Kids' Corner

School Lunches

Lunchbox tips

• Make some sandwiches ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze them.

• Respect strong food dislikes: Pick your battles and if they really hate it, don't serve it. Let your children make some choices and be involved.

• Keep that lunchbox clean. But, mom, when you clean, try not to snack on those leftovers, a sure way to pack on those winter pounds.

• Carefully watch out for the drink that spills all over lunch: your child will really be upset by a cherry-soaked sandwich.

• For school trips, follow the teacher's instructions and remember to label packages properly.

• When packing for nursery school children, some as young as two, take manageability and dexterity into account. Urge your child to ask the childcare provider for help.

• Stay in tune with your children's changing appetite. Remember that the little boy who ate half a sandwich in second grade may be hungry for two sandwiches in eighth grade!

The Right Balance

Always remember that kids love anything snack like because it's fun to eat. So how do you make your kid's lunch both innovative and nutritious? Use the USDA Food Pyramid as a guide. Teach your children about the pyramid by asking them which foods fall into which categories.

A school lunch should include at least one serving from each of the five pyramid groups: bread, vegetable, fruit, milk and protein.

1. Bread: bagels, tortillas, rolls, muffins and pita pockets. Kids really like the mini bagels, mini pizzas and roll-ups. If you use sliced bread, trim the crusts and use cookie cutters to cut out neat shapes; if nothing else, at least cut the square into the much-preferred triangles!

2. Vegetable: carrot sticks, celery sticks, broccoli florets and fresh, crunchy jicama slices.

3. Fruit: Kids like bite-size pieces, so try grapes, strawberries, cantaloupe chunks, cherries and orange wedges.

4. Milk: milk, cheese sticks or chunks, and yogurt. Schools often sell eight-ounce milk cartons to accompany school lunches. Try to convince your child to buy skim or 1%-low-fat milk. There's also chocolate milk — always a favorite!

5. Protein: peanut butter and peanuts, eggs, beans, cheese cubes/sticks. Remember about food safety with eggs.

6. Fats/Sweets: raisins, granola, trail mix, sunflower seeds, fruit roll-ups, animal crackers or graham crackers.

In general, kids need vitamins A and C, iron, calcium and calories — they don't need a lot of sodium or fat.

Lunch Box Tips & Tricks

• Keep your lunch-making supplies together in one place to make the preparation process more efficient during morning "rush hour." Store the lunch bags and boxes, sandwich bags, thermoses, plastic spoons and forks, toothpicks and small plastic storage containers in the same area.

• Put flat ice-packs in your child's lunch box during warm weather, or any time you are sending perishable foods, such as dairy products or egg dishes.

• Another idea is to freeze the juice box or packet overnight. It will act as an ice-pack in the lunchbox and kids will have a nice cold juice by lunchtime.

• Click here for more ideas.

Food-safety tips

        For snacks that need cold storage, it may be be worthwhile considering investing in an insulated lunch pouch. An insulated pack keeps cold foods safe and helps retain the temperature better than a paper bag or plastic lunch bag. Smaller pouches work better than larger ones because there is less air space to keep chilled. You can also keep perishable snacks cold by buying a frozen gel pack or freezer pack. However, cold packs are not designed for all-day use, so keep an eye on the clock. A snack packed in the morning should be eaten by lunch. Any lunchtime leftovers should be tossed, and the lunch bag thoroughly cleaned after every use.