No Peanuts Allowed
Dip With Fruit
Kids love to dip food into sauces, so indulge that love with an easy-to-make dip. Fitz suggested blending chopped cherries into low-fat vanilla yogurt and fat-free whipped topping or vanilla Greek yogurt. “Send it to school in a small container with a banana,” she added.
RELATED: 10 Chic Ways to Pack Your Lunch
Wrap It Up
Kids love eating food in new, unique ways. Create a fruit wrap using wraps and thin fruit slices, Fitz said. Blend together cream cheese, low-fat vanilla yogurt and vanilla extract then spread mixture onto wrap. Add fruit slices and fold wrap burrito-style by folding in the top and the bottom about an inch and then folding over the sides. Cover with waxed paper and a layer of foil before placing in lunchbox.
Spiced Up Fruit
To take fruit and dip up a notch, go a step further. Mix together low-fat vanilla yogurt with a small amount of frozen orange juice concentrate and fat-free whipped topping. Put in small container. Next, wash, core and slice a Golden Delicious apple. Place slices into a bag and add cinnamon. Shake until slices are coated. The cinnamon has an added effect beyond enhanced flavor. “The cinnamon masks the browning apples in the lunch box,” Fitz said.
Sandwich Dippers
Kids are used to dipping fruit or veggies in dip, but sandwiches? That’s right. Build your child’s favorite sandwich, and then cut out fun shapes using mini cookie cutters, Fitz suggested. Pack them with mini pretzel sticks so kids can use them as an edible skewer on the sandwich to dip into a sauce of mayonnaise, spicy brown mustard and honey.
Berry Medley Parfait
Who says nutritious has to be boring or take forever to make? For this sweet treat, Fitz said to spoon low-fat vanilla yogurt into a travel container then top with frozen berries. “Keep the berries frozen when adding them to the yogurt,” she advised. “They help to keep the yogurt cold as they thaw.”
Sushi Kid-Style
Make your child feel sophisticated and grown-up with kid-style sushi in her lunchbox. “Wrapping up some lunchbox sushi is easy and quick to prepare, plus a fun way to swap out the sandwich,” Fitz said. Make a spread of plain Greek yogurt, Italian seasoning, basil and salt and spread on wrap. Add lunch meat and cheese. Cut in half and lay elongated slices of cucumber, celery or carrot at one end of the wrap and roll it. Slice like sushi and repeat with the other half.
