Keisha Shakespeare-Blackmore, Staff Reporter

Best Dressed Foods makes a chicken salad that is attractive when placed on a sesame seed bun. - Ian Allen Staff/Photographer

Packing lunch for children can be a tedious task. You scramble around trying to put together a healthy yet exciting lunch that your child would love. The biggest challenge is that sometimes, what is packed in their lunch box is returned home at the end of the day.

However, to get your child/children interested in lunch, get them involved. Plus it is a good way to teach them about the nutritional value of foods. Also, make the experience fun by asking them to suggest their favourite foods. They can even make a list and paste it on the refrigerator. That way, you will know what they like and occasionally surprise them with some of these preferences. Also, do not limit lunch to their favourite foods. For example, if cheese spread is preferred as a sandwich filling, vary breads and fillings. You can also alternate it with jams, jellies or peanut butter.

For most individuals a sandwich is the easiest choice. Though it can be healthy without the mayonnaise and tons of butter, it can get monotonous if given every day. Plus children are easily bored with the same thing day after day, as their taste in food differs frequently. So even though sandwiches are the easiest lunch to whip up, variety is the spice of life. As such, Food has decided to make up a healthy, fun, time efficient, and nutritious daily menu that you can follow.

Sandwich Ideas:

1. Instead of making a sandwich with plain whole slices, pep it up a little. Cut bread in different shapes plus use rolls or raisin breads.

2. Use a slice of ham or balogna

3. Roast beef - save a piece from Sunday dinner.

4. Ranges of cheese sandwiches - add colouring to make them fun.

5. Put peanut butter in a small container and wrap bread separately. This way children can play chef by making their own sandwich at lunch.

6. If your child is a budding vegetarian then use carrots and celery sticks.

Useful tips for packed lunch

You may have packed the best food for your child, but if it gets too hot, too soggy or smashed, even the least picky child will probably pass it up. Make your time and money count. Follow the tips below and your lunch is more likely to be eaten and enjoyed.

1. Use sealable bags for messier lunchtime foods so spills are avoided and cleanup is easy. If the food is packed in a container that could come open, add a plastic bag over it for double protection.

2. Pack small crackers, trail mix or other loose snack food in small plastic containers with lids, or in paper cups covered with plastic bags or pieces of foil. The cups can be brought back home in the lunchbox or thrown away.

3. Keep perishable foods cold. Freeze a box of fruit juice the night before. In the morning, place the frozen juice box in the lunchbox. It will keep the lunch cool until lunchtime, and if you pack a plastic spoon, your child can enjoy a fruit-juice slush for dessert.

Wrap a paper towel around a whole piece of fruit, such as a pear or naseberry, to keep it from bruising. The paper towel doubles as a napkin.

4. Pack a sandwich in a hard plastic container to keep it from getting smashed. (Remind your child to take the container home in the lunchbox afterward.)

5. Allow your child to make peanut butter crackers at lunchtime so they'll be fresh. Fill a very small plastic container with about 2 tbsp. peanut butter. Pack a handful of your child's favourite crackers and a plastic knife or spoon. At lunchtime, your child gets to play chef.

6. Check with the school to see what facilities are available to students. Also, ask how lunch bags or boxes are stored. For example, will the lunch bag or box be stored in a locker? Refrigerated? Is a microwave available to older children to re-heat leftovers?

7. Choose a variety of foods to make lunch more appealing including food from several food groups such as cut vegetables with dip, sliced fruit and a few chips to accompany a sandwich.

8. Weigh nutritional value along with calories and fat. For example, peanut butter is high in calories and fat, but it has a high satiety value, which means it keeps them for a while.

9. Let children choose one or more extras (such as a oatmeal cookies or muffins) every now and then. Such extras can improve the chances that the lunch will be eaten, rather than traded. Including a variety of foods also helps children to learn more about how foods from the different food groups contribute to health.

10. Cut fruits and vegetables into bite-size pieces making them easier to eat. Include a small container of dip adds appeal, too.

- Sources: www.enow.com and www.oznet.ksu.edu/news/sty/2001/lunch_procter901.htm

Monday

Breaks/snack time:

Saltine crackers and peanut butter.

An apple.

Bottle of water.

Lunch:

Tortilla wrap: tortilla roll with chunks of chicken breast, lettuce, small shavings of cheese wrapped in the middle.

Home-made fruit punch.

Small cup pudding.

Tuesday

Breaks/snack time:

Fruit salad: slices of pineapple, grapes and papaya.

A small bag of roasted peanuts and raisins.

A bottle of water.

Lunch:

Corned-beef sandwich with lettuce.

Mango carrot smoothie (blend mango, carrots, dash of bitters and sugar, freeze overnight).

One oatmeal cookie.

Wednesday

Breaks/snack time:

One granola bar.

Pegged oranges.

Bottle of water.

Lunch:

Small bun with cheese spread.

One peeled June plum.

Slices of melon and cantaloupe.

A bottle of water.

Thursday

Breaks/ snack time:

Corn muffin.

One ripe banana (make sure it is not overripe).

Bottle of water.

Lunch:

Macaroni and cheese with chunks of chicken breast and broccoli.

Home-made orange juice.

A small bag of cane sticks.

Friday

Break/snack time:

Fruit plate: pegs of oranges and tangerine.

A small bag of unsalted mixed nuts.

Small bottle of grape juice.

Lunch:

Have a treat day: Bun and cheese or patty.

A naseberry.

A bottle of water.