Time-Saving Tips For Healthy School Lunches

Those pre-portioned packs of crackers, cheese and lunch meat sure have major kid appeal, but they’re a serious drain on your wallet and none too healthy, either. The speed with which you can toss them in your child’s lunch bag sure is appealing, though. Feeling tempted to rely on them for quick and easy lunchbox packing? Think again! The following ideas can help you pack a healthy school lunch in a flash. Related: Ask A Chef: Best Back To School Lunch Recipes Work AheadPhoto Credit Meghan RossWhen you’ve already done a majority of the prep work, packing lunches in the evening is a snap. Over the weekend, wash and chop fruits and veggies, so they’re ready to go. Carrot sticks, broccoli florets, pepper rings, cucumber slices and grape tomatoes are good vegetables to prepare in advance. For fruits, cube melons, de-stem grapes and rinse berries. Snacky side items items like flavored rice cakes, pretzels and popcorn can also be divided into single-serving containers ahead of time. And did you know that you can make a huge batch of sandwiches and freeze them? Peanut butter and jelly: Use whole-grain bread, natural peanut-butter and low-sugar jelly. To keep the jelly from soaking into the bread, spread it between two layers of peanut butter. Lunch meat: Condiments need to be away from the bread, so put them between the layers of nitrate-free lunch meat and natural cheese. A thin layer of butter on each slice of bread offers extra protection. Lettuce, ...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Back to School Boston's Best Food & Drink Health Food and Drink healthy recipes Lunch Lunchbox Meghan Ross Spring Summer Source Type: news