5 Ways to keep School Lunches Delicious and Appealing

Guest Post by:  Larry “LBJ” Brown, Jr. from LBJ’s Brown Bag

Every day millions of children look forward to eating their lunch during the school day. Next to phys-ed class and recess, this is one of the most coveted times of the school day! The common denominator in the equation of a lunch is pretty standard. Most times, a child has the same items in their lunch, and this can become quite monotonous thus wasted food and your money. To assure your success in preparing a lunch that will be completely devoured this school year, here are 5 ways to keep your child’s lunch delicious and appealing:

1. Put a twist on tradition! A typical lunch includes a sandwich, fruit, snack (chips/pretzels) and a beverage. Consider a creative spin on your child’s sandwich and use a sandwich cutter to add fun shapes to their lunch. If your child is a little older and fun dinosaur shapes might be pushing the protective-parent envelope, serve their sandwich in other types of bread like Pita, Flatbread, or get fancy and make a mini Panini! Children talk over lunch. Let your sandwich be the table topic and watch them turn into a lunchtime rock star!

2. ROY G. BIV is your new friend. Select foods that are bright and healthy! Oftentimes children are attracted to the packaging on most processed lunch items, but when Mommy & Daddy read the back of the box, there’s nothing but bad nutritional news printed. If you package colorful, natural foods in sparkling bags and containers, it will subconsciously appeal to your child’s appetite and find its way in their tummies. The entire visible spectrum is amazing; use it as your palate!

3. Style & profile. In a day where our resources are depleting, you can make a difference and invest in durable, reusable lunch totes and carriers that will save money and resources. Let your child select their lunch tote. This will instill a sense of pride in carrying their lunch to school. Just make sure they don’t leave their lunch tote in the lunch room after walking the runway of the cafeteria, turning all the heads of their peers at their cool tote!

4. Use the Sneak Attack! Some children moan and complain because they have to eat “healthy” food. Since you’re controlling what goes in the lunch tote, prepare some of their favorite foods and sneak in mini servings of fruits and vegetables! If your child loves cold pizza, make a sauce full of pureed veggies, they’ll never know. All they’ll see is PIZZA! Maybe mac & cheese is on their list of must-haves, if so, add chopped broccoli and red peppers! They’ll still see mac & cheese! Additionally, if your child is a total tuna or chicken salad connoisseur, you can add craisins or grapes to add a popped, sweet bite throughout the salad!

5. Make it personal. Warm your child’s heart, daily, with personal messages inside their lunch tote! Simple message of love and encouragement will provide the best surprise each day for your child! I’m a product of loving messages from my Mom on my lunch bag—even in high school! Using this simple element of surprise will create lifetime memories for your child, and possibly a tradition to be passed to generations to come.

A big thank you to Larry “LBJ” Brown, Jr. for these 5 Ways to Keep Your Children’s Lunch Delicious.  To get more fun tips, recipe’s and more from LBJ, visit him at:

His Blog at  LBJ’ s  Brown Bag
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