Lunchbox tips and tricks

At school, kids like to chat and play during lunch. That means your child may be too distracted or in too much of a hurry to eat everything you pack for them. Bento box–style meals—assortments of bite-size finger foods—are a great way to encourage your child to finish their lunch. 
 
Here’s an example of what a bento box might include:

• A ham pinwheel sandwich cut into slices
• Cubes of cheese
• Roasted soybeans
• Vegetable sticks
• Berries
• Halved hard-boiled eggs
• Etc.

For quick and easy lunches, leftovers are the way to go. Adding a few ingredients, or combining two dishes, can turn leftovers into completely original and satisfying meals. The possibilities are endless:
 

• Add tuna and mayonnaise to leftover rice
• Drizzle dressing over day-old beans and add a hard-boiled egg
• Mix leftover couscous with cherry tomatoes, chickpeas, and a drizzle of olive oil
• Etc.

 
Another option is to make extra at dinner so you can freeze the leftovers in individual portions. This will give you a nice variety of ready-to-eat lunches.

Does your child tend to reject their lunches because they already know what’s on the menu? Throwing in something unexpected may just motivate them to dig in. Here are some examples:
 

• Cut your child’s sandwich into different shapes (e.g., stars, hearts, circles)
• Arrange their vegetables into a funny face (e.g., two cucumbers for eyes, carrots for hair, an olive for the nose)
• Sneak in your child’s favourite dessert
• Make unconventional skewers (e.g., a quarter of a sandwich, a cherry tomato, a cube of cheese, another quarter sandwich, one final tomato)
• Etc.

Colourful foods are known for their nutritional value. They also make for eye-catching lunches! To help get your child to eat more healthy foods, try to incorporate all the colours of the rainbow into their lunchbox:

• Raw vegetables (e.g., snow peas, radishes, celery, avocado, broccoli, carrots)
• Salads (e.g., carrots, mushrooms, beets)
• Legumes (e.g., lentils, kidney beans, white beans, hummus)
• Soups (e.g., vegetable, leek, tomato, squash)
• Diced fruit (e.g., plums, pears, peaches, melons, apples)
• Etc.

Finding a loving message in their lunchbox after working hard all morning will lift your child’s spirits and provide a little boost to get them through the rest of the day! Try surprising them from time to time with a thoughtful note tucked in with their snacks:

• A word scramble that reveals an inspiring message
• A note encouraging them to keep doing their best in school
• A reminder that you’re thinking of them (e.g., “I love you,” “I miss you,” “I can’t wait to see you”)
• Etc.