Do you struggle with what to pack your child for lunch? Does your middle schooler bug you to purchase a school lunch plan, but you know the options aren’t the healthiest?
School lunch can be tough, and it can be difficult to please your kids, especially when it comes to trying to get them to eat healthy.
With these brown bag lunch ideas, I bet your kids won’t even miss those school lunches. In fact, they may even look forward to opening their lunch box each day!
Here is one week of diabetes-friendly lunch ideas that are well-balanced and are sure to satisfy your kids’ belly!
Monday
- Peanut butter sandwich on a whole grain pita
- 8 baby carrots with ¼ cup hummus
- 1 handful almonds
- 1 square unsweetened dark chocolate
Tuesday
- Turkey roll ups: Turkey breast rolled into logs with cheese, sliced avocado, and mustard
- 6 grape tomatoes, sliced
- Orange bell pepper, sliced with 2 Tbsp. hummus
Wednesday
- Cheese sandwich on a whole wheat pita
- Unsweetened Greek yogurt parfait with ¼ cup blueberries
- 1 handful almonds
Thursday
- Homemade pita pizza: Shredded cheese, 1 Tbsp. tomato paste, and veggies on a mini whole grain pita
- 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 cup of unsweetened cottage cheese
Friday
- Chicken salad made with rotisserie chicken, ¼ cup sliced red grapes, and mashed avocado
- 1 handful of almonds or cashews
- 1 apple with 1 Tbsp. unsweetened peanut butter
Making your kids’ lunch can be incredibly rewarding and helps teach your child what healthy eating is all about. Preparing lunch from home allows you to control how many carbohydrates as well as how much sugar your child is consuming during the day.
While many kids enjoy getting their lunch from the school cafeteria, packing their lunch can be just as fun. Set a meal plan for the week, and get the kids involved. Ask them what they enjoyed most from last week’s lunch, and what they could do without. By including them, they are more likely to get excited about lunch time and won’t even miss the cafeteria junk food!
To make things even more exciting, try cutting the pita sandwiches out into fun shapes using a cookie cutter and use a bento box. Presentation goes a long way!
