It’s tough to find healthy lunch ideas and snacks for kids in this day and age of highly processed fast foods and sugary treats. It is especially hard trying to find healthy alternatives that your kids will actually eat! But there is good news — more and more grocery stores are offering a wide-range of natural organic food lines that are easy to prepare, tasty, and kid-friendly too.
You no longer need to bypass the organic food aisle to settle on less expensive “regular” food. Due to consumer demand, many organic foods, particularly those found in your local grocery store, are much more pocketbook friendly than in the past. Not only is organic food a better choice, but you also won’t have to worry so much about the types of chemicals and additives that could be present in the food your children are eating. Studies conducted over the years prove that organic food is the better choice when it comes to overall health. Providing organic eats to pack for kids’ lunches is more convenient than ever before. With a little pre-planning and creativity, you can create healthy well-rounded school lunches and snacks with the myriad of organic foods available right at your local grocers.
organic lunch ideas for kids:
Make a vegetable salad filled with a variety of healthy greens like organic fresh herb and green leaf salad, baby arugula or romaine hearts. Add organic grape tomatoes, carrot peels, chopped celery and sweet corn. Also, pack a small container of salad dressing, letting your children choose their favorite one. This way they will be much more likely to eat their nutritious lunch at school. With a variety of tasty organic dressings to choose from like roasted garlic balsamic vinaigrette, Italian, sweet pepper thousand island, creamy Caesar and ranch dressings, they will certainly find a favorite.
Make a frozen fruit salad that will naturally thaw by lunchtime. Mix fruits such as frozen organic blackberries, dark sweet cherries, raspberries and strawberries. For an added touch, drizzle fruit with a tablespoon of 100 percent pure maple syrup. Your kids will not only love the taste of this all-natural healthy sweetener, but you will also be using real maple syrup instead of processed corn syrup. Include a side container of their favorite organic yogurt or round out the fruit theme with an organic banana walnut muffin.
For a change of pace, include a lunch that consists of a series of healthy dipping snacks such as homemade hummus, easily whipped up in the food processor using canned organic garbanzo beans. Include a variety of organic dipping chips including blue corn tortilla chips, organic tortilla rounds and spicy blue corn chips. For a second dipping option, include salsa. Involve your children in their food choices by allowing them to pick their favorite hummus flavors and salsas. Great organic options include chunky, fire roasted chipotle and peach salsas.
For an extra special dessert treat every now and then, pack a few organic cookie varieties such as vanilla and chocolate cream cookies, ginger snaps or chocolate chip cookies into lunch boxes. Or include an organic apple sauce cup or side servings of flavored organic raspberry or cinnamon apple sauce.
Also, don’t neglect the importance of healthy beverages. Many beverages are sugar-laden and made with little natural juice. Why not fill up thermoses with organic milk or organic soy milk. Organic fruit drinks such as blueberry, pomegranate, apple or cranberry juice are also healthy alternatives to their counterparts. Convenient organic juice pouches are also available and easy to tuck into backpacks. Strawberry kiwi or wild cherry are sure to give your kids a smile.
Once you familiarize yourself with the variety of organic foods available at your local supermarket, you’ll quickly see how easy putting together healthy organic lunches can be. Not only will this allow your children to have optimal nutrient sources each day along with great flavor, but you will also have peace of mind knowing you are giving them the quality ingredients they deserve.
Leave a Comment