Easy, healthy lunch ideas for back-to-school

Think Nutritious

Providing kids with nutritious options for staying hydrated is just as important as filling their lunch boxes with fruits and veggies. Not all kids like plain water, and fruit juices sometimes come loaded with sugar. Here are some fun options to try.

Get your kids to help you make their own fruity ice cubes by adding either a blueberry, raspberry, or strawberry into each section of ice-cube trays. Fill with water and freeze overnight. Then let them add the colourful ice cubes to their water bottle in the morning. They’ll get added flavour, colour, and vitamins in a refreshing beverage.

Older kids might enjoy coming up with their own ways of infusing their water. Consider sprigs of mint, or cucumber, lemon or orange slices—or whatever their imagination comes up with!

Lunch Tip: For kids who love sweetened drinks, consider swapping out a sugary drink with Oasis Hydrafruit. A fruit-juice beverage made with natural spring water and fruit juice, it has 60-percent less calories than a regular juice and no added sugar or sweetener. Plus, there are so many flavours, your child is bound to love at least one: watermelon-apple, lemon iced tea, fruit fusion, clementine, and strawberry-kiwi.

Think Small

Kids like small things—it makes sense, they have little hands, little mouths, and small things are more fun! Plus, it’s super easy to make tiny versions of their favourite foods.

If your child loves sandwiches, cut their favourite bread into small squares and spread on mustard or a favourite condiment.

Next, cut your child’s favourite sandwich meat into squares slightly smaller than the bread squares. Do the same with their favourite cheese. Then prepare small pieces of lettuce and thin slices of cucumbers.

Neatly arrange all of these elements in a reusable container. Kids will have fun making their own tiny sandwiches!

Lunch Tip: Once you start thinking small, the options are endless. Consider making your child’s favourite foods in pint-size versions for lunches; for instance, easy-to-eat mini cheese omelettes made in muffin trays. Perfect for tiny hands.

Think Easy

A little bit of prep time on the weekends will go a long way to saving you time during the week and your kids will enjoy the independence of making their own lunches!

The easiest items to prepare are chopped veggies that can be stored in the fridge. Put them in a large sealed container with an inch of water. Slice or cut up tons of veggies—carrots, cucumbers, sweet peppers—and let your kids pack their own veggies in a small reusable container.

Kids on the go need energy, so think about healthy options they can eat quickly on the way to school, at lunch and recess, or between after-school activities. Here’s one nutritious option that’s ready in less than two minutes—kids can even do it themselves!

1. Spread a thin layer of almond butter, honey, or another favourite spread on a thin whole-wheat tortilla.
2. Sprinkle on a layer of granola.
3. Tightly roll a peeled banana into a wrap.

Voila – a handy banana burrito!

Lunch Tip: Need more fast options that are nutritious? Keep these simple snack foods on hand so you can add them to your children’s lunches for need-it-now healthy snacking:

• steamed edamame
• celery-stalk “boats” filled with cream cheese and raisins
• veggie spiral noodles tossed with pesto

Get more healthy lunch tips at Oasis.ca