My boys have been packing their own lunch boxes for several years. It takes the pressure off of me in the morning {or the night before} and also gives them some responsibility in their food choices. A few months ago, Kids Activities Blog explored the updated food pyramid guidelines in relation to how it would look for children’s portions: My Plate for Kids. I thought it would be fun to rearrange the colorful shapes into a lunchbox template as a visual guideline for packing a balanced school lunch.
Lunch box guide
The Lunchbox guide diagram above is loosely based on the My Plate government guidelines – please don’t get out a ruler! I thought it was useful as a checklist to have the boys make sure that all the elements of a good lunch are packed:- Good size portion of grains and vegetables
- Slightly smaller portions of fruits, protein and dairy
Lunch box activity
Each day I have the boys check to see if all of the food groups are represented in their lunchboxes. They can mix and match their favorite foods and still see that proportion of food is important. Today Ryan packed in his lunch box:- Fruit: Odwalla Smoothies for Kids* – Strawberry Banana Jungle
- Dairy: Jalapeno cheese stick
- Protein: Hummus
- Grains: Crackers
- Vegetables: Carrot sticks
Odwalla Smoothies for Kids
They are gluten-free and made with no added sugar. They are perfect for this lunchbox activity because they are packaged to easily toss into a school-bound bag. You can find them in the refrigerated section in your local grocery store. Did I mention that my kids love them?
Odwalla Giveaway
Please reply with some of your fun tips for giving your kids a good start and be entered to win a $200 gift card. Official Sweepstakes Rules. Official Sweepstakes Rules.Odwalla has asked me to be a Good Mom ambassador through BlogFrog. I am being compensated for my participation in the program but all opinions expressed in the post are my own and not those of Odwalla or The Coca-Cola Company.
0