas? Ask them what their favorite food is in each food group and add it to your shopping list. We carry many healthy offerings, including varieties of organic jams, nut and seed butters, cereals, organic produce, dairy products, raw and dehydrated foods, organic and all natural lunch meats, eggs, and breads. Best of all, we do our best to mix up our sales to help make these products more affordable. If your child has certain food allergies, look for alternatives such as sunflower seed butter, gluten free breads and yogurts made with coconut milk. We carry a wide assortment of foods for a variety of dietary needs; from gluten and dairy free, nut free, vegan, to paleo.

Make it Healthy, But Give Them a Treat

Including something sweet doesn’t have to make you feel uncertain and guilty. Add treats that are healthy and well-rounded without additives and laboratory ingredients. Choose, for example, sweetened nut butters like Justin’s Chocolate Hazlenut Butter, or chunks of dark chocolate added to a mixture of nuts and seeds for a yummy trail mix. This month, Uncle Eddies Cookies are on sale, with plenty of options from chocolate chip, peanut butter, and oatmeal. We also have on sale Qia nutrition bars in varieties of kid friendly flavors, and Annies organic Bunny Fruit Snacks. If you would prefer to limit sugar, check out our bulk bins and dehydrated fruits, or our assortment of raw treats made with purer sweeteners like honey, dates or fruit juice. Hail Mary’s, found in the refrigerated section, has some tasty tarts and macaroons that are vegan and gluten and dairy free, and are, best of all, kid friendly.

Pack a Well Rounded Snack

I don’t know about you, but around mid-morning I get hungry; and of course so do our kids! A well rounded, healthy snack in between meals can boost energy and help your kids make it to lunch time without uncomfortable hunger pains. That, and with the proper nutrition, can give your kids the concentration they need to focus on school work. Choosing proteins, such as nuts (check out our bulk section!), cheese, yogurt, or nutritional drinks (such as Orgain Healthy Kids Nutritional Shakes), and adding them to your child’s lunch pack for a snack offers your child a well-rounded nutritional boost at a much needed time.

Have Fun!

Photo Credit: Pinterest

Making fun shapes out of lunch foods and letting your kids be a part of the preparation process makes lunch fun for them! To make it even easier on yourself, you can prepare the lunch in the evenings before bed and leave it in the fridge for your kids to grab in the morning.

You can, for example, make PB&J “sushi”, spell out fun messages with sauces, prepare a homemade treat and wrap it in something special, add a special note, or cut your simple lunch dishes into fun shapes. Getting creative makes lunch time fun for kids and encourages them to eat every last bite. What would you rather eat: a boring carrot stick on a lunch tray or a carrot “octopus” crafted by your loving and doting parent?

Lunch doesn’t have to be boring or stressful. You’ll find the more time you take carefully choosing foods your child loves and exploring ways to make lunch more exciting for them will actually reduce the amount of stress you feel over your child’s lunch. Working with and teaching your child to prepare their foods with you can be a great bonding experience and teaches kids valuable life skills in a way that brings them joy and warm memories.

For more creative ideas on kid's lunches, follow our Pinterest Board: Creative Foods for Kids

Well, that's it for now. Although with this topic there is so much information to share! Now we'd like to hear from you. What are your child’s favorite lunch foods? What combination of foods do you pack your child to give them the well-rounded nutrition they need? What treats do you add to your child’s lunchbox? And what of these products have you tried and how did you like them?

Comment below and let us know!

Thanks for reading our blog. Hopefully we gave you some ideas and some food for thought!