Your child’s school lunch doesn’t have to be the same boring sandwich day after day. With a bit of creativity, you can create school lunches that your child is sure to love. Whether you make use of the thermos gathering dust in the cabinet or do something special, school lunches can be exciting.
Make Use of a Thermos
The thermos isn’t just for keeping drinks hot. You can use a thermos to keep chili, soups, and much more at the right temperature. For example, why not surprise your child with a hotdog for lunch? Boil a hotdog in water and then place the hotdog in the thermos and fill with the hot water. Include a bun in a ziptop bag along with baked potato chips, apple slices, and a fat-free pudding pack. If you wanted, you could use a second thermos for chili.
Do Themes
Themes aren’t just for dinnertime. You can have a lunch theme for each day of the week or it could be something special. For example, if your family goes to the movies each Friday night, pack a lunch that revolves around the theme of the movie. This could be such a nice surprise for your little one. You could even find licensed food products to add to the lunch, such as movie themed fruit snacks.
Have Fun with Shapes
If your child is still small, have fun with shapes. Cut luncheon meat and cheese into fun shapes to eat with sliced fruit and vegetables. You can even cut large slices of fruit into fun shapes. The key is to be creative and think about what your child would love. For example, if your child loves dinosaurs, use a dinosaur-shaped cookie cutter to cut the food.
Create Homemade Lunchables
Every kid loves Lunchables. The only problem is the price can be ridiculous and the health value is a bit questionable. The good news is you can make them yourself. You can even find luncheon meat cut into circles that fit perfectly on crackers. Remake all their favorite Lunchables with healthier items.
Include Surprises
If you want to do something special for your child’s lunches, randomly pack some of their favorite foods. For example, surprise them with their favorite candy bar for dessert or a side of chips and salsa. If you know you’ll be in a pinch for time one day, you could order a favorite from a delivery service like FoodyDirect and send that in. Obviously, these aren’t foods that you add to every lunch or they wouldn’t be special.
School lunches do not have to be boring. Take the time to plan creative meals that your child will actually want to eat. While sandwiches make a great go-to meal, there are so many great options for school lunches. Best of all, these creative ideas can be healthy and affordable.
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