Getting kids to eat what you pack for lunch each day can be a real challenge. If you’ve decided to send your kids off to a daily summer camp each day, you are probably looking around for a few good recipes or healthy snack ideas for their lunchboxes. It’s not easy to get kids to eat healthy these days with so many tempting snacks and candies available.
If you want to get your kids to eat the lunches that you pack for them, you need to find foods that they are going to find tempting to eat so that they don’t trade with another child.
It’s important to sample the recipes yourself first to make sure that the food tastes good. Of course, you might want to think about the fact that kids don’t always appreciate the same flavors and spices that adults appreciate and take that into consideration when preparing the lunches.
Here are a few kid-friendly recipes for lunchbox meals for those hot summer camp days.
Tasty Salad
If your child isn’t particularly fond of green salad, add a touch of color to their salad to make it more enticing. In addition to the carrots, lettuce, and celery, you can add orange slices, grapes, and pitted cherries to the mix. Just make sure that you cut the grapes, carrots, and cherries if you are giving the salad to a small child.
Whole Wheat Bagel with Berries
If your child enjoys bagels and cream cheese, why not try introducing them to the hearty goodness of a whole wheat, oat, or bran bagel with delicious, ripe berries on it? Many berries, including blueberries and raspberries are rich in anti-oxidants and vitamins. Just use a small bowl to mix a bit of cream cheese and fresh berries together before spreading them onto the bagel. If you prefer, you can use a tablespoon or two of peanut butter instead of the cream cheese.
Cold Pasta
Children don’t seem to mind eating food that has already cooled off. Just take a bit of plain cold pasta, preferably shaped pasta, and add a few ingredients to it. You might want to add cherry or grape tomatoes, slivered almonds, or a tiny bit of seasoning for flavor enhancement.
If the lunchbox isn’t going to be refrigerated, you should include an ice pack or frozen juice box to keep everything cold. At the end of each day, ask your kids to tell you how they liked each lunch idea that you try, so you know which ones to avoid in the future.