Recipes

7 Healthy School Lunches for Your High Schooler

It is important that even your teen continues to eat healthy. It might be a little harder to know exactly what he (or she) is eating when you’re not around, and it’s all that much more important that you provide him with a healthy and appealing lunch. Get your teen involved in choosing and even making his lunch to really ensure that he eats it and doesn’t buy a bunch of junk while at school.

Here are seven healthy lunch ideas you can try with your teen.

Seven School Lunch Ideas for Your High School Student

1. Salad. There are so many different combinations you can create of salad for your teen. Make a Cobb salad with spinach, chopped hard-boiled egg, and lean ham. Try some salad greens, shredded chicken, carrots, and some toasted sliced walnuts. Put the dressing in a separate container for your teen to add while at school.

2. Soup. Either have a thermos of soup, or if your child has access to hot water or a microwave you can send him with a cup of soup. This is easy to grab on those mornings when you’re running late getting out the door. And if you pay close attention to the labels you can get ones with low sodium and fat.

3. Veggie sushi. Stay away from the fish. You can pick up seaweed-wrapped sushi rolls at many grocery stores. They come filled with cucumber or avocado, making them full of vitamins and a great midday energy boost for your teen.

healthy lunch4. BBQ chicken sandwich. Have some grilled chicken breast and lettuce and sliced tomato with a side of BBQ sauce and a whole wheat roll and your teen can put it all together to keep it from getting soggy.

5. Wrap it up. Putting your child’s favorite luncheon meats into a wrap makes for a nice twist on the traditional sandwich.

6. Bagel sandwiches. Bagels make for a great foundation for sandwiches. They are hardy and also very filling. So instead of reaching for the bread next time for your child’s sandwich, grab a whole grain bagel instead. It’s great with tuna fish or turkey breast. It ends up being a great source of fiber for your child as well.

7. Pita. There are so many tasty things one can do with a pita pocket – from a Mediterranean pita with chicken and a Greek salad dressing to a pita pizza. Be creative with what you fill your pita with. Let your teen experiment with different flavors.

Variety is the spice of life. You can create new and exciting lunches by just changing one ingredient. A bagel instead of bread takes a sandwich to a whole new level, for example.

The most important thing to do when planning lunch for your high school student is to get him involved. He knows what he likes and what he’ll eat. If you have been teaching him good eating habits from a young age, then he’s going to make good healthy choices. So bring him shopping with you and encourage him to pick out the fruits, vegetables, and lean meats he’s going to eat for lunch, then help him spice it up a bit.

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