If you're in charge of making school lunches for the family, you probably want to make sure that your kids and teens are eating healthy during busy school days.
Eating healthy often means trading out cheaper, processed foods and snacks for fresher, more wholesome choices. However, that doesn't mean that you have to bust your food budget to help your kids eat well. Even if you have kids with food allergies requiring special diets, you can still keep the cost of healthy school lunches manageable. Here's how.
- Create do-it-yourself lunch kits – For kids who love variety, putting together their own pizza or sandwich wrap at school can be the highlight of the day.
- Stick with whole foods – Food in its most natural form is usually cheaper and provides more nutrients than processed items.
- Trade sandwich meat for tuna or egg – Deli meats, rotisserie chicken and other meats you use to put together a tasty lunch can be expensive.
- Throw in some seasonal fruits or vegetables – Make your way to the farmers marketon the weekend to load up on the freshest produce of the season – and do it on the cheap.
- Buy and cook in bulk – Give your kids an insulated lunch pack or thermos, so they can take along a tasty home-cooked meal.
- Go vegetarian a few days a week – Eliminating processed deli meats and cheeses from the daily diet can be tricky, especially if your kids are used to eating sandwiches for school lunch every day.
- Turn leftovers into lunch – If you're diligent about cooking healthy meals at home, set aside smaller portions or extra servings of those family favorites for lunch the next day.
Read the full story HERE at U.S. News.
