For young children, how their food looks can be almost as important as how it tastes. Cutting sandwiches into triangle shapes or making colorful fruit kabobs can go a long way to livening up the lunchbox.
Here are some Ideas:
- Cut sandwiches into fun shapes.
Use a knife to cut sandwiches into triangles or diamond shapes. Or for a variety of shapes, use cookie cutters.
- Provide different shaped pastas.
Although macaroni is a perennial favorite, other shapes including snowmen, bunnies and letters are also available. Offer with mild sauces or as a salad with olive oil, cubed meat and Parmesan cheese.
- It doesn’t have to be a sandwich.
Kids love dips. Try hummus or a cream cheese dip and veggies, or bean dip (see recipe below) and toasted pita chips or bagel chips for a protein-filled addition.
- Make a roll-up.
Try spreading cream cheese and dates and/or raisins on lavash bread and roll it up. Shredded carrots and cucumbers or additional veggies can also be used instead of raisins.
- Make fruit kabobs.
Be sure to use fruits that aren’t too messy and cut off sharp tips of wooden skewers before packing into lunches. Chunks of watermelon, pineapple and grapes are good choices.
Bean Dip Recipe
Instead of offering tortilla chips for dipping, add a handful of baked pita chips. You can buy these low-fat, crunchy snacks at specialty food stores, or make your own by slicing pita rounds into triangles and baking on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle some olive oil over the triangles, and bake on each side for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve hot or cold for a healthy dip accompaniment.
Ingredients
- 1 can (15 ounces) black beans (drained)
- 1 can (4 ounces) diced green chili peppers (drained)
- ¼ cup salsa
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 squeezed lemon or lime
- Water (optional)
Preparation
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until mixture has a creamy consistency—about 30 seconds. Season to taste and add water if dip is too thick. To put this in your child’s lunchbox, use a plastic container with tight-fitting lid. Makes 6 servings.