Tips for healthy, delicious packed lunches

I don’t know about you, but I often get in a lunchbox rut. It’s hard to be creative day after day when putting together lunches. But Theresa Albert is at the rescue with these kid- and adult-friendly tips she’s put together for Mott’s Fruitsations:

• Invest in a crinkle cutter to create wiggly shapes with carrots and other vegetables
• Buy, wash and prepare the veggies on the same day you shop for them to save time and make life easier during the week
• Kids love to eat foods with dip
• Take that boring old leftover meat and shape them into French-fry shapes and add some ketchup or mustard to dip
• Mott’s Fruitsations makes a sweet, fruity dip for apple and pear wedges, cheese, ham or chicken strips
• Invest in waterproof markers or stickers and let kids decorate their water bottles, thermoses and lunch bags
• Start a family tradition of putting a secret note into Monday lunchboxes
• Stock up on different flavoured wraps and whole wheat mini sub buns—add dinner leftovers and you’ve got a quick, satisfying and attractive alternative to the usual sandwich that will please adults and kids alike
• As your family identifies lunchbox favourites, give them funny names, to make future meal planning more interesting
• Make an apple a day even more fun and nutritious by letting kids choose a fruit of the day—either a fresh fruit in season, or their favourite delicious Mott’s Fruitsations fruit snack
• Add a special treat every once in a while, to celebrate the first day of school, Halloween, birthdays and, especially, the last day of school!

Albert also came up with the following healthy and tasty lunchbox treats:

• Apple Chicken Roll-Up
• Homemade Chicken Fingers
• Beef Burritos

And check out our 20 healthy lunch ideas for even more recipes.

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