Advertisement Insulated bags and boxes often come with separate compartments to keep food at different temperatures, and everything in its place. And there’s plenty of room for individual tiny containers, so kids can have fun “making” their own food.
“I’ve had four kids, and if the lunches are fun, parents aren’t going to get resistance,” says Kit Bennett, founder of the family advice site AmazingMoms.com. “It’s worth a little bit of extra effort the night before if you know you are providing healthy food.”
For example, in an insulated, multi-compartment lunch box, pack a “make your own taco” kit, complete with lettuce, shredded cheese, meat and salsa your child can use to assemble a have-it-your-way healthy Mexican meal. Or instead of assembling a sandwich yourself, pack the ingredients separately and let your child put it all together at lunch (or eat it in deconstructed fashion).
Of course, you’ll need to make sure you’re packing foods your child likes in the first place.
“Get kids involved so they are more likely to eat it,” suggests Deanna Cook, director of creative development for FamilyFun magazine. “I often talk with my kids about how lunch went that day. I ask them if there was something someone else had that looked good.”
Several times a year Cook even joins her daughters, ages 6 and 10, for lunch at school to see what their peers are eating.
Many parents are inclined to underestimate how adventurous their children’s palates are. But if your family is like many today who eat out more, often at ethnic restaurants, your child already may have expanded tastes. So don’t be afraid to borrow some ideas.
Bennett said her kids enjoy Asian and Mediterranean foods, so she has packed sushi, falafel and Greek salads. And the once-exotic hummus is now so mainstream many children enjoy it as a dip for vegetables.
Once you’ve figured out what the little ones want, put as much energy into finding appealing and functional ways of packing it.
Let your children help select their lunch boxes. Many lunch box companies now sell models intended to be customized, either with craft supplies or professional monogramming done when they are ordered.
The food itself can be fun, too. Bennett likes to pack lunches with themes. For “zoology,” cut your child’s sandwich with a lion or bear cookie cutter. Add “bugs” on a log (cream cheese filled celery with raisins on top) and decorate a banana with monkey stickers. If Bennett is going for a circus theme, she’ll add sides of popcorn and animal crackers.
She also keeps a stockpile of comic strips, riddles, jokes and Mad Libs and includes one with the lunch.
It sounds like a lot of extra work, but it doesn’t have to be.
“Get organized. A little bit of effort on the weekend can save you a lot of stress,” says Bennett said. “Keep everything in one place so you aren’t running around in the morning looking for things.”
Keep it healthy
Some simple suggestions for healthy and tasty snacks for children. And be sure to offer water or low-fat or fat-free milk to drink.
Add some fun
What’s hot in Lunch box options
TOTES/SOFT-SIDES: This is the most common style, ranging from simple soft-sided bags to spacious so-called buckets, which are soft versions of the metal lunch pails often associated with construction workers. Most boxes of this style offer multiple compartments, allowing the easy segregation of delicate items and heavy drinks, as in the bottom sandwich pouch on California Innovations’ Arctic Zone two compartment lunch pack ($7.99). Some designs also make it possible to store different foods at different temperatures, such as the Lands’ End ThermaCool Lunch Box ($35).
BENTO: Bento boxes are a traditional lunch in Japan in which small portions of multiple foods are served, often in small boxes that are divided into compartments. The bento box-style lunch boxes available in the U.S. usually hold multiple small containers, some designed specifically to store soups, sandwiches, dips and salads. Zojirushi offers four cylindrical bento boxes, which contain multiple covered round bowls, some of them insulated (www.zojirushi.com). Because of the shape of Zojirushi’s bento boxes, these won’t work for people who primarily eat sandwiches.
CHARACTERS: While industry stalwart Thermos continues to make hundreds of character-driven lunch boxes, including a Superman-style tote complete with cape ($9.99) and a Barbie purse lunch bag ($8.99), there are plenty of less commercial options, too. Pottery Barn Kids has its stuffed animal-like Preschool Animal Lunch Bags ($19) available in the shape of an elephant, giraffe, horse and cow. For older children, California Innovations has Make It Your Own Lunch Packs ($8.44), which are denim messenger-style bags that come with glitter paint and patches.
FASHION: For women, The Container Store offers a Built NY-designed neoprene Lunch Bag ($24.99), which resembles a stylish purse and is available in a variety of prints, including stripes, polka dots and the ever-fashionable black. Men might consider the Lunch Tote ($12.99), which mimics the popular messenger bag style of many briefcases. This insulated, soft-sided bag easily accommodates a variety of plastic containers.
RETRO: If you have your heart set on reliving your childhood, there’s always eBay. Or check out Lunchboxes.com, which sells more than 180 styles of lunch boxes, including many of the metal ones you remember (one example: Jimi Hendrix for $11.95). Or if you're after retro style with modern appointment, consider California Innovations’ metal Retro Insulated Lunch Box, which combines traditional box styling with a soft, insulated interior ($7.99).
— J.M. Hirsch, The Associated Press
What’s for lunch around the world
Here’s a look at children’s school lunches abroad, as reported by AP correspondents around the world:
CHINA: Children seldom bring lunch to school in Beijing. Their lunches are arranged by the school and they pay a monthly fee. Schools order boxed lunches — usually rice, meat and vegetables in a takeaway box — from food companies supervised by the local educational authority. The cost is about 5 yuan (66 cents) to 10 yuan ($1.32) a day.
FRANCE: Three- or four-course hot lunches are the norm for French kids, even in preschool. The meal might include veal cutlets, paella or apple clafoutis. And while some go home for lunch, children generally don’t bring food from home.
INDIA: It’s unusual for schools in India to serve lunch, so most children carry what is called tiffin to school. Tiffin usually is a home-cooked meal or snack, which varies by region. Children in the north might eat parathas, a fried flat bread, with yogurt and pickles. Children in the south are more likely to have some rice. But sandwiches aren’t uncommon. Fillings include cucumber, butter with jam, and eggs. Children in the city usually carry westernized lunch boxes, often with cartoon characters.
ISRAEL: Children in Israel go to school six days a week, so the school day is shorter than in the U.S. Elementary students finish studies about 1 p.m. and go home for lunch. However, they take a snack for what is known as “aruchat eser,” the 10 a.m. meal. This is usually a small sandwich, such as pita and hummus, a hard-boiled egg or a package of yogurt and a piece of fruit. The food is put in a small plastic bag inside the children’s backpacks.
ITALY: The first question many Italian parents ask when they pick up their children after school is “How was lunch?” or “Did you eat all your lunch?” Just as at restaurants and home, children are served a “primo” (first course), which often is pasta. For “secondo,” there is a protein centerpiece, with vegetables. The protein might be a veal cutlet, a frittata or caprese (mozzarella with tomatoes). Friday often sees fish sticks or some other fish, reflecting the country’s centuries-old Roman Catholic traditions.
There always is fresh bread. Beverages consist of one thing: water. For dessert, there usually is a piece of fruit.
JAPAN: Schools usually prepare lunches and students eat in their classrooms. A typical lunch consists of a bowl of rice or bread, a main dish (meat or fish) and a few side dishes. For sports festivals or outings, students bring a lunch their parents — mostly mothers — make. That’s when mothers often prepare a colorful, cute lunch box featuring a character from popular cartoons with vegetables cut into the shapes of stars and flowers.
MEXICO: Many Mexican schools build their school day around the country’s traditional, large lunch served at home in the late afternoon, so children usually just pack a snack in their bookbags. A favorite is the ham-and-bean sandwich, wrapped in a napkin and sometimes stored in a plastic bag. Others pack fruit or vegetables. Some bring chiliquilies, a mixtures of fried tortilla chips, salsa and cheese, in a plastic container. Those who don’t pack a lunch often bring a few pesos to buy snacks from vendors that hang out around schools.
PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES: Children here have a short day and eat lunch at home. But for a snack they usually bring pita bread stuffed with several fillings. Traditionally, the small round bread is stuffed with labneh, a hardened, tangy yogurt; or zatar, a mix of dried, crushed hyssop and olive oil. Parents with a little more money also stuff pita with chocolate spread.
