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From the expert
 
According to Dr. Greene, the perfect organic lunch for children contains a variety of healthy foods:
 
A Serving of Organic Fruit
A Serving of Organic Veggies
A Serving of Organic Whole Grains
An Organic Calcium Source
An Organic Source of Lean Protein
What children do not need is "added sugars (especially high fructose corn syrups), added fats (especially partially hydrogenated fats), lots of artificial colors and other chemicals, or foods grown with pesticides, antibiotics, or hormones."
 
Organic Lunchbox Challenge

Students I speak with observe that school food is often either unappetizing (overcooked cafeteria veggies) or unhealthy. Tasty junk food at school has become a magnet for kids across the nation, encouraging nutrition choices that hurt kids now, and build unhealthy habits for the long run.
 
Thankfully, a growing wave of school boards is starting to tackle the issue, one school district at a time. A quick phone call to your school board could help tip them into action.
 
http://www.drgreene.com/21_1432.html

Here’s a list of healthy lunch foods

Mix and match to see what combinations you can come up with. Get your parent's to share this list with the family and choose which foods you would like to take to school. Parents can reduce their work load by encouraging older children to pack their own school lunches, and younger children helping (that way you choose what your body is communicating to you, that it requires for fuel for the day!). Make sure your parents have plenty of choices on hand to choose from each day.
 
Keep it simple and choose organic ingredients - shop for lunches at a natural foods store or farmer's markets or grow a lot yourself. This way you’ll know that everything you buy is free of preservatives, nitrates, additives or unnecessary sugars and salts. And to the grown ups, please, choose organic whenever possible. You’re making an investment in your child’s future health.

Breads
bagel
baguette
bread sticks
crackers
focaccia
lavash bread
mountain bread
pita bread
pizza bread
rice cakes
rolls + sprouted bread
tortillas

Spreads + Condiments + Fillings

almond butter
apple butter
avocado (mashed)
banana (mashed)
brie cheese
cashew butter
cream cheese
goat cheese
honey
hummus
jam / fruit spread (spreadable fruit) no added sugar
ketchup
mayonnaise/mustard
peanut butter
pesto
pizza or tomato sauce
pumpkin butter
carrots,beetroot and zucchini (grated)
cheese
chicken
chicken salad
egg salad
hard boiled egg
organic (no nasties added) sausages

Sustainably-fished sardines with skin and bones in organic olive oil eg  (Fish 4 Ever )

lettuce( place on top of sandwiches to keep cool, and add at lunchtime) nice for lettuce sandwiches with no bread just containers of different fillings and roll up in lettuce leaf
sliced avocado
sliced cucumber
smoked salmon
sprouts
tofu
tuna salad

Fruits (Dried and Fresh)

apples
apricots
Asian pears (nashi)
avocado
bananas
blueberries
cherries
cranberries (dried)
dates
figs
mango
papaya (paw paw)
pears
prunes
raisins 
grapefruit
grapes
kiwi
melon
nectarines
orange sections
peaches
pineapple
plums
raspberries
strawberries
tomatoes (do not add to sandwich filling, keep seperate, as will go soggy by lunchtime)

Vegetables + Treats + Other Grains
 
asparagus
beets
bell peppers (capsicum)
bok choy
broccoli
Brussels sprouts
cabbage
carrots
cauliflower
celery
cucumbers
eggplant
green beans
green salad
lettuce
mushrooms
seaweed (nori, wakame, hijiki)
shelling peas
snap peas
snow peas
soy beans (edamame)
spinach
squash
sweet potatoes
yams
zucchini

apple crisp
applesauce
agar jelly
baked chips with salsa
dried fruit
dips with veg sticks
fruit bar
fruit leather
frittata and mini quiches
granola
homemade cookies
homemade muffins,cakes, treats made with love, organic ingredients and no sugar or nasties
notes from home - "I love you and I'm thinking about you today!"+ little toys or other treats for special occasions
popcorn
pretzels
stickers
trail mix
yoghurt with fruit
baked tofu
bean burrito
cottage cheese with fruit
garlic toast
polenta with pizza sauce and cheese 
pasta
rice
couscous
oatmeal
bulgha
quinoa
buckwheat
amaranth

Some of my Favourite Lunch Ideas

Homemade muffins - (with grated veggies - (zucchini, beetroot,carrot),fruit and nut balls, fruit loaf, fruit purees, agar fruit jelly (dissolve 1 teaspoon agar agar powder in 500ml fruit juice by bringing to the boil & simmering for 10 mins then pour over fruit & leave to cool & set for 30 mins = a totally natural fruit jelly), sandwiches with homemade organic roast meats, a little pot of homemade hommus with raw carrot and cucumber sticks to dip and a  fruit kebab. (Very easy to make; just thread your fruit of choice on to a skewer, cutting the sharp end off).

Think of ways to get protein into the lunch instead of just carbohydrates. Add cheese, a small cup of tuna salad, or sliced chicken and veggies in a pita pocket. Provide a cup of peanut butter for dipping apple slices into or smearing on top of mini rice cakes.

Savoury pikelets with organic peanut butter.

Smoothies - you can make smoothies with healthy ingredients and put them in a thermos or drink bottle. Great on hot days, make a smoothie in the morning and put in a thermos. Add organic crackers, sliced cheese,organic chicken and some almonds. This sort of creative lunch keeps us interested in the food and provides protein as well as fruit (from the smoothie).

Pinwheel sandwiches
 
Flatten organic sprouted bread with rolling pin (crusts removed),and top with mashed avocado, thinly sliced chicken breast, and thinly sliced cheese.
Roll up tightly, cut crosswise into four pinwheels. Stack pinwheels on top of each other and wrap in wax paper. Serve with veggie sticks, nuts and a fruit kebab.

Opting for the convienient organic bread sandwich a good quality organic butter is always a good start, but as an alternative to this a good quality, organic tahini tastes great especially with honey and/ or banana as a sweet alternative to chocolate/ muesli bars. Then, of couse, there is the humble avocado which tastes a treat, Nice spread onto thin mountain bread, rolled and cut into small slices.

Mountain bread roll ups - mountain bread is a flat bread based on barley, oats,rye, corn or rice, you can also get organic wheat. Fill with grated veggies etc. 

Sushi is another fav - Nori seaweed sheets, fillings of brown rice / quinoa / hulled millet.The filling ideas for sushi are as endless as for the sandwich ... egg ( fry into an omlette leave to cool and then cut into strips), tofu again lightly fried in strips or tempeh bought ready to eat, or tuna mayonnaise. With all these fillings you can add strips of raw carrot, cucumber, asparagus, avocado, sunflower sprouts or lettuce.

Fruit, vegetables or cheese kabobs - Cut up the food in chunks and skewer them on a stick,get a grown-up to cut off sharp ends of stick.

Colourful fruit salad.

pumpkin seeds and nuts.

dehydrated organic fruit – whole bananas, mango slices etc – roll ups.

fruit dip eg (blended pineapple and banana) nice with strawberries.

Small size "lunch box bananas" are not only good for lunch boxes but a managable size.
 
Make a batch of home made organic popcorn and put in a paper bag for snacks.

Prepare on Sundays. Fill little containers with yoghurt and frozen blueberries / raspberries or strawberries and put them in the freezer. Each morning, take one frozen container and put in lunchbox. By lunchtime, it’s a delightfully cold, healthy treat.

We love to help prepare muffins and the grown-up can freeze + make fruit and nut balls for a tasty snack.Cups of frozen green beans, peas or corn (which you can pack and freeze on Sunday). These will thaw to a nice crunchiness by lunchtime. On Sunday, you can also take organic popcorn that comes already popped, pretzels, and crackers, and put them in a couple of containers to drop into the lunch box during the week.
 
Place two cups of mixed salad greens, ¼ cup grated carrot, 6 baby tomatoes, ½ cup cubed turkey / chicken breast / chicken drum stick / chicken on a stick,¼ cup cheese in small bowl with lid. Place organic corn chips and salad dressing in separate containers to add to salad.
Round the lunch off with an organic apple juice and a homemade muffin / fruit balls / healthy fruit treat.

Guacomole dip - made with mashed avocados - dip blue corn chips, carrot + cucumber and celery straws + snow peas.
Any,fresh, raw veggies with dip - baby carrots, broccoli heads and capsicum strips, snow peas with hummus (add beetroot to dip for a change).

Quesadillas - melted cheese on a whole-wheat tortilla - add veggies.

Meat and chicken balls are tasty additions to the lunchbox.Chicken chest recipe in eco kids corner.(see below)
 
Baked Beans - in a wide-mouthed thermos. Heat up leftovers (pasta etc) in the morning, and put them in the thermos. Warm noodles with sauce, rice and beans, stews in a thermos, and homemade soup provide wholesome lunches on cold days, and remember to pack a spoon.

Try and avoid poppers - a small amount of organic fruit juice in a drink bottle. This saves considerably on packaging. Similarly with yoghurt - invest in small containers which can be reused, rather than disposable yoghurt tubs. Also, this gives you the option of using your favourite brand of organic yoghurt.

100% fruit juice, frozen over night in a bottle. Remove early in the morning so by lunch time it has melted and becomes slushy (ideal for summer with the warm weather).

Water is the perfect drink for school.

Don't forget to pack your water, if your school does not have a great quality water supply.

Frozen fruit (grapes) and yoghurt are both nice on hot days.

For beginners (starting school) little easy to open containers filled with cooked chickpeas in one, cherry tomatoes in one, grapes in another, cut up cheese cubes, organic crackers etc seem to be more exciting and goes down more easily than a sandwhich! Practise opening the containers and eating from them on a few picnics.

Cut best quality organic bread (sandwiches) into shapes - gingerbread men, teddy bear, star, heart etc with cookie cutters.

Creative Kids Lunch Box
 
Laptop Lunches are American-style bento boxes designed to help families pack nutritious, environment-friendly lunches for school, work, and travel. These sustainable lunch containers--which come with a book of healthy lunch ideas and lunch-making recipes--are reusable, recyclable, and dishwasher safe. And all of the lunchboxes are lead-free. The best part is that it's easy to pack a variety of fun, creative lunch items in these colorful compartments. Kids love the design, and it helps them to become more adventurous in eating a variety of healthy foods. More info
 
www.healthychild.com
 
www.laptoplunches.com

Hope you enjoy these ideas,a reminder to the grown- ups - "we do get bored eating the same thing over and over again", keep us involved n the growing, shopping and preparing for a healthy lunch to keep the tank well fueled!

Related Recipe Articles:

  
HEALTHY BITES  Recipe ideas without all the nasties using love and care + organic ingredients. Enjoy ecobites' collection of fully illustrated recipes (with photos). All written exclusively for ecobites by CEO Lyn Stein (or user submitted). Eating healthy doesn't have to be bland. Choose from soups, starters, snacks, drinks, exotic fruit treats, vegetable dishes, pasta and more. Click here to visit ecobites' recipes.

ECO KIDS CORNER Tasty recipes for children to eat and/or create. Tried and proven healthy recipes without sugar and processed foods that children love. Get your children to create these recipes and you will have started them on a lifelong journey of great food and excellent dietry habits. Click here to visit Eco Kids Corner Recipes.