Back to school means packing lunches in some families. Children want their lunch to be tasty and quick to eat. Parents want to make quick, nutritious lunches. A little planning and creativity will combine these goals.

Welcome to the lunchroom
Picture a large room full of excited, hungry kids all talking, laughing and eating at once. Children are eager to talk with friends and anxious to get to recess. Research shows that having recess before lunch improves food consumption. Unfortunately, many schools cannot have recess before lunch due to scheduling and space problems. As a result, children may not eat all of their lunch because they want to go play. So when you send a lunch, make it quick and easy to eat.

What’s in your child’s lunch?
Prepackaged foods for kids’ lunches are widely available. However, that convenience is expensive and often poor in nutritional quality containing high calories, fat, sugar or salt. Preparing lunch yourself will save money and improve nutrition.

Follow the MyPlate.gov guidelines for healthy eating. MyPlate reminds us to make half of the lunch vegetables and fruits and then add a grain, protein and dairy food. These characteristics also add appeal: color, crunch, fun shapes, and enticing smell. Keep your child’s portion sizes reasonable.

Involve your children in planning and making their lunch. This way they have a say in what they eat. Teach older children and teens to prepare part or all of their lunch – either the night before or in the morning.

Keep it safe
Use an insulated lunch bag to keep food cold. Add a cold pack if any of the foods require refrigeration such as yogurt or a turkey sandwich. If you send hot foods - soup or leftovers, then keep the food hot in an insulated container. Preheat the container first with hot water and then pack the food very hot, so it stays hot and safe until lunch. Tell your children if they have a hot food in their lunch and to be careful when opening the container. Young children may have trouble opening the container or spill the hot food while opening and they could burn themselves.

Add some fun
Use colorful, easy open, reusable containers. Put funny stickers on plastic bags or decorate with permanent markers. Young children love to find a note or joke from Mom, Dad or Grandma in their lunch bag. Add a colorful napkin.