Rethinking School Lunches

As kids head back to school today, moms and dads start thinking about handling a new year's worth of school lunches.

With school lunches getting costly, here's some advice for packing lunch:

If you choose to pack your child’s lunch, you naturally have more control over what your child is eating, and you can pack his or her favorites. You can also be sure your child’s lunch meets any special dietary needs (like food allergies) by packing it yourself.

Try to mix it up. If you pack your child the same boring sandwich and snacks every day, chances are good he or she will toss it or trade it away for something less healthy.

Let your kids decide. Ask them what they’d like to include in their lunch boxes. Getting them to participate in the healthy decision-making process makes them much more likely to eat – and enjoy – their healthy lunch items.

Healthy Options

• LIVESTRONG.com has some great outside-the-box school lunch ideas, like pita sandwiches, English muffin cheese pizza, and Mediterranean wraps.
• 100 Days of Real Food focuses on fresh, healthy options that cut out processed foods.
• Try a bento box. Inspired by Japanese-style takeout meals, these colorful, happy lunch boxes are sure to be the talk of the cafeteria.

Save on Lunches

• Follow sales at local grocery stores and use local frugal blogs like For The Mommas, Mama Cheaps and CouponMom to match sales with coupons to save serious money.
• Shop at warehouse stores. Sam’s Club, BJs and Costco sell potential lunch-box fillers in bulk, like lunchmeat and cheese, bread, snacks, granola bars, juice boxes and fruit cups.
• Instead of purchasing individual servings or pre-packaged snacks, divvy up your own. Buy a bag or a box of your child’s favorite snacks, and package them in individual zipper bags or containers when you get home. You still have the convenience of a quick grab-and-go snack, without having to pay extra for that convenience. (And if you use reusable bags or containers, you also avoid the additional packaging and waste.)

Make it Quick and Easy

• Plan your kids’ lunches before you head to the grocery store. Make a list of what you’ll pack and what you need to buy. You’ll avoid wasting time standing in the snack aisle trying to make decisions, and having to make return trips for things you might have forgotten.
• Make ahead. If you pack lunches the night before, there will be no scrambling or rushing in the morning before school. Better yet, make a whole week’s worth of lunches on Sunday night.
• Outsource! If you have older children, ask them to pitch in and help pack up school lunches. In time, they might even be able to take on the task all by themselves.