A sandwich, veggie and fruit make a satisfying and nutritionally rich staple lunch for kids. You can add a high quality “snack food” like Pirate’s Booty or whole grain pretzels for a salty treat, but try to include at least one fruit and one veggie to help them get enough produce servings into their daily diet.
Remember, they don’t have much time, so the portions should be reasonable and foods shouldn’t be complicated to make or unwrap. Making their sandwich neat and easy to eat will make it more appealing. Cut them in half and don’t use wet or runny fillings ~ soggy bread: yuck! Cutting veggies down to bite size and slicing full-sized fruit like oranges and apples will help them get eaten. A special tip from my (Jeannette’s ) middle school son: never send in anything large and cylindrical, like whole mini-cucumbers, full-sized pickles, or full-sized hotdogs J Apparently bananas get a pass for some reason, but that’s it!
Go for multi-grain breads, sprouted grain breads, whole grain wraps (including corn, like soft corn tortillas or taco shells), or whole grain crackers. Whole grains are a great source of fiber, vitamins and anti-oxidants.
Sandwich spreads:
Nut butters (peanut, almond, cashew, sunflower, etc) with cinnamon, sliced fruit (try peaches or bananas), apple sauce, raw honey or all-fruit jam
Hummus with salad veggies
Red pepper spread with meats (we like Marco Polo Mild Ajvar and Trader Joes)
Boursin cheese with meats
Protein fillings:
White, unprocessed lunch meats, like turkey or chicken breast, are the healthiest deli choices, but homemade meats are almost always superior. Use leftover chicken, steak, meatloaf, veggie burgers, salmon, etc as a sandwich filling or combine it with veggies to make a salad. You can also use sliced cheeses, alone or with the meats. Try making a “salad” spread with diced egg or drained, canned tuna (chunk lite or skipjack) or salmon with a little Vegennaise, mustard, yogurt or even cranberry sauce (fish only ~ that wouldn’t work with eggs!).
Bite-sized vegetables:
baby carrots, sliced cucumber, celery sticks, sliced peppers, edamame (cooked baby soy beans ~ yummy!), sliced fennel, olives, baby pickles, sugar snap peas, etc
Fruit (if you slice full-sized fruit like oranges and apples, your kids will be more likely to eat them):
banana, apple, pear, blueberries, strawberries, cherries, grapes, kiwi (cut in half and scooped out with a spoon), melon chunks, pineapple rings, etc