Packing Healthy Meals and Lunches for Kids

This guest post comes to us from Claire P, an engineer at Brillopak, a robotic packing and Palletising machine manufacturing company in the UK. In this post, Claire talks about how to pack lunches for your children that are not only healthful and nutritious but are also appetizing to kids! Apart from designing, Claire loves to blog. You can find her trying out new recipes, playing drums, or cheering in stands for Falmer Stadium. 

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The Green Revolution is taking families by storm. Athletes and weight-conscious individuals are not the only ones switching to local, natural, and organic food. Recently, moms have also sought ways to prepare healthy and sustainable lunches for their children.

Children are quite picky with food. They often prefer meals that look yummy. Color and presentation are usually superior to taste and nutrition, making kids attracted to junk food.

To ensure that your kids will eat only healthy and nutritious food, here are a few tips and tricks for their packed lunches. Give them plant-based meals and snacks but do not compromise the taste. Use herbs as seasonings and turn fruits and veggies into sumptuous meals. The following are tried and tested meals that kids surely love.

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Goji Berry Granola

Goji berry is a superfood that is packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that will keep kids energized throughout the day. Granola, though heavy with calories, makes a yummy morning snack for children. Simply prepare rolled oats, sliced almonds, goji berries, and unsweetened coconut flakes. Add sea salt, raw honey, and coconut oil to taste.

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Stuffed Squash

Originally a winter dish, stuffed squash is a hearty and delicious meal that is perfect all year round. It has everything that kids will love: dried fruits, nuts, and herbs. This can be taken as a mid-morning snack or as an accompanying dessert to a chicken meal.

Aside from the main vegetable, stuffed squash is made of chopped onion, olive oil, walnuts, sunflower seeds, chopped celery, garlic, fresh marjoram, sage, and thyme, dried cranberries, cheddar cheese, lemon juice, black pepper, and coarsely crumbled whole wheat bread.

Roasted Squash with Garlic and Potatoes

This meal can be eaten on its own or with a chicken or meat dish. Peel the skin off the squash and combine it with olive oil, garlic, vinegar, rosemary, and potatoes. Bake them until the squash and potatoes have browned and softened.

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Silly Face Wraps

Kids will adore this creatively presented snack that includes gluten-free hummus and tortillas. For their “silly faces” add cucumber slices for the eyes, lettuce and other green leafy vegetables for the head and stuffing, cornichon or carrot sticks for noses, and tomatoes for the mouth.

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Spinach Soufflé

Basically baked spinach, this soufflé combines spinach with milk, flour, eggs, and grated cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste before baking the dish for 45 minutes, or until the dish has become golden.

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Avocado, Hummus, and Tomato Vegan Sandwich

Preparing this sandwich will take a few minutes, making it an ideal snack or lunch for kids living in a busy household. Toast two slices of wheat bread and spread avocado and hummus on it. Layer them with sun-dried tomatoes and add a dash of ground pepper.

Brown Rice Salad with Dill

Active kids need sufficient amount of carbohydrates to keep them energized until the afternoon. Cut back their sugar level and give them brown rice instead. However, brown rice can taste bland. Add two cups of green beans, button mushrooms, lima beans, fresh dill, onions, and coconut oil to make the dish delicious.

You may prepare a separate dressing as an accompaniment for the rice bowl. Add cumin and coriander seeds to the coconut oil and sauté. Put them in a blender along with the red chilies, balsamic vinegar, orange juice, salt, ground pepper, and cashew nuts. Blend the ingredients until they turn creamy.

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Kids might not be used to the distinct taste of these dishes because they are mainly seasoned with herbs. Try experimenting. Aside from investing more time for each preparation, you could also try explaining the meals’ nutritional benefits to your children.

Ready for a healthier way to cooking and eating? Bounty from the Box: The CSA Farm Cookbook has you covered.