I've been struggling with lunch planning for a while. And to be honest, I've gotten bored with this weekly post. So I started thinking of ways I could "spice things up" just a bit. I started really thinking about what my kids were eating and realized we really aren't putting as much effort as we should into BALANCED lunches. So, I decided to switch up this post to help me make sure I'm providing balanced, healthy lunches every day.
With that in mind, I'm going to start having them pack lunches with these guidelines - Each lunch should contain 1-2 proteins, 2-3 fruits/veggies, and 1 grain. They get milk at school, so that covers dairy unless they want to take water and sub a dairy from home. In order to make sure I am providing enough choices to keep things interesting, I'm going to organize the weekly plan a little differently. (see below) I think this will not only help me to make sure I buy the right "ingredients" for healthy lunches, but it will start to teach them how to balance their own meals and why each food group is important.
Here's the new planner:
Protein Choices:
Cheese Sticks
Peanut Butter "Uncrustables"
Raw Almonds (not roasted or salted)
Fruit & Vegetable Choices:
Grapes
Baby Carrots
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Cucumbers
Bananas
Avocados
Grain Choices:
Bread (in the "Uncrustables")
Granola Bars
Banana Bread
Well, what do you think? Any suggestions for one of the food groups? I always appreciate your feedback and comments. Have a great week!!
No comments:
Post a Comment