7 tips for school lunches

“Even if you aren’t going anywhere except to the dining room table for school, planning is important,” said Kristi King, senior pediatric dietitian at Texas Children’s Hospital and an Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics spokesperson.

“This is a time of uncertainty and planning can help establish a sense of normalcy for kids,” King said. “Not to mention, preparing the lunch just as if you would pack it for school will help prevent your children from mindless eating and wandering to the kitchen.”

Lunches don’t have to be complicated. You can simply target four items in lunch: a protein food such as meat, eggs, nut butter or beans; a fruit or vegetable; whole grains, such as whole-wheat bread, whole-grain crackers, pasta or a bagel; and a dairy food, such as cheese, yogurt or milk, which could also serve as a protein source, said Jill Castle, pediatric dietitian and creator of The Nourished Child, a nutrition education website for parents.

Selecting foods from these groups also helps ensure that nutrition needs are met, since children need protein for growth and focus during school, healthy carbohydrates for sustained energy, healthy fats for brain development and dairy or other calcium-rich foods for strong bones and teeth.

“Since schooling from home doesn’t take as long as going in-person, you can use the extra time to add an important life skill to your child’s curriculum — cooking in the kitchen!” said Lisa Leake, author of “100 Days of Real Food.” “It’s not only a wonderful learning experience, but a great confidence booster as well!”

“It can be empowering for the kids to ‘make’ lunch without a lot of support from mom and dad,” Feltman agreed.

The key to making school lunches easy, according to Leake, is to make lunch foods in advance and freeze them. Some ideas include homemade whole-grain muffins, burritos, chicken nuggets, smoothies, grilled sandwiches, soups or stews (which you can freeze in individual portions), pancakes, waffles, quick breads, and more

“Simply make one recipe each weekend, consider doubling things you know they will love, and keep on hand in the freezer for when it’s time to pack lunch. Then, the night before, simply take out one premade item to defrost and pack it in the fridge along with some fresh produce and other simple additions.”

Lunchtime is a great opportunity to be creative with food! Try making food faces and use cookie or sandwich cutters in the shapes of animals, ballerinas, sports items, butterflies, hearts and stars.

Kabobs, like colorful fruit kebobs or tomato and cheese kabobs, can reinforce pattern making. Leake suggested adding fun toothpicks and cute notes, which can be premade or handwritten.

“Lunch is a great opportunity to repurpose leftovers from dinner the night before, both at home and school,” Feltman said.

Eating leftovers for lunch also results in less food waste. Simply roll up the ingredients of last night’s protein with veggies into a wrap, tortilla or taco. You can also use leftover rotisserie chicken, turkey or fish for sandwiches or salads.

For lists of various lunch items, check out Leake’s school lunch packing chart. “Ask (kids) to check off what looks good to them and that they’ll actually eat,” Leake said.

Remember to use the weekends to prepare lunch items. Levinson often makes a batch of her egg muffins and quinoa and veggie bites for her daughters’ lunches.