How to pack healthy, affordable lunches for your kids

CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – Dozens of school districts across the Tri-State area will be going back to school over the next several weeks, meaning that these families are already planning if their children will eat lunch at school or pack a lunch every day.

Many families have concerns that packing a lunch can be costly, and it can be difficult for some families to know what to pack in the first place.

“I usually pack their lunch every day,” Meredith Harper said. Harper is the mom of two young boys entering preschool and first grade. “Aldi is one of my favorite options. They have really great prepackaged crackers, cheese, grapes and different kinds of fruits for them. I can kind of throw it in their lunchbox and go.”

She said she typically packs healthier options for her sons.

“We do cheese and crackers. We do different fruits: they love berries, strawberries. Then I’ll do little roll-ups, little turkey and cheese roll-ups for them,” Harper said.

However, affordability comes into play.

“I have noticed an increase in the prices of course, and I have a family of five. What I was able to feed them for around $80, $90 is now around $130,” mom Brittany Atkins said. Atkins homeschools all of her children and prepares their lunches every day.

“So, you have to make a list before you go [shop] so you don’t haphazardly buy things. We do a lot of homemade things because a lot of the processed box things are expensive,” Atkins said.

Moms like Harper and Atkins want what they say is best for their children: energy-filled meals. Dietitians in the Tri-State area recommend the same thing this back-to-school season.

“Most kids consume about one-third of their daily calories at lunch, and depending on the number of meals that a kid may consume at school, up to two-thirds of a child’s daily calories could be consumed at school,” Outpatient registered Dietician Dustin Holmes said. “So it is very important to ensure that your child is practicing healthy habits not just at home but at school too.”

Holmes continued, “Research shows that eating habits and healthy behaviors are connected to academic achievement. A child burns a lot of energy at school, so it’s important that they consume healthy lunches to refuel.”

Holmes has been helping adult patients with their nutrition for seven years through CAMC’s Cardiac Rehab program . Though he said creating a healthy food relationship starts during childhood.

“We have to think ‘What is the main purpose of food?’ It is to supply us with energy and nutrients to sustain life,” Holmes said. “Instilling healthy habits starts with setting a good example at home with our own eating habits.”

Holmes continued, “we want to make the bulk of the foods that we’re consuming throughout the day, the vast majority of our diet, unprocessed foods: vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds and beans and lean sources of proteins.”

Holmes also recommends ‘the plate method.’

“The way that the plate method formula works is that we want to fill half of our plate or lunch box with a colorful fruit and vegetable, then fill a quarter of your plate with a starchy vegetable or a whole grain, then the remaining quarter of your plate you want to fill with a healthy lean protein. Then add a serving of low-fat dairy to round out your kid’s lunch,” he said.

He said there are easy ways to save money when preparing healthy meals, like planning ahead of time.

“If you’re purchasing your food items in bulk, which by the way is cheaper to do, you can use these foods in various combinations to make several different meals throughout the week,” Holmes said.

He also said that parents with ‘picky eaters,’ he encourages them to start introducing as many options into their child’s diet as possible to expose them to a wide range of proteins, vegetables, fruits and more.

“The more a child is exposed to various types of foods, and the younger the age, the more of a variety the child will consume in adulthood,” Holmes said.

In the long run, he said it’s most important that families do their best to cook nutrient-dense meals for kids, and there are ways to save money while planning meals.

Other families, like Harper and Atkins, agree.

Atkins said, “It’s better for the kids in the long run. I feel better about myself when I know what’s in my kids’ food

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