Healthier Lunches for the Whole Family

Here are some great suggestions for sneaking healthy ingredients into your child’s lunchbox.

• Add finely chopped herbs and vegetables to chicken, tuna, eggs, and salmon salad. 
• Add parsley and other herbs at any time you can. 
• Use the leftover water from steamed vegetables to cook rice and other grains. After steaming your vegetables, pour the liquid into an airtight container and store it in the freezer. Defrost and use when you’re ready to cook your grains.
• Add lettuce, cucumbers, shredded carrots, celery, or sprouts to sandwiches.
• Add a teaspoon of flaxseed oil to salad foods. This will provide your child with the essential fatty acids necessary for healthy cell function and brain development.
• Blend steamed vegetables into tomato sauce.
• Add sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, or flax seeds to vegetables, pastas, and sandwiches. 
• Add almonds, pecans, pine nuts, walnuts, and cashews to salads, pastas, and other foods. (Note: nuts can cause allergic reactions as well as choking in children three years and younger. Use with caution.)

Go green and cut down on lunchtime waste! Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

• Pack lunches in a lunch box. Avoid using plastic wraps, plastic or paper bags, wax-paper bags, and aluminum foil.
• Avoid buying pre-packaged items. Buy foods in bulk and pack items in reusable containers.
• Pack a cloth napkin instead of a paper napkin.
• Pack stainless-steel utensils instead of disposable plastics.
• Pack a reusable drink container instead of disposable juice boxes, pouches, cans, or plastic bottles.