Healthy, Kid Friendly, Fussy Eater Approved Lunchbox & Snack Ideas
So it’s the New Year and you have all these goals and intentions set out for the year ahead. Take a step back and think about attainable change to progress your health, and treat it more as a lifestyle change rather than a chore or work. ☺
To that end, I try to make a conscious effort to prepare and eat healthy, nourishing meals most days of the week so as not to feel so badly or guilty when I choose to indulge on that occasional cookie, muffin, whatever. In the spirit of preparing healthy, yummy foods, I am starting a new regular instalment on healthy, colourful, kid tested and approved lunch box and snack ideas.
I don’t know about you, but in my house, I am always trying to invent fun creative ways to get my daughter to eat her vegetables without a fight. More often than not it’s an uphill battle typically involving some sort of reward or bribe in the end. This series brings to you fun, healthy kid friendly ideas that even the fussiest of eaters will enjoy, no bribes necessary!
Why kids love hot dogs is seriously beyond me. I find most of them to be rubbery, salty and unappetizing and several brands contain little to no meat and virtually no nutritional value WHATSOEVER. I prepare my daughter’s lunchbox every day and it usually contains things like avocado, quinoa, fresh fruit, vegetables etc, but equally I understand that she wants to have ‘what other kids are having’. I have explained to her the value in fuelling your body with healthy, nutrient rich and delicious foods, equating the body a car, and if you try a run a car on, say soda instead of gas it would not function properly. While she understands this comparison, sometimes she just wants the typical ‘kid food’. My solution, compromise, try and incorporate it, in MODERATION, just like anything else. This week Isla said she wanted pretzels and hotdogs, so I made up this lunch box:
Hot dog and cheese pretzel skewers, cauliflower (lightly steamed and salted), avocado
Mixed nuts, seeds, coconut flakes, raisins and a few super mini pretzels
Strawberries
Pretzels used: I discovered ultra mini Synder’s snacking pretzels, they are TINY, about half the size found in the fun size variety bags. So you can satisfy that salty crunchy cravings, having loads, and it really only works out to a fraction of even the convention kid snack size pretzels.
Hot Dogs: I used hot dogs from the Brooklyn Hot Dog Company. I like this particular brand because the list of ingredients is short and identifiable/natural, so you know exactly what you are putting in your kid’s tummy (beef, water, spices, garlic, salt, citrus powder, in natural casing), no fillers, additives, preservatives, nitrates…. They taste yummy when cooked on grill pan and served with spicy relish or mustard (I tried it to verify, purely for test purposes only 😛 ).
