Tags: Laptop Lunch Boxes | Lunches | Planning and Preparation

Communicate and Set Expectations

• Come up with a game plan. Sit down and have an age-appropriate conversation about the importance of eating a wholesome lunch. Explain that a nutritious lunch helps kids stay healthy and enables them to concentrate well. Let them know that lunch is a family affair and that it’s something fun that you’re going to do together this school year.
• Give your children a choice. Provide your children with a list of wholesome options to choose from. If they’ve made the choice, they’re more likely to eat it instead of tossing it or trading it away. You can find two lunch planning activities on pages 85-88 of our book, The Laptop Lunch User’s Guide: Fresh Ideas for Packing Wholesome Lunches Your Kids Will Love. (Use coupon code NourishMD for 10% discount) Take a look at the options and ask your kids to circle the ones they’d like to see in their lunchboxes.
• Walk the talk. The best way to gain credibility with kids is to “walk the talk.” This means making sure the grown-ups in the family are eating wholesome lunches as well.  

Planning

• Grow it. If possible, create an herb garden together or grow sprouts. Show your children how to use these ingredients in the kitchen. Find recipes together. 
• Use healthy cooking magazines for inspiration. Sit down with your children and flip through magazines in search of healthful recipes. Ask your children to pick two pictures that they would like to try. Remember that many children are visual learners and that seeing enticing photos will excite their palates and spark their creativity.

Shopping

• Make shopping a special event. If possible, allow one family member to go shopping with you each week. Put your child in charge of lunch by creating a kid-friendly shopping list together. Allow them to check-off each item as you find it together. 
• Create a challenge. As you pass through the produce aisle, allow your child to pick one new fruit or vegetable for you to try together. Kids enjoy the thrill of being able to pick something new for their parents. 
• Create teaching moments. Don’t forget to teach your children how to read food labels instead of relying on colorful marketing messages. Help them pronounce some of those unpronounceable ingredients, and ask them if these sound like “foods” they’d like to eat? Point out that “Strawberry Flavored Fruit Bars” may sound good, but what if they were called “high fructose corn syrup dextrose sodium benzoate xanthan gum sulfur dioxide pyridoxine hydrochloride strawberry puree bars” ?

Packing

• Encourage kids to play sous-chef. Put your child in charge of washing produce, measuring ingredients and packing items in their lunchbox. 
• Enjoy a sample snack. As you prepare lunch, allow your child to sample the great foods you’re creating together. They will feel like they’re getting a little treat and you’ll be exposing their palettes to new foods before they sit down at a cafeteria table. When you’re cooking, have them be your taste-tester. Offer them a bite and ask, “does this taste ready or does it need something more?” You might be surprised at the creative ideas they come up with.

Amy Hemmert and Tammy Pelstring, two California moms, are co-creators of the Laptop Lunches line of bento-ware. Visit www.LaptopLunches.com for kid-friendly menus, inspirational recipes, wholesome menus, and practical lunchmaking tips.