School lunch meal planning starts here - use this week's worth of healthy, vegetarian lunches to start your child off on the right foot.
Sending the kids off to school is hectic enough without worrying about packing healthy, balanced lunches. Stress no more - meal planning starts here. Use this week’s worth of healthy, vegetarian lunches to start your child off on the right foot. Make it fun – kids love dipping, dressing, and preparing their own food, so let them be creative!
Kids need energy to keep them going, the bulk of which should come from complex carbohydrates like whole grain breads, brown rice, and whole wheat pasta. The fibre in these foods (and other plant-based foods like fruit and vegetables) can fill up little tummies fast, so provide lots of energy-dense snacks for recess. Small amounts of protein (like soy products, meat analogs, and beans) and natural fats (like nut butter, avocado or olive oil) should be included too. Round out the meal with a piece of fruit, dried fruit like raisins, or 100% fruit juice for a balanced lunch.
1. "Build Your Own" Lunch Boxes.
For some reason kids think pre-made plastic-wrapped lunches are cool, but the high fat meats and extra processing (and packaging!) is not. Use individual plastic containers or a container with separated compartments to keep each component fresh, not soggy. Try one of these healthy vegetarian build-you-own alternatives:
- Classic Build-your-own
- Wheat or rye crackers (look for 0 trans fat varieties with high fibre)
- Cheese or vegetarian pate
- Vegetarian lunch “meat” or sausage (cooked)
- For more adventurous lunchers, add in some components of vegetarian antipasto
- Mini pizzas
- Mini whole wheat pita breads
- Small amount tomato or spaghetti sauce
- Vegetarian pepperoni slices or salami slices - these are pre-cooked and safe to eat cold
- Grated or sliced cheese
- Diced green peppers, mushrooms, or other vegetables
Serve with veggies and dip.
2. Pasta salad
Tailor pasta salad to your child’s tastes. Combine cooked and drained pasta with dressing such as mayonnaise, vegan mayonnaise, or an Italian-style marinade/dressing. Add some cooked, drained chickpeas, and assorted vegetables like green pepper, cucumber, green beans and tomatoes. To make it Greek-style, add some feta cheese.
Tip: substitute cooked couscous or brown rice for a tasty variation.
3. One word: Dip.
Everything is more fun with dip! Try a hearty hummus or black bean dip to make it meal-worthy. Keep in mind that some children might find the flavours quite strong - adjust seasonings if this applies. Serve with toasted pita triangles or baked tortilla chips, baby carrots and other veggies for dipping.
4. Soup
Homemade or canned vegetarian varieties (look for those low in salt and sugar) are best and are a sneaky way to get in some extra veggies. Try cozy lentil soup and provide crackers and/or cheese for the top. Keep it warm in an insulated container and it should be the perfect temperature by lunchtime.
5. Leftovers
The easiest of lunches! And who says you can’t make leftovers on purpose? Try tofu nuggets with honey-mustard or bbq dipping sauce. Leftover pizza is always a hit. If your child has access to a microwave and is old enough to operate it safely (i.e. not burning themselves on hot food or accidentally microwaving their metal spoon!), the possibilities are endless. Just be sure to separate items with different moisture contents to avoid sogginess.
Lunches still not a hit?
- Get the kids involved with choosing and preparing their lunches.
- Try novel presentation. Think open-faced sandwiches with goofy faces drawn in jam or mustard, wraps instead of bread, and fun names for new recipes. Anyone who's had "Ants on a log" no doubt find it better tasting than "Celery sticks with raisins and peanut butter".
- Introduce new items slowly - for picky children this could mean one new item per week, max. Allow them time to adapt to new flavours.
- Think outside the lunchbox! Lunches don't have to be made of lunch foods. If your child is on a cereal kick, for example, healthy granola or whole-grain cereals can be packed separately from milk or yogurt and mixed at lunchtime. Be sure to include all the food groups, and you're set!
