Making Healthy Lunches Fun and Festive

Thank you to Fruitshoot for sponsoring today's post and encouraging me to share creative ways to prep fun lunches for my kids!

As a mom who dramatically changed my own eating habits last year, I find it very important to pass healthy eating habits on to my children as well. Sometimes it can be so easy to throw a prepackaged meal into my kids lunch, but then the mom guilt sets in and I always regret not taking the time to make my kids' meals mean something when they open them up each day. Here are some fun and festive ideas for packing school lunches that you can make for your children and still provide a healthy well balanced meal. 

Brown rice, hard boiled egg, cheese slices, mango chunks, broccoli, and tomatoes

Think outside of the box when it comes to lunches. The days of boring sandwiches are behind us! At the beginning of the week, or the night before, I sometimes prepare a batch of brown rice, cooked in a small amount of low sodium soy sauce, and mold it into a shape using a large cookie cutter. Make it fun by adding some chopsticks instead of a spoon. This is also a great way to teach children about the customs of other cultures. 

Homemade pizza: flour tortillas, shredded mozzarella cheese, homemade sauce, pepperoni, and unsweetened applesauce

Most kids love pizza! In our house, instead of buying the prepackaged pizza lunch kits, we make our own. Using a large cookie cutter, cut flour tortillas into fun shapes and bake for about 5 minutes or so in the oven. Make your own pizza sauce using tomato sauce, tomato paste, and a few spices like garlic. Add pepperoni, cheese, and even veggies if you wish, and your child can build their own, healthier, mini pizzas at school every day. 

Cheese pinwheels, green pepper slices, banana, pretzel rods, and peanut butter

I try to keep the food pyramid in mind when preparing my kids' lunches. A variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, dairy, and healthy fats are what make a well balanced meal. And whether it be peanut butter, salsa, or even hummus, providing a dip is always a great way to get kids to eat their veggies, even when parents aren't around. Making your own homemade dips can be quick and simple. I always prefer homemade over prepackaged foods since so many foods now have added sugar that I don't want my children to have. 

Homemade hummus, brown rice crackers, hard boiled egg, cheese, broccoli, and unsweetened applesauce

Don't forget that even the drink you provide doesn't have to be filled with tons of added sugar or high fructose corn syrup. We all know water is the best for our bodies, but sometimes kids want something more. Kids are kids, do we blame them? That's why I love these new ready to drink Fruitshoot juice drinks. The no-spill cap, makes it easy to just throw in their lunch bag and not have to worry about it leaking (been there, done that). The best part... Fruitshoot drinks actually taste great! 

Fruitshoot comes in 4 fun and festive colors and flavors, including Orange, Apple, Berry Burst, and Strawberry/Raspberry. Phoenix, Tyler, and Elijah love the apple flavor the best because it tastes just like green apple candy. 

I take pride in waking up each morning and packing healthy school lunches, that are also fun and festive, for my children. Lunches don't have to take forever to pack and they don't have to be boring. I feel good about the choices I provide because I know they will help nourish them and provide them with the nutrients and energy they need to sustain their day. 

What are some of the things you do to provide creative healthy lunches for your child?

This post is sponsored by Fruitshoot. As always, all opinions are 100% my own. Six Cherries on Top Disclaimer/Terms of Use.

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the last two weeks & some phone photos

sorry i missed yesterday's big family, small budget series. i have been a little absent from the blog lately simply because life has gotten busy.

i would just like to ask you all to keep jason's dad in your thoughts and prayers. last week, david, jason's dad, had a massive heart attack and we are 100% sure the Lord was there by his side through the entire event. jason's dad was given a second chance at life that day after what was considered by doctors as one of the worst heart attack cases they had ever seen where the patient had lived.

we are so grateful to God, as well as the first responders, paramedics, doctors, and nurses for all they have done to help such a wonderful man. had it not been for each of these people and the dedication they have put into their work, we may not have him here today. he has a long road to recovery ahead but look forward to a day when we can look back on this event as a test to our faith in the Lord and a time that brought our family closer together. GOD CERTAINLY IS GOOD!

 wanna know how i put together this quick collage of my instagram photos? go here to find out!

this thursday, school started back for 5 of my six littles. getting back into the rountine has been a challenge for us all. we definitely should have started practicing a bit soon, but we were literally trying to squeeze everything we could into what was left of our summer. this was a big year for two of my sweets. ryan started middle school and tyler started kindergarten. 

on top of all that, pretty much everyone knows about the east coast earthquake this week as well. do you ever stop to wonder what you were doing two minutes before a big event. all too often i do. i think about waking up that morning and what i did leading up to the event. sometimes i even look for signs that something was a bit off. i don't recall anything. however, ten minutes prior phoenix lost her first baby tooth. we were in the bathroom rinsing her mouth out and talking about the tooth fairy.

so what was i doing the exact moment it happened? i was sitting on the toilet. yep, that's right, i was taking care of business. my first thought was actually "earthquake", but when i called mackenzie who was in the next room and she felt absolutely nothing, i shrugged it off and thought my washing machine had taken a turn for the worse. only when jason called and mentioned it, did i put two and two together.

and lastly, as i write this, hurricane irene in beating down our coastal cities and towns with all her might. my oldest boys live right along irene's path and i pray that they all stay safe.

what a roller coaster of events. we have hardly been able to catch our breath. 

big family, small budget will continue this coming thursday but if you would like to contact me or keep up with me and what i have been doing, you can follow me in any of these places:

joni - sixcherriesontop (at) gmail (dot) com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | instagram: mamacherry

getting to know your child - school

two weeks ago, i talked about the importance of talking to your children and getting to know your child better with simple conversations. since school was starting, i decided that the best topic of conversation would to discuss some of their expectations for the upcoming year, as well as their friends, teachers, what they will be learning, and what they did each day.

it is amazing what a little conversation can do.  i have enjoyed talking to my children.

water country usa, august 2010

mack

mack started 7th grade this year.  when we went to her open house, she was a little upset to discover that none of her friends were on her team.  it turned out that she actually had quite a few of her friends on her team and even had two of her closest friends, hannah and montana (no that is not a joke, but that is funny, huh? hannah and montana...hannah montana!) in her elective classes.

but during the time between getting her schedule and finding out she did have her friends with her, she expressed to me how upset she was about it all. she broke down and cried and it upset me so terribly, that i wanted to cry with her. but i didn't because i needed her to be the strong individual i know she is and realize that it was going to be okay.

jake and ryan  

this is the first year i have ever heard jake say he didn't like school or his teacher.  he is finally getting to a grade level where he is expected to carry more responsibilities, like remembering to bring his glasses, and not meeting your expectations results in consequences.  he thinks his teacher is just being mean.  hmmm! i think someone needs to ask him how he knows all about that.

ryan likes his teacher, but doesn't have much else to say other than that. he tries to avoid any talk about school if at all possible, and usually the question "how was school?" results in the oh-so-detailed answer of "FINE!". but, but, but, if you mention girls, he wants full details. go figure! he's 11!

phoenix 

my little kindergartner is doing so well and i am so proud. she enjoys coming home to tell me all about her day, including the food she ate and the her playground "questions".  when i ask her about her day, she tells me school is boring but not as boring as being at home with me.  gee thanks, my boldly honest child!  when i ask her about her new friends that she is making, she slowly has told me a new name each day.  the funny part is that she doesn't call them her friends, she calls them her "people".  she makes me laugh at times with her unusual choice of words. i have yet to figure out what playground "questions" are but i think she means rules.

"mommy, i remember one of my people's names!" 

"mommy, my people ride the bus, when do i get to ride the bus with my people?"  

she has asked me every day about riding the bus.  i know she hears me tell her that i would prefer to pick her up from school, but i think her selective hearing has blocked out that part.  so, is it too terrible of me that i finally just said that there is no bus for her school in our neighborhood? 

she'll probably block that out too and ask again tomorrow.

my very last resort is to bribe her to stop asking with krispy kreme dounuts for breakfast. it just might work!

for the next couple of weeks the new topic of conversation i have chosen is going to be what we did this summer.  as the summer is quickly coming to an end, i think now is a great time to reflect on what we have done this summer.

i would love to hear from you about some of the conversations you have with your child. please feel free to join me in getting to know your child by using my topics as suggestions to start a conversation with your child.