Now that we are in week 5 of the summer are you running out of ideas of what to pack your kid’s for lunch at camp? While during the school year we still pack our children’s lunches many parents understandably have their children buy the school lunches because it’s easier. Needing to do all of the homework, shuffling kids back and forth from activity to activity – it’s a relief to not worry about where their lunch will be coming from.

But this is not true once the summer comes around! Heck, all of us need to get creative with what fun, yummy yet nutritious food to put in our kids lunches for camp. Oh, and we can’t forget their drinks…. Water is always best!

Here are some nutritious yet easy and fast ideas for their lunch. The base of their lunch could start with:

A sandwich on whole grain or gluten free bread or roll with:

1. Peanut or nut butter and organic jelly

2. Organic sliced lunch meat (turkey or chicken) with a slice of pickle and mustard

3. Grilled cheese sandwich

4. Sausage patty with their favorite condiment

5. Hummus with cucumber and carrots

6. Veggie burger with cheese

7. Avocado slices or guacamole with cut up veggies

8. Hamburger or turkey burger with piece of lettuce with ketchup

9. Sliced hard boiled egg or egg salad

10. Brown rice tortilla fried on a panini maker with cheese with veggies (this is a staple in my kid’s lunches – they love it).

Obviously these lunches require an ice pack or refrigeration. At my kids camps they store their lunches in a cooler so if we forget the ice pack it is fine.

Ok now comes the fun stuff – The accessories!

1. Sliced apples pieces (Trader Joes sells organic apples slices already cut up. I don’t know about you but that’s a working mother’s dream!)

2. Cut up orange pieces

3. Homemade or store bought organic muffins (like carrot, blueberry, etc).

4. Organic baby carrots

5. Celery with nut butter

6. Sugar snap peas (very sweet)

7. Yogurt

8. Organic potato chips (my son’s favorite)

9. Organic tortilla chips

10. Organic fruit pouch (like gummy bears but WITHOUT the food coloring)

11. Rice crackers and/or organic corn nuts

12. Small bag of mixed nuts (you can get these at Trader Joes already in small packages)

13. Berries, Berries and more Berries.

I encourage you to be creative and mix it up. While some kids like the same things everyday I find that my kids like at least some variety in their lunches. And most importantly, depending on their age, have your kids make their own lunches (with supervision so you know what they are eating) or at least help you put it together. When children are engaged and have choices they are much more likely to love their lunch and eat it too!

Good luck and email me any questions to frandi@partnerforhealth.net.

By Frandi Mars, LCSW-C, CHHC

See Related Posts by Frandi: Gluten or No Gluten, Delicious Gluten Free Breakfasts for Kids, Be Mindful…When You Feed Your Kids, Healthy Treats for the New Year, Super Foods = Super Kids, Healthy Snack Ideas for the Busy Parent, What to Take OUT of Your Child’s Lunch, To Trick or Treat … or Not?, Meet Frandi Mars – Activity Rocket’s Expert Nutrition Consultant 

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This entry was posted on Monday, July 16th, 2012 at 4:07 pm and is filed under Blog Updates, Cooking with Your Kids, Expert's Corner. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.