Healthy and Tasty Food Items for Your Kid’s Lunch

1. Healthy and Tasty Food Items for Your Kid’s Lunch Though many of today’s elementary schools go above and beyond to provide healthy, delicious lunches for students, there are many cases in which students are more comfortable with (or more likely to eat) lunches brought from home. If you and your child are looking for some fun and exciting new additions to his or her lunchbox, the options below taste good –and they’re good for your child, too. Homemade Hummus If there’s one health food that is easy to make at home, tastes absolutely amazing, and provides a serious amount of filling nutrition, it’s hummus. There are plenty of recipes online, but all you need is a can of drained chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans), salt, black pepper, and whatever other seasonings your child likes. This might include sun- dried tomatoes, garlic, roasted bell peppers, nuts, and more. Put these items into a food processor and pulse until grainy, then add tiny amounts of extra virgin olive oil every few seconds until the mixture is creamy. Serve it alongside some pita chips; you can buy these in bags or make your own from pita bread. Kale Chips Most kids (and most adults, for that matter) wrinkle their noses at kale. It’s bitter and quite tough for a green, but there’s one way to prepare it thatmost kids will never turn down, and that’s in the form of kale chips. They’re so simple to do that you can even enlist your kid’s help to make them! Remove the stems from some kale and cut larger leaves in half. Next, mince a clove or two of garlic. Put the kale pieces in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, then add the minced garlic and some salt. Use your fingers (fun for kids!) to toss the kale pieces until they are coated, then roast them in the oven for five to 10 minutes. They get crispy like chips and they will melt in your child’s mouth, so be prepared to make them often! You can store any extras in a zipper bag for a day or two, and they make a great snack at home. Lettuce-Wrapped Spring Rolls If there’s one thing kids really love to eat, it’s anything with the word “roll up” in it. Slices of lunchmeat and cheese rolled into logs are a favorite, but they aren’t always the healthiest option. Instead, try making your own spring rolls from foods that require no heating, and instead of using the rice wrappers, use iceberg or romaine lettuce leaves, instead. Good ideas for filling include a mix of tuna salad and julienned carrot and celery pieces, a cold chicken salad with fruits like grapes or raisins, and even a mix of diced raw veggies such as cucumber, mushrooms, bell peppers, and onions. The possibilities here are endless and you can take liberties with your own creativity. Eating a good lunch is important for ensuring your child’s academic success at any age, but sometimes kids are picky, or they just don’t like eating lunches at school. If this is the case, you can try any of the awesome items shown above to make your kid’s day and help him or her learn more, grow more, and do more.