Lunch Ideas from One of Our Facebook Moms

One of Dayton Children's patient’s mom, Kristi Enz, recently posted pictures and ideas to make healthy lunches for her kids on her facebook page. I saw how much feedback she got and thought, “What a great idea for Dayton Children’s blog!” So, with Kristi’s permission, I have included some great ideas on healthy lunches to make your kids. Kristi even admits that it’s hard to get her kids to eat lots of fruits and vegetables, but she found some fun ideas to try.

From Kristi:

I decided to pack Zach and Taylor’s lunches because it saves money, it produces less waste, it's healthier and fun for me. It only takes 10-12 minutes to make two lunches every day. I want my kids lunches to be visually appealing and contain a fruit, veggie, protein and carb. We also use BPA free, stainless steel reusable containers to drink out of.

Idea #1

Cantaloupe, maple leaf cookie (you can find these at Trader Joes), peanut butter and strawberry preserves dino sandwich on whole wheat and fish crackers

Idea #2

Half banana and a Clementine orange, Baby Bel cheese round, peanut butter and strawberry preserves dino sandwich on whole wheat and a homemade brownie bite (made with applesauce instead of oil)

Idea #3

Halved cantaloupe and grapes, homemade brownie bite (made with applesauce instead of oil), peanut butter and jelly star sandwich on whole wheat, hardboiled egg and a cheese kabob

Idea #4

Cheese and cucumber rolled in turkey, Clementine orange and some blueberries, and two homemade brownie bites (made with applesauce instead of oil)

Idea #5

Carrots with a small container of ranch dressing, halved grapes, peanut butter and jelly pinwheels on whole wheat (use a rolling pin to flatten the bread, roll and cut), multi-grain crackers with laughing cow cheese spread and some cat cookies (can get these at Trader Joes)

Zach's green and blue lunch box is called a Laptop Lunch Box. You can find them at local stores. More information here: http://www.laptoplunches.com/. View more ideas on Kristi's blog at http://lunchboxmama.blogspot.com/.

Guest post by Kristi Enz,Troy