Involve your kids.
Ultimately, they are the ones who eat — or don’t eat — the food that gets packed, so ask for their input and assistance.
Give choices.
Instead of making food a battleground, offer options acceptable to everyone. Need a non-sandwich protein? How about hard-boiled eggs or pepperoni with cheese cubes? If you need to up the veggie quota, try a garden pasta salad.
Pack more than one serving.
Rather than packing a second snack for after-school activities, pack more than one serving of that day’s nonperishable, like popcorn or pretzels.
Remember the add-ons.
Food is more likely to be eaten when it can be combined, dipped or mixed. Carrots can be dipped in ranch dressing, celery in sunflower seed butter (to make it nut-free), and granola or dried fruit can be added to yogurt.
Rely on the proverbial “lunch lady.”
Making lunch shouldn’t be the hardest part of your day. If it is, let your child buy lunch at school a set number of times per week or month. It’ll take the pressure off everyone.
