Packing School Lunch: Don’t Forget the Dairy!
Kids are heading back to school, and for parents of “cold lunchers”, it’s time to decide what you will include in your child’s lunch this school year. Whether you are feeling overwhelmed with what to pack or excited to try something new, here are some great and nutritious ideas to relieve that stress.
Dairy is a must! Include milk at all meals so your child won’t miss out on key nutrients necessary to grow and learn. Send milk from home or make sure that they have milk money in their school account. If sending milk from home, make sure to add an ice pack so it stays cool until lunch.
Kids love finger foods. Sliced cucumbers, bell peppers, celery, cherry tomatoes or baby carrots are great, especially with a yogurt dip.
Pack ingredients so kids can easily assemble their own lunch: tacos, mini cheese/meat/cracker sandwiches or foods on a skewer.
Freeze a Go-Gurt the night before and put it in their lunch box in the morning. This will keep the Go-Gurt cold so that it is still good to eat at lunch as well as keep other food items cold.
Lastly, remember that including your child in the lunch prep process will make them more likely to eat it.
Think Outside of the Lunch Box!
Sandwich Kabobs 6 Ways
https://weelicious.com/sandwich-kabobs-6-ways/
Homemade Lunchables
https://snapeatrun.wordpress.com/tag/homemade-lunchables/
Apple Cheese Wraps
https://weelicious.com/apple-cheese-wraps-recipe/
Ham and Cheddar Pinwheels
https://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/pinwheels/
Easy Cheesecake Snackers
https://www.milkmeansmore.org/recipe/easy-cheesecake-snackers/
Strawberries and Cream Cheese Sandwiches
https://www.milkmeansmore.org/recipe/strawberries-cream-cheese-sandwiches/
School Meals
School meals are healthy meals and are required to meet the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Since 2012, schools offer students larger portions of fruits and vegetables with every lunch. Weekly offerings of vegetable choices must include legumes, dark green and red/orange vegetables. Students are required to take at least one half-cup serving of fruits or vegetables with every school lunch.
All grains offered with school meals must be whole grain-rich, meaning that the grains are at least 50% whole grain. Every school meal must offer one cup of fat-free or 1% milk, although flavored milk must be fat-free. To meet the calorie limits, flavored milk contains less added sugar than what you would see on the grocery store shelves.
Whether you’re packing a tasty, nutritious lunch or your child is receiving a nutritious school meal, they will be fueled with plenty of veggies, fruits and nutrient-rich dairy to tackle each school day!