How to Make a Sack Lunch for Your Child

You’ve read “Fast Food Nation,” watched “Super-Size Me” and witnessed the preteens mobbing the grocery store, buying bags of candy and two liter bottles of pop. Now that you’re sure that nutrition can’t be safely handled by the school lunch ladies or students with pocket money, you know what you have to do. You’ve got to haul yourself out of bed and make those lunches yourself—lunches that will satisfy nutritional needs, boost brain power and scholastic success, and are tasty enough that your kids won’t drop them in the gutter on the way to school! Follow these steps to learn how to make a fantastic sack lunch for your child.

Step1
Allow your child to choose the lunch sack, satchel, backpack or thermally insulated enclosure of his or her choice.

Step2
Ask your child what he or she would like to have in a sack lunch; allow time for all the preposterous requests to spill out—chocolate cake, popcorn, pickled herring, cream puffs—before taking note of more helpful suggestions.

Step3
Pay attention to five categories: protein, carbohydrates, vegetables, fruit and hydration. Make a roster of foods that fill these slots for your children to choose from and tell them that they must choose and eat one from each category.

Step4
Load the lunch boxes yourself. While it would be lovely to let the kids do it, doing it yourself will ensure the balanced lunches you're seeking.

Step5
Look in the lunch sacks when the kids get home to check what they’ve eaten and what they’ve left behind. Adjust the foods you include to encourage healthy eating and honesty about what they do and don’t like.

written by, Beren deMotier