School Lunches

Thanks Jamie for question about lunches! What a battle! I really hate the things they feed our kids at school!! The school will say "but there are good choices, like salad and carrots" OK, but at least my kids, if you give them the choice between carrots or french fries....COME ON! What do you think they are gonna pick!?! AGAIN, I am not professional this is just me and my advice (hmmmm, having 8 kids should qualify me for something right?) I bought a lunchbag/box for each of my kids so I could have a better choice of things to put in their lunches. The insulated bags are my favorite (you can get them anywhere, WalMart, Target, etc). You can also buy re-freezable things to drop in there to keep things cool OR throw their juice box in the freezer the night before.....they get a yummy slushy drink AND it keeps things cool. (you can put it in a baggie if you worry about it getting everything wet as it cools)

Here are some great healthy treats I use for my kids lunches:

* gogert (you can also freeze these as well!)

* juice (ONLY 100% juice is my vote)

* any fruit or veggie they will eat (again the little packs at Costco are GREAT! If you want to cut your own apples and send them you can sprinkle a little fruit fresh on them and that will keep them from turning brown and the keep the kids from tossing them cuz there "yucky")

* fruit or applesauce cups if they don't love the fresh fruit

* grapes (freeze those too) YUM

* we always do sandwiches, obviously whole wheat, if they will eat it is the best way to go. Get creative, use a cookie cutter on the top of the sandwhich to press a cute shape in the top, cut it different ways (I found these cute sandwich cutters @ WM that cut the sandwich into 2 dinosaurs!) just to change things up a bit.

* granola bars; ok, here is my spill on granola bars. Most of the Nature Valley ones are good but the BEST are Fiber One. I was floored at how yummy they were AND my kids super loved them AND they are packed with fiber, low in sugar and calories. These are the only ones I buy now and I can't keep the kids out of them!

* Once in a while I will throw in a cookie (homemade is better than store-bought), jello or pudding or something to give them a little treat.

Trust me I have afew very picky eaters so I know it can be hard to find what works. I hope this helps and gives you some good options for your kiddos!