Summer is quickly coming to an end which means back to school, new routines, and starting up extra curricular activities for many of you! When I was a kid I remember having lunches packed in ziploc bags; what was a busy working mom to do because it needed to be quick and simple? Creating healthy lunch ideas has only got more fun with all the neat lunch boxes available. For example, these Bento Lunch Bots are awesome and offer lots of room for creative ways to pack lunches. There are tons of different compartments allowing to display colourful healthy foods for the kids.
To make meal planning efficient, there are some easy tools you can use. By making extra food at dinner you can cut down on meal prep time for the following day. Another way to help is by designating one day on the weekend for meal prep and vegetable prep. designate a day for meal prep, grocery shopping, wash and chop vegetables for the week.
| Fruit | Vegetable | Carbohydrates | Protein | Snack |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple | Carrot sticks | Sweet potato | Seeds | Avocado |
| Pear | Cucumber slices/sticks | Rice | Turkey/Chicken/Beef | Rice cake |
| Grapefruit | Celery sticks | Quinoa | Hard boiled eggs | Yogurt |
| Orange | Cherry tomatoes | Brown rice pasta | Hummus | Pumpkin seed butter with apple |
| Kiwi | Snap peas | Homemade granola | Fish | Rice crackers with hummus |
| Berries | Green salad | Tortilla wrap | Beans/lentils | Raw cheese |
Do you have picky little ones? Here are some tips to make food more fun!
- Use cookie cutters to shape fruit, sandwiches, gluten free pancakes, or anything else you can think of.
- Swap mayo for avocado on wraps and sandwiches and call it a Hulk sandwich.
- Put fruit salad on a skewer for added fun.
- De-core an apple and slice into rings.
- Pack your kids favorite character or super hero napkin.
Don’t forget that soups, chili and stews make for an easily portable and nutritious meal. Lunch Bots have an excellent thermos that is insulated and leak proof, keeping meals hot for hours.
