Don't Let Busy Schedules Compromise Healthy Lunches

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It's the time of year again when the kids get ready to head back to school and the slow-going, lazy days of summer come to an end. Families often fall into a pattern of slowdown during the school break, and it can often take some time to get used to the school morning rush once more.

During time-crunched mornings, brown bag lunches sent with children to school may not be packed as diligently and with the healthy foods they should contain. To ensure lunches don't pay the price of busy schedules, consider these tips.

• When doing the weekly or monthly shopping at the grocery store, make a list of nutritious and quickly-prepared lunch foods. Also, think about what dinner foods can be transformed into lunch the next day as leftovers (chicken cutlets can be cut up to top fresh salads). Packaged kids' lunches from the refrigerated section of the grocery store certainly are convenient, but they may be packing more sodium and calories than a child needs. Instead, stock up on crackers, sandwich rolls, low-calorie, low-sodium lunch meats, pre-cooked low-fat chicken nuggets, and even yogurts for fast and nutritious lunch options.

• Variety is the spice of life, and no child wants to go to school with the same old peanut butter and jelly sandwich every day. Find out the child's favorite foods and always keep the pantry stocked with some of these items. Send him or her to school with interesting things, such as a pita bread shell, tomato sauce and shredded cheese for a fast and nutritious pizza. Fruit threaded on a skewer mixed with cheese makes healthy kabobs for students who don't have access to a microwave or other way to heat lunches. Keep a pitcher of homemade smoothies in the refrigerator so your son or daughter can take a filling shake to school for lunch. Smoothies can be as easy as blending together a banana, a couple of scoops of low-fat vanilla yogurt, frozen berries from the freezer section, and a cup of fruit juice.

• Take advantage of school lunches once in a while. Many school districts have revamped their lunch menus in recent years, offering more and more healthy options for students. For example, in the past year Medford public schools outside of Boston, MA hired a systemwide chef as part of its initiative toward healthier lunches. New recipes have been introduced, the staff has been trained in nutritional cooking, and processed foods have been removed. When time is especially of the essence, send your child to school with a few dollars for cafeteria lunch. Even if you don't regularly partake in school lunches in your household, it pays to have the lunch menu posted for the days when cafeteria food is your saving grace. Chances are there will be something on the menu that appeals to your grade schooler or even middle schooler. French bread pizza day is always a favorite.

• Introduce diverse foods. Chef Ann Cooper doesn't think the learning process should stop in the cafeteria. "Teach kids about diverse foods by encouraging them to understand and ask questions about what they are eating. Introduce kids to seasonal, regional foods so they will understand that different foods grow at different times of the year," she says. You may find that other cultures rely on foods that make convenient lunchtime offerings. For example, bagel chips or pita wedges dipped in hummus can be nutritious and a fast lunch for families on the go.

• Involve the kids with lunch preparation. There's no reason why an older, capable child can't be put in charge of his or her lunch -- freeing up Mom or Dad's time for other morning tasks. Have a talk about what foods you'd like to see eaten at lunch, and then leave it up to your child to take on the task of lunch preparation.