Ask the Sneaky Mama: Healthier Lunches?

by Valorie Delp | More from this Blogger

08 Apr 2008 08:39 AM

Question: I have a question for the Sneaky Mama. I cannot seem to get my kids to eat anything besides peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. Do you have any suggestions for healthier alternatives like chicken or tuna?

So now you know, if you want the Sneaky Mama to answer a question about sneaking healthier foods into your child's diet or making "real" food, kid friendly--just send me a message and I'm likely to answer!

Is Peanut Butter Not a Major Food Group?

Sometimes I think peanut butter gets a bad rap. True--if you and I eat it, it will pack on pounds faster than we can swallow. But peanut butter is an excellent choice of protein and good-for-you-fat. The trick is to buy a brand that's not loaded with sugar. You can also make your own peanut butter which isn't that hard--although it's not necessarily cheaper either. So all this to say, if the kid wants to eat peanut butter--let him.

The jelly on the other hand you can do away with. I usually make peanut butter and mushed banana sandwiches. Spreads just like jelly and is sweet without the bad for you sugar.

Kabobs

Another fun idea is to make kabobs for lunch. Meat, cheese and fruit stuck on a fancy party toothpick all seem to do the trick. Remember for kids, half the battle is in the presentation.

And don't forget the dipping sauce! Yogurt makes a fun dip for fruit and if you get vanilla yogurt in bulk quantity--it's a little cheaper.

Go Warm

When possible--try to go warm for lunch. Instead of sandwiches, consider making homemade steak fries, and soup. I generally make my own soup from scratch but if you don't have time for that just read the labels to see which ones are healthiest. (Hint: the healthier soups probably don't have Dora shaped noodles.)

Valorie Delp shares recipes and kitchen tips in the food blog, solves breastfeeding problems, shares parenting tips, and current research in the baby blog, and insight, resources and ideas as a regular guest blogger in the homeschooling blog. To read more articles by Valorie Delp, click here.

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Learn more about Valorie Delp

Hello everybody! My name is Valorie and I am one busy lady! When I'm not writing or editing for families, I am busy trying to get my brood of 5 in line.

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