Take The Hassle Out Of Lunch Making And Get Creative!

Making morning lunches can be daunting, overwhelming......even painful.  And trying to make healthy choices while keeping the kids happy, can be an even larger task.  So when a friend of mine decided to tackle school lunches and actually make them fun, healthy AND creative, I was intrigued.

As a working Mom with a very busy schedule, Lisa Kelley, like many of us Moms, found that making lunches in the morning was a chore she'd rather skip.  But when her daughter Leela started Kindergarten, her tune quickly changed. "The public school lunchroom is a minefield of chocolate milk and doritos. I know she's going to try junk food; it's a right of passage... but I wanted to keep her interested and excited about healthy foods too.  I also wanted her to be involved in making the meals, so she would own those choices." 

Lisa realized that making lunch was a priority she needed to embrace and turning the oh so daunting lunch making task into a fun family activity, was the perfect solution.  As a former artist without any time to paint or draw, Lisa quickly turned lunch making into a creative opportunity.  

So how does Lisa make the act of lunch making an activity to look forward to rather than a task to dread? Easy. She gets ultra creative and looks at it as a family moment to remember.

"Surprisingly, I've found this time to be really fulfilling. I get to be creative, spend time with my daughter, AND nourish her with healthy foods. It's a win, all around."

LISA'S TIPS ON HOW TO TAKE THE HASSLE OUT OF LUNCH MAKING AND GET CREATIVE!

• Get a bento box. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and help keep foods separate. It's much easier to be creative with a bento box than a just a brown bag!

• Get accessories like tiny cookie cutters to cut food into shapes, egg molds to press hard boiled eggs into fun shapes, and really anything else you can think of.  

• Put together a family lunch menu that they can choose from each day. 

• Give them a treat. Even just one or two animal crackers can be special.

• Put a 'treasure' in their lunch for them to find. Maybe hide a gummy bear in their yogurt, or a goldfish cracker in their carrot sticks. Something to keep them interested, and eating...

• If they can read, put in a little love note, or write a message in ketchup or mustard. 

So Take The Hassle Out of Lunch Making And Take 
On The Creative!