📚We've been in school now for a week or more and I'm sure the school lunch plan & prep fatigue is starting to set in! Are lunch boxes coming home barely touched? Are they running through the door hangry because they're famished? There are LOTS of reasons for this, but as I was reminded years ago, sometimes you do have to take an extra step(s) to pique our kiddo's interest in their lunches!
Here is a quick story that is well-known within my family & friend circle and still haunts me 10 years later...so it must be worth the share!
Here I am, mom of a toddler, runner & cross-fitter, & fitness business owner. My child was going to be packed the most nutritious lunch for daycare every day--and that is what I did. Quickly I began to notice the lunches weren't being eaten and the daily notes home would say "Pip did not seem interested in her lunch today."
🤣WHHAAATTTTT!?!?! My child didn't want to eat a homemade grilled cheese stuffed with green beans???? Exactly. That. Is. Gross! I would send the sandwich (and others like it), on ice (and FYI cold grilled cheese is NO cold pizza) and assume my toddler would just eat it as-is. Needless to say, I did a little research, put a little bit more effort into it, made some adjustments--and things got better. PERFECT--no. But, better!
🍎We eat with our eyes! And especially for our little ones, making food look appealing and jazzing things up a bit can really help! I mean the food industry spends BILLIONS marketing foods to kids in creative, colorful, appealing ways(I know, you know exactly what I am talking about)--so we need to bring our "A" games if we want to compete! I joke--kinda. It doesn't have to be elaborate, just try a few new strategies and see if any stick!
Check out our slides for a few simple tricks & let us know if you ever packed something like a green bean stuffed grilled cheese...and how that went!
Here are some of our favorite products linked!
Cupcake liners in bright colors and shapes - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KWTGAVQ/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_api_glt_fabc_A4V09ARTBGQGE1RKD07P?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Toothpick skewers -
Happy-shaped cookie cutters to cut out fruit, veg, sammies -
Cute/sporty/creative sandwich bags/wraps -