Day 15 - Green Day

Dairy: Shredded Cheese in wrap and salad

Protein: Turkey slices in wrap

Grain: Spinach Tortilla Wrap

Fruits: Grapes

Vegetables:  Salad

Extra:  Watermelon Jello Jigglers and Green Olives

Day 14 - Brown Day

This week's theme for Kindergarten is colors.  Monday is brown day, so I made Love Bug an all brown/tan lunch.  It doesn't look very appetizing, but overall, it's a bit more sweet than she normally has.  I think she'll get some milk to wash down all the sugar.

Dairy: Chocolate Pudding

Protein: Peanut Butter with Homemade Chocolate Syrup drizzled on top

Grain: Wheat Thins Sticks

Fruits: Dates

Vegetables:  No veggies, but there are cashews under the cookies

Extra:  Newman's Own Chocolate Alphabet Cookies

Days 12, and 13

Dairy: Mozzarella Cheese Stick

Protein: Turkey Slices

Grain: Annie's White Cheddar Bunnies

Fruits: Apple Slices

Vegetables:  Broccoli

Extra:  Ranch Dip

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Day 13

Dairy: Cheese Stick in her Rollups

Protein: Ham Slices in her Rollups

Grain: Tortilla Shells

Fruits: Applesauce

Vegetables:  Carrots and Ranch Dip

Extra:  Raspberry and Cream Cheese Rollup for dessert, and some cheese puffs

Day 11

Dairy: Orange yogurt

Protein: Peanut Butter & Jelly

Grain: Crackers (for the peanut butter & jelly)

Fruits: Applesauce and Blueberries

Vegetables:  No veggies today!

Extra:  Chocolate Covered Fruit

Day 10 ~ Extra Lunch for Little Bit

Picnic Playdate

We had a playdate today with some friends and we needed to pack a picnic lunch.  Here is Little Bit's lunch.  Now, Little Bit is 3.5 years old and I have called her Little Bit since she was much smallers.  She's still my very petite little girl and she doesn't eat as much food as my Kindergartener.  Her box wasn't quite as full as I would have made it for a school kid, but it worked for her.  It was still a well balanced, happy healthy lunch!

Dairy: Blueberry yogurt

Protein: Turkey rolls, with mozzarella cheese

Grain: Annie's White Cheddar Bunnies

Fruits: Grapes

Vegetables:  Carrots

Extra: Annie's Graham Cookies

Day 10

A is for Apple

Today's Lunch is brought to you by the letter "Aa".  Love Bug's class is studying "Aa" this week, so I thought we'd do an "Aa" lunch.  It has several "Aa" foods in it.

Dairy: A cheese stick, cut into cubes and used with the turkey rolls.  Also 3 gouda cheese "A"s.

Protein: Turkey slices in turkey rolls.

Grain: Tortilla shell used in turkey rolls.

Fruits: Apple Slices (trying out some new "fresh fruit" stuff to see if the apples stay fresh)

Vegetables:  Broccoli and Ranch dressing on the side.

Extra: Iced Animal Crackers

Notes:  The turkey rolls are simply tortilla shells with turkey laid on them, rolled up and cut into smaller pieces.  I then took a toothpick and placed 1 roll, a cube of cheese, and another roll on the toothpick.

Day 9

Star Student!
Friday, my Love Bug came home from school totally excited because she was going to be the Star Student this week!  There are a lot of responsibilities that come along with being the Star Student.  You get to be the line leader all week long.  You get to bring in show and tell all week long.  And the thing she's most excited about, you get to "change the bear's shirt everyday."  We also had to send in pictures for the Star Student board.  It is only fitting that my Star Student gets a star themed lunch.  So, here's what I came up with.  It just so happens that I had got a starfruit to try in the lunches this week anyways, so that fit the theme perfectly.

Dairy: Yogurt with Star Sprinkles (actually I think they are daisies, but she'll never know)

Protein: Slice of Ham, cut with a star cookie cutter.

Grain: No grains in this lunch...but I decided to do star Jello jigglers instead.

Fruits: Blueberries with 2 slices of starfruit to try.

Vegetables:  Baby Spinach salad with some star cheese cutouts.  Ranch dressing is on the side.

Extra: A Few M&M's

It's not just lunch...it's love!

I saw this saying on the website for Goodbyn lunch boxes and it really stuck in my head.  "It's not just lunch...it's love"!  One evening this week I was packing Love Bug's lunch for the next day.  My husband came in the room and saw me working, then he went on with his business.  He came back a few minutes later and said, "You're still working on that?"  I told him I was packing some love into her lunch.  Then I got to wondering why do I pack a lunch everyday when she can buy a lunch at school?  Here's what I've come up with:

• I've seen school lunches.  I hope they have improved since I was in school, but I'm not sure.  I had the pleasure of eating with Love Bug today and was not too impressed with what the kids were eating from school.  They had the option of a chicken sandwich which looked to actually be a chicken breast and not some processed chicken pattie (the two kids I saw that had this, only ate part of the chicken and could have cared less about the bun) or fish shapes (which most of the kids that I saw ate), and they had different fruit options and some sort of slushie type thing.  I didn't see 1 vegetable on any of the kindergarteners plates...not 1 (that doesn't mean they weren't offered veggies, I just didn't see any)!  Now, I'm not saying that my Love Bug eats all of her veggies, but she is offered them during lunch and sometimes even eats them.  She's exposed to them, and for that I'm happy.
• I enjoy packing my Love Bug's lunch everyday.  It's fun to use some of my creative juices on creating happy healthy lunches for my girl.  I love surfing the net for new ideas.  I'm sure my "creative" lunches make my girl happy and for that I'm happy!
• I like inspiring you all!  I recently had someone tell me  "I feel a sense of accomplishment when I pack L's lunch."  I want to inspire you all to pack happy healthy lunches for all of your munchkins.  I want to help you all create balanced lunches for your kids and make them happy at lunch time too, and for that I'm happy.
• I tell myself that I'm saving money by packing her lunches.  Sometime I plan to do a breakdown of how much her lunch costs, but for now, I would hope that it's less than $2.30 which is what a school lunch costs at our school.  For now, I'll tell myself we're saving money, and for that I'm happy.
• Sure it takes a bit of time.  It takes a bit of planning in the beginning of the week.  But it's worth it.  I know what she's getting to eat everyday.  I know where her food comes from.  I know that most of what she eats is free of chemicals and GMO's.  I know she's getting the nutrients that she needs to grow and achieve great things in school.  I know for the most part, she's happy taking her lunch, and for that I'm happy. 

What is the main reason you pack a lunch for your child?  

I like packing a little bit of LOVE into each lunch!

New Lunch Box and Day 8 Lunch

GOODBYN Lunchbox

I was very happy when I went to Target today and found the Goodbyn Lunchbox that one of my friends suggested that I try.  It was under $10 which was a major plus!  

I wanted to find a bento style lunch box that was a little bit bigger and could fit more of a sandwich in it.  The back of the box says that the big compartment can hold 2.1 cups of food, the middle compartment can hold 2 cups and the smaller compartment can hold 1 cup.

The Goodbyn is very easy to open and I think my kindergartener shouldn't have any trouble opening it up.  I went ahead and packed her lunch for Day 8.  It was a bit tricky, just because I had several different foods that I wanted to include, but wasn't sure how to fit it in.  Here's what I came up with.

Day 8 - Pizza "Lunchable"

Dairy: Shredded Cheese

Healthy Fats: Green Olives

Grain: Whole Grain English Muffin (cut in half for pizza dough)

Fruits: Blueberries and Grapes (there are more grapes than normal because this lunch will be partially shared with little sister)

Vegetables:  Tomato Sauce

Extras:  Surprise Chocolate Cookie, brought by Mommy!

Day 7

Day 7

Dairy: Cheese Stick

Protein: Slice of Ham, cut into smaller pieces

Grain: Tortilla Shell, cut into smaller pieces

Fruits: Grapes, Blueberries & Raisins

Vegetables:  Small Piece of Celery, with homemade peanut butter and raisins.

Extra: A Few M&M's

Notes:  

I have to admit, the veggies aren't going over well with my little Love Bug.  She's been in school 6 days now and only eaten one of her vegetables.  I decided that it would be healthier for her to have double the fruit and still add in 1 small veggie in this lunch.  I know she will eat the grapes and blueberries and I'm hopeful that she'll at least try the celery since there's peanut butter and raisins on it.

Day 6

Day 6

Dairy: Apple Cinnamon Yogurt with Pink Sprinkles for fun

Protein: Gingerbread Men Sandwiches made of tortilla shells, ham, and cheese

Grain: Tortilla Shells used for Gingerbread Men Sandwiches

Fruits: Fresh Strawberries

Vegetables: Carrots

Extra: Homemade Ranch Dip and a few Cheese Puffs

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Special Zoo Lunch (For my 3 Year Old)

Dairy: A Small Yogurt (not pictured)

Protein: "Sandwiches" made from Tortilla Shells, Ham, and Cheese

Grain: Tortilla Shells used in the "Sandwiches"

Fruits: Grapes

Extra: Candy Coated Sunflower Seeds and Marshmallows

My Little Bit was pleased with her lunch that I packed for the zoo.  I got a thumbs up and she ate pretty much everything she was given.

Days 1-5

Day 1

Dairy: Cheese Stick

Protein: Turkey Slices

Grain: Goldfish (I realize these probably aren't the most healthy item, but it could be worse)

Fruits: Blueberries

Vegetables: Small Salad

Extra: Candy Coated Sunflower Seeds

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Day 2

Dairy: Strawberry Yogurt

Protein: Turkey Slices and Cheese Rollups (simply roll the turkey around a cheese stick and cut into smaller pieces)

Grain: Goldfish (I realize these probably aren't the most healthy item, but it could be worse)

Fruits: Blueberries

Vegetables: Carrot Sticks & Dip

Extra: Candy Coated Sunflower Seeds

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Day 3

Dairy: Blueberry Yogurt

Protein: Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches

Grain: Whole Grain English Muffin (used for sandwich)

Fruits: Strawberries and Fruit Leather

Vegetables: Baby Carrots

Extra: Homemade Ranch Dip (The Gracious Pantry's Recipe)

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Day 4

Dairy: Strawberry Yogurt

Protein: Turkey and Cheese Rolls

Grain: Tortilla Shell (used for rolls)

Fruits: Blueberries

Vegetables: Baby Carrots

Extra: Homemade Ranch Dip (The Gracious Pantry's Recipe)

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Day 5

Dairy: Cheese Cubes

Protein: Peanut Butter & Raw Honey

Grain: Crackers

Fruits: Grapes

Vegetables: Freeze Dried Peas (these were not a hit, but at least she tried them)

Extra: Mini Peanut Butter Cups

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Welcome to Happy Healthy Lunches!

Hello, and welcome to Happy Healthy Lunches!

My oldest daughter just started Kindergarten.  I have looked at the menu for school lunches and the price of her lunches and have decided to pack her lunch most days.  I started out posting pictures of her lunches on my facebook page and have had so much support and interest that I have decided to start this blog. 

I have just recently turned our eating around and am trying to do more and more "clean" foods and less processed stuff.  I feel better when I eat wholesome foods so I would think my girls feel the same way.  I like sending foods that I know are wholesome and will help her succeed during her first year of school.

I hope by building this blog that I am motivated to come up with happy, healthy lunches.  I want the lunches I send to school to be appealing and nutritious, while at the same time be fun to eat.  I also want to motivate you all to create fun, healthy lunches too.  I plan to post pictures of my kindergartener's lunches and links to recipes that I try in them.

I also want this to be a community with different ideas.  If you have any suggestions on lunches I can do, leave a comment and let me know.  How do you set your children up to succeed in school?