Are you packing a school lunch for a picky eater? Getting your child to eat healthfully is a struggle for many parents. In this slideshow, Johns Hopkins offers school lunch tips for picky eaters to help you prepare meals with the vitamins, minerals and nutrients your child needs to grow and succeed in school.
Children, especially younger children, can be influenced by how the food looks. Fun shapes and bright colors may grab their attention and encourage them to take a bite. You don’t have to spend a lot of time carving cartoon characters out of bologna. Just take a few minutes to arrange the lunch neatly, add a personal note or use a cookie cutter to shape a sandwich or slice of cheese to add visual interest to the meal.
You may have to get creative to make sure your picky eater’s lunch covers the five major food groups: fruits, vegetables, protein, grains and dairy. If your child is allergic to or intolerant of specific foods, it may be worth talking to your pediatrician about a multivitamin or supplement. If dietary restrictions are not an issue, you can try sneaking in foods your picky eater refuses to eat, such as blending cauliflower with mashed potatoes or adding spinach to a fruit smoothie. It's also worthwhile to ask your child why they dislike certain foods. If they simply don’t like the texture or look, this can sometimes be remedied by trying different cooking techniques.
Toddler Lunch Ideas: Healthy Recipes For Kids!
Picky eaters, and children in general, are more likely to eat something if they helped to make it. Participation gives kids a sense of ownership in the final product and helps them see exactly what’s inside that sandwich or salad they are having for lunch. You can involve your children at every stage of the process, from picking a recipe to food shopping and meal preparation. Create a list of foods that your child enjoys - and that you approve of - and then have them choose from the list. This allows parents to remain in control while giving a child the freedom of choice.
It’s important to keep introducing new foods to your picky eater, as it can take 10 to 20 times of trying a food before a child may start liking it. However, school lunch may not be the best time for it. Children tend to get distracted during lunch and often don’t have enough time to finish everything they have in their lunch box. They may start with more familiar foods and are more likely to ignore new items. You can also introduce new foods at dinner when the whole family can encourage the child to try something new.
Start working on your school lunch menu based on the foods your child agrees to eat. However, it’s also important to find different ways to serve them. For example, if cucumber is the only vegetable your picky eater will stomach, try serving it with different dips or roll it up with lunch meats and cheese. The United States Department of Agriculture website has a variety of recipes created with input from school children to help you find new school lunch ideas. Changing it up is the key to keeping your child from losing interest in the few healthy foods they like.
Kids Lunch Ideas
What do you picture when you think about a typical school lunch? Is it a ham and cheese sandwich, a carton of milk and an apple? Although there is nothing wrong with sandwiches, they can get boring quickly. Why limit yourself to traditional lunch foods? It’s perfectly fine to pack soups, salads, quesadillas and even breakfast foods for lunch. You could come up with theme days like “mac ’n cheese Mondays” so that your child knows what to expect. If your child wants to eat lunch at school, find a balance between school lunches and packed lunches and plan these meals together.
Children tend to mirror their parents. If you don’t eat lunch and instead snack all day, your child may start skipping lunch too. Or if you enjoy a cupcake before dinner, your picky eater may start filling up on dessert before they get to the healthy part of the school lunch. Leading with a good example is important, especially when it comes to foods you also may be picky about. If you serve mushrooms to your child, yet pick them off of your own plate, your child may follow your cues.I know both my parents worked extremely hard while my siblings and I were growing up (they still do!) and oftentimes making a sandwich for my sister and I was the best they could do in the little time they had in the mornings.
Now that I’m a mother, I’m seeing the same eye roll that my mother must have seen me do off to the side, and my 9-year-old will let out a disappointed sigh.
Picky Eater Lunch Ideas (5 Kid Lunch Ideas) | Kids Activities Blog
But when you’re a busy mom, it does get hard to come up with something that tastes good and is actually good for your children’s growing minds and bodies day after day.
Personally, I let my oldest son eat lunch at school 2-3 days out of the week, and then I will make his lunch for him for the other days.
This system works really well for both of us, and luckily his school district offers free lunches so that saves us a ton of money over the years.
Healthy Meals For Picky Eaters
I didn’t actually find this out until well into our second year at the school, which could’ve saved me even more money –
In my quest to provide healthy lunches for my boys that are as easy and they are nutritious and delicious, I’ve learned that, especially when it comes to picky eaters (which applies to both of my children), it’s best to use a lot of variety and change things up as often as you can!
I’ve also picked up some bento boxes for the boys – they love that the different foods don’t touch the other foods, and I feel that I am more conscious of the food groups when there are different compartments to look at and pack lunch into.
Best Recipes For Picky Eaters
Whether you love your bento boxes like we do, or you’re into easy-to-make foods you can prepare and pack ahead of time, this post is for you!
*This post contains affiliate links to help support my blog at no extra cost to my readers. All opinions are my own, as always.
If you make tacos for dinner, save some taco meat for tomorrow’s lunch box and wrap up some adorable mini burritos for your child’s lunchbox.
Toddler Lunch Ideas Your Kid Will Love
DIY fruit leather is sure to be a hit with your child and is super easy to make at home (and doesn’t have all those preservatives stuffed in them).
Mix things up for your child’s lunchbox by skipping the traditional sandwich and whip up these incredible potato cakes with carrot and rice!
If your child is a fan of sushi (like my 9-year-old is), try making these sushi cups with edamame for their lunch.
Picky Eater Approved School Lunches
This ice cube tasting tray is such a cute idea! Grab a small enough ice cube (like this one here) tray to fit in your child’s lunchbox, and fill it with different fruits, veggies, meats, and cheeses!
Grab some fun-shaped cookie cutters, and get to making this adorable dinosaur bento lunch your child is sure to love you for!
If your child LOVES chips, but you’re tired of packing them junk food, try making them some healthier cinnamon apple chips to take with them for lunch!
Bento Box Ideas (your Picky Eaters Will Actually Eat)
While you may not be able to pack corndogs in your child’s lunch because they often require cooking in an oven, these corndog muffins are a great option to try!
Cranberry no-bake energy bites with quinoa are the perfect addition to your child’s lunch and are sure to keep them awake and focused for the remainder of their school day.
Pepperoni and cheese muffins make a great lunch choice for kids, store well in a lunchbox, and are super fun to eat.
Healthy School Lunch Ideas For Kids (quick & Easy!)
Mix up your own yogurt (or enlist help from your child) so you can pack these yummy cinnamon yogurt dippers in your child’s lunchbox!
Calling all bento box lovers! Try this fun chicken taco bento box idea – your child can mix their very own chicken tacos during lunch!
This yummy curry chicken salad is perfect if your child needs a change from the traditional PB & J, made with almonds.
Healthy Meals Picky Eaters Will Eat
Served hot or cold, this turkey club ranch wrap is a great choice to consider to mix things up for your child’s lunch.
These allergy-friendly cheddar bacon biscuits are perfect for your child’s lunch – pack them with fresh fruit and veggies for a delicious lunch idea!
Quinoa contains heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids (which play a big role in brain function and development), and all 9 essential amino acids (source), so these spinach and cheese quinoa cups are the perfect brain food for your child’s lunchbox!
Healthy School Lunch Ideas Kids Will Actually Eat
Try these yummy cheesy bacon quinoa bites to pack in your child’s lunchbox to give them energy all day and help them focus in class!
This delicious-looking antipasto bento box lunch
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