Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Easy Trail Mix Recipe + Tips on Making School Lunches Healthy and Fun For Kids


Hey Moms and Dads, if you're a parent like me you're probably busy buying lunchboxes and backpacks to get the kids ready for school. It's hard to believe summer's almost over, I feel like it just started!

My toddler is starting preschool this September, and I have been coming up with creative ways to make lunch healthy, fun and delicious.

This is my first sponsored post, but a topic I can really relate to. With a toddler about to start preschool I couldn't pass this up. When cooking for kids, my focus is always on healthy rather than skinny.

My teen is now in college, so I have plenty of experience packing lunch as I spent a little over 12 years doing it. My teen was as picky as they come, so I had to get creative with her. My strategy is to get the kids involved, make it fun and I bet they'll eat it! Here are a few ideas that worked for me...

Take The Kids Shopping With You

When you involve your kids in the lunch-making process, chances are pretty good they will eat what they find in their lunchbox.


My toddler loves the supermarket and I enjoy bringing her along. She helps me pick out the fruits and vegetables she likes and I make it a positive experience for both of us. Pictured above she is helping me pick out the nuts and dried fruit to use in our trail mix recipe (recipe below).

Get the Kids Involved in the Kitchen

If they make it, they will eat it – let them help!

I'm obsessed with sandwich cutters, aren't they fun? They come in all sorts of fun shapes such as butterflies, hearts, dinosaurs, dolphins and more but you can even use cookie cutters and get the kids to help. 



Pack Lots of Healthy Snacks

Snacks are by far my kids' favorite part about lunch, they love variety so I pack lots of stuff. Every child is different so pack the foods your kids enjoy, here are some ideas:


  • Fruit and veggies cut-out in fun shapes
  • Grape tomatoes with little toothpicks 
  • Baby carrots
  • Pretzels and hummus
  • Cheese and crackers
  • Baked tortilla chips and salsa
  • Mini homemade muffins
  • Homemade granola bars
  • Trail mix (recipe below)


And finally a recipe even the kids can make! Instead of packing chips, make some trail mix. It's a great snack for kids or adults which can be modified to suit anyone's taste. Use whatever combination of dried fruit and nuts your kids enjoy and you can even add some granola, yogurt raisins, pretzels, cereal or chocolate to the mix.




Thank you GLAD for bringing us this post. Learn how to make your kids’ summer daze into school days by clicking here to find Mom Made recipes and tips from GLAD.

I would love to hear your tips, how do you make school lunch healthy and fun?

Click Here To See The Full Recipe...

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