Packing a Healthy Lunch... at 7 am... every single weekday

Packing a lunch can be a drag. Here are my top 5 reasons why I don't like packing lunches:

1. Tupperware lids are always in the very back of the Tupperware cupboard or missing or close to the right size but actually the wrong size.
2. You have to wash out all those Tupperware containers in the evening.
   
3. My kid's favorite lunch foods shift mercilessly from week to week.
4. It's hard to decide what to pack for lunch at 7 am.
5. Even after you decide what to pack, most lunch food seems kind of gross at 7 am.

But, I do it. My kid's school has a particularly horrifying hot lunch program with nasty vegetables and plenty of fried stuff. I stare longingly at photos in all the news items about the awesome school lunches being served at many schools around the country. We are talking salad bars, stir-fries, brown rice, steamed vegetables, whole-wheat hot dog buns and fresh fruit. Someday maybe all schools will serve those kinds of lunches. Until then, the rest of us must pack.

And since we must pack, I have developed an easy strategy for getting the job done quickly, between gulps of coffee and giving out early morning wisdom like "Don't put snow boots on without socks" or "When you brush your teeth, your breath smells better."

The basic strategy, straight from the pages of Feeding the Kids: The Flexible, No-Battles, Healthy Eating System for the Whole Family, is this: pack one whole-grain, one lean protein, one vegetable, one fruit, one dairy and, sometimes, something extra.

Here are some ideas for each category.

• Whole grain: Baked corn chips, baked potato chips, Kashi granola bar, whole-wheat bread (as a sandwich), low-fat Triscuits, brown rice cake, popcorn cakes, whole-grain cereal (as part of a trail mix), left-over whole-wheat pasta with Parmesan cheese, popped popcorn
• Lean proteins: Lunch meat (with or without the rest of the sandwich), beef jerky, salmon salad, chicken salad, bean dip, bean salad, chicken soup (in a thermos), nuts
• Vegetables: baby carrots, pepper slices, cucumber rounds, corn and peas (just put frozen in a Tupperware-they melt by lunch) or add veggies to the protein (in soup, salad, sandwich, dip)
• Fruit: a piece or slices of fresh fruit, cup of applesauce, pop top can of fruit in juice, dried apricots, box or raisins, frozen berries in a Tupperware container (melts by lunch time), a frozen smoothie (only partially melts by lunchtime and can be eaten with a spoon)
• Dairy: let the kids by milk at school, string cheese, yogurt on top of frozen fruit (see above), homemade pudding (recipe in Feeding the Kids), thermos of hot chocolate or milk with milk cubes to keep it cold (recipe in Feeding the Kids, again)

I am in no way implying that using these strategies will solve the 5 reasons packing lunch is a drag. But, at least the strategies will help you pack a healthy, complete lunch... at 7 am... every single week day.

Visit www.feedingthekids for more information!