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How
to Pack the Perfect School Lunch (ARA)
- Peanut butter and jelly, tunafish, bologna, apples, cookies, juice boxes? What
to pack for lunch? Millions of parents face the task of preparing school lunches
for their children everyday. The challenge is to find a menu that is portable,
easy to prepare, and is also appealing to kids. But how can parents strike the
right balance and prevent their carefully prepared lunches from being traded or
tossed?
The experts at coolschoolu.com suggest the following tips for putting
together lunches that please both parent and child:
- Parents
can make a game of choosing the lunch menu
by creating index cards with the names of different lunch foods on one side and
pictures of the food groups on the other. The kids can choose a card from each
group when it comes time to plan a lunch. They can also have fun decorating the
cards.
-
Involve the kids in the lunch-packing process. They
will be more inclined to eat what is in the bag if they have helped to pack it
themselves. Take the kids to the grocery store and allow them to choose some fun
snacks to go along with the typical sandwiches and fruit. One fun idea for lunches
is FRENCH'S(R) Potato Sticks in individual serving sized pouches. Convenient and
shelf-stable, Potato Sticks are an easy way to add a treat to your child's lunch.
- Get
your kids excited about vegetables by taking them to a farmer's market
or the grocery store and checking out the less well-known fruits and vegetables.
Kids may become interested in researching the parts of the world from which different
vegetables originate. They should also be encouraged to help plant and care for
the family garden. Vegetables such as tomatoes, radishes and carrots are good
for school lunches and easy to grow.
- Remember
food safety:
Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. If your child's lunch will be unrefridgerated,
avoid eggs, yogurt, meat and mayonnaise. Have a supply of shelf-stable foods available
such as crackers, pudding or serving sized packages of FRENCH'S Potato Sticks.
A frozen juice box or bottle of water will keep your child's lunch cool, and be
ready to drink by lunchtime.
- Make
it fun: Pack
a surprise in each lunch. Stickers, lollipops or a small treat are easy to include
in a lunch bag. Kids love packaging, so small packets of Potato Sticks or pudding
add a lot to their enjoyment of a meal. Decorated with lively stick characters,
French's individual packages of potato sticks are one way to add an element of
fun to a traditional bag lunch.
Courtesy
of ARA Content
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