5 Healthy School Lunches That Kids Will Love
August is Kids Eat Right Month, an initiative started by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics to shine a spotlight on the nutritional needs of our country’s most vulnerable population, our children!
It’s also the start of the school year for students nationwide (including older kids like myself).
#nerdalert
This month I’ll be starting my Masters of Science program in Nutrition at the University of Southern California, and I’m already trying to figure out how I’ll juggle school, blogging, training, exercise, and a healthy diet.
I know I’m not alone. Most moms and working women are likely expecting their schedules to pick up as well, after what was hopefully a relaxing summer. During this busy time, we could all use help making healthy decisions when it comes to lunchtime choices — whether for our kids or ourselves.
School lunch programs and free office food isn’t usually the most nutritious option. So to help get you prepared for a healthy school (and work) year, here are five of my favorite healthy school lunches for kids and adults alike!
5 Healthy School Lunches
Serve it on a sandwich, atop a bed of spinach, or on cute little cucumber slices as shown above.
This mayo-free egg salad tastes just like the classic you loved growing up and I guarantee your kids won’t know the difference.
This tuna salad recipe is also mayo-free, but packs as much flavor as the fatty original. With diced pickles for crunch and character, it’s a total winner with kids (and those with more complex tastebuds).
Make it a cheese melt at home or serve it cold on a sandwich or salad for brown-bagging.
Sun-Dried Tomato, Basil + Tuna Pasta Salad
A fun take on traditional pasta salad, and protein-packed thanks to the tuna. You can also sub chicken or shrimp in this easy, delicious recipe.
A great on-the-go meal since it holds up well without refrigeration.
“Tastes Like Ramen” Noodle Soup
Though not as easy to transport as the other recipes, kids absolutely love this one, and it’s awesome once reheated. It’s also a great alternative for college students who crave the classic dorm room packaged snack.
In that case — you can cook the spaghetti squash in the microwave if your tiny living quarters lack a kitchen!
And for a bonus sweet treat…
Not gonna lie…sometimes I just eat a bunch of these and call it a meal.
With a healthy balance of complex carbs, protein, and healthy fat, it’s actually not a bad choice!
Krissy @ Pretty Wee Things says:
My son is totally obsessed with pasta, so the tuna pasta is a great idea. He’s only a toddler, but his favourite lunch would have to be sushi or a vegetable omelette.
Whitney English says:
Sushi?! This guy’s got a very refined palate :) Sounds like he makes a great dinner date!
Julie says:
I work in schools and have not once in 8 years purchased school lunch! I always bring my own and it weirds co-workers out that I don’t partake in the lounge goodies either.
Whitney English says:
Better to be weird and healthy, I’d say! :)
Anh says:
Whitney, welcome back! Glad you enjoyed your trip to Indonesia. All the healthy lunch and dessert ideas above sound and look delish! Thanks for sharing. Btw, congratulations on starting your MS in Nutrition at USC this semester. Good luck and all the best on that journey. Hope you’ll share some of the nutrition health-related wisdom acquired through that program with us, too. May be that’ll help you stay on track both with blogging and working on your degree. :)
Whitney English says:
Thank you so much! I will definitely be sharing all of the information I’m learning in my classes. You’re right – it’s a great way to mesh my blogging and school!
David Turner says:
I’m convinced that our mental abilities are directly related to what we eat. I have noticed this in my brother who eats very little healthy food and does very poorly in school. Especially he is not good at science such as math and physics. So that he can get good grades, I order physic homework help for him here on https://assignmaths.com/physics-homework.html. I will leave you a link, maybe it will be useful to someone.
Brueve Tattie says:
Hello everyone, like many students, I also started a session. At this session, I was asked to write an essay, but I don’t understand at all how to write it. My mother advised me to use do my programming homework. You can also use that.
Joe Hilary says:
Hi everybody. I am also looking for this kind of information. Lately, I haven’t been able to do my homework. I would like to find help with my assignments from the university. Does anyone have any advice for me? Thanks in advance for your answers.
ArnoldTaylor says:
Having a good study is necessary for everyone who wants to enter the University. By the way, I also want to say that I recently started diving into this site https://promova.com/blog/how-to-improve-your-written-english-11-tools to know about how to improve written English. This gave me the opportunity to be a more flexible person in this field. If you have a similar need, you can look at this.