Tired of the Same Ole’ PB&J? Get Creative With Kids’ Lunch

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It’s back to school time, which means it’s also time to think of new ideas to pack your kids for school lunches and snacks. Try these quick and easy recipes from Weelicious.com’s Catherine McCord – kids will eat them up!

Back to school! Getting your kids back in the swing of things after a long summer break may be exciting, but for many it’s back to the dreaded, inevitable preparation of school lunch. That means close to 200 packed lunches over the next year.

WATCH: Weelicious Helps Moms Get Kids in the Kitchen

How do you make it tasty, nutritious and exciting for your kids as well as being easy to prepare for you? Here are a few tips that will help:

• Focus on packing a fruit, vegetable, protein and carbohydrate in each meal. This may seem daunting at first, but it’s actually easier than you think. That could mean an apple, bagel with cream cheese and a handful of sugar snap peas.
• Kids use all their senses when it comes to food, so shape and color can be just as important as taste and smell. Cutting foods into coins, sticks or other shapes can change a child’s perception of a food.
• Switch it up! I know it’s easy to toss the same ole’ PB&J and banana in a brown bag, but in the long run if you want your kid to be good eater and enjoy a balance of different foods offering a variety nutrients, it’s a plus to offer a selection of different foods.
• Freeze everything! Any time you make muffins, cookies or have leftover bread, pop it in the freezer so you can pull one or two out at a time when you need it.
  

  Banana dog bites; Catherine McCord, Weelicious.com

WATCH: Chef Tim Love’s Secret to Getting Kids to Try New Foods

Pressed for time? Try these quick, go-to items:

• Nut butters (almond, peanut and sunflower are great choices)
• Cream cheese
• Cheddar, mozzarella or your favorite cheese (sticks, bricks, shredded or slices)
• Pesto (goes great with pasta, rice, quinoa, as a sandwich spread)
• Pasta (a variety of shapes like ziti, macaroni, rotini or more)
• Bananas (to eat on their own, sliced and added with honey and nut butter on a sandwich or added to Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies)
• Baby carrots, sugar snap peas, cucumbers or any of your child’s favorite veggies
• Dehydrated, freeze dried or dried fruit
• Yogurt
• Bread (bagels, english muffins, tortillas or your favorite sandwich bread)

Related: Celebrity Kids’ Chef Cricket Azima on Fun, Healthy Eating

Here are a few nutritious and kid-friendly lunch ideas from Weelicious.com:

Greek Israeli Couscous Salad/Catherine McCord, Weelicious.com

1. Banana Dog Bites, celery with Ranch Dip, cubed mango and Graham Crackers
2. Egg Pesto Melt (my son’s favorite), orange slices, edamame and Chocolate Chip Granola Bars
3. Grilled Cheese and Pickle Panini, blueberries, Roasted Carrot Coins and Fruit and Seed Bars
4. Greek Israeli Couscous Salad, strawberries, sliced red bell peppers and a Carrot, Apple and Coconut Muffins

Like this story? Check out: Top Chef Susan Feniger and Ming Tsai on Healthy Back-to-School Foods

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Category: Food & Wine, Lifestyle