Love SoftBums Blog: Creative School Lunches for Kids-Simply Modern Mom

I found this great blog post on creative lunches to send with your scholars.

Check out more of her posts here: http://www.simplymodernmom.com/2010/08/simply-said-stacy-of-kids-stuff-world/

As part of back to school week, I Stacy from Kids Stuff World to share something with us. You see, her site is full of great products, fashion and gift ideas for kids. Stacy loves to shop. She is also a personal shopper and offer her services for free. So if you need back to school shopping help, make sure you contact her. Today, she is sharing with us her ideas on school lunches. This is Stacy who simply said…

Hi ladies! I’m Stacy, Mommy to Happy, Sweet & Little and you can find me most days over at Kids Stuff World. It’s the place where I write about the little things, the big things and all the “stuff” in between.

When I first heard I’d be guest posting during back to school week, I must admit I was a little intimidated. Sure, I’m a mother of three but none of my children are in school yet. In fact, I’m actually giving homeschooling a try for preschool this year. I wondered how I could capture your attention while talking about a subject on which I had no experience.

I wanted to write about something that I can benefit from too (selfish, I know). So, I tried to think of things I might have in common with moms with kids in school. Busy?Yes. Rushed? Yes. Lacking ideas for lunchtime? YES!

WHAT MAKES A GREAT LUNCH?

Fiber, whole grains, some protein, healthy fat, a vegetable and some natural sugar, like a piece of fresh fruit. Whew, that’s a lot for me to think about when I’m in a hurry.
This color chart from Nurture Baby seemed like a bit more fun and easier for me to work in to my schedule. And this handy dandy chart gave me plenty of color choice fruits and veggies to choose from.

HOW COULD I MAKE IT HEALTHIER?

Try thin breads, wraps, pitas, english muffins or mini bagels instead of plain old bread. If using bread, choose 100 precent whole grain.
Substitute chips for veggie chips, goldfish crackers, whole grain crackers, pretzels, mini rice cakes or pita chips.
Even better, use bite size veggies for crunch factor. A little sour cream and ranch seasoning and my kids will eat anything.
Swap soda and sugary fruit juices for flavored waters such as CapriSun Roaring Waters and Minute Maid Fruit Falls are my personal favorites.
For treats, try frozen fruits like grapes or blueberries, muffins or trail mix you baked with the kids, oatmeal bars or granola balls, applesauce.
For packaged goods, my kids love Funky Monkey snacks and Clif Kid ZBar. I get mine from Target when they’re on sale.

WHERE COULD I FIND IDEAS ON WHAT TO MAKE?

School Lunch Ideas from Disney Family
Healthy Kids Lunch Ideas from Eating Well
Another Lunch
Bento Lunch
Wendolonia
Crouching Mother, Hidden Toddler

At first I was just looking for ways to make lunch time greener and healthier but then these ladies got me to thinking. Thinking about meal times as a chance for me to show my children how much I love and care about them instead of looking at it as just another chore weighing me down on my to do list every day. They say it is the small things in life that your child will remember later on. These ladies have inspired me to make at least one part of my child’s day magical by adding a few extra steps to something I was doing any how. What child wouldn’t want to eat a meal that looked like this? I mean, I want to eat meals that look like this! And if they look back on these adorable lunches when they’re older, I hope they will make them think of me and how much fun we had together.

Here’s some things I learned this week about lunch time:
1. Lunches don’t have to be boring.

1. Bento Lunch 2. Crouching Mother, Hidden Toddler 3. Wendolonia

2. Lunches don’t have to be repetitious.

(Click images for full posts)

3. Lunches don’t have to be high in fat, carbs or even sugar.

Sliced strawberries and fruit sweetened jelly wrapped in whole wheat tortilla with almond butter. A side of carrot sticks and sugar snap peas. Granola Bites and bottled water. Lunch idea courtesy of Whole Foods.

4. Lunch boxes don’t have to be bland.