Parenting

How to Keep Picky Eaters Interested in Packed Lunches All Year

This post was sponsored by Mott’s as part of an Influence Central campaign and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

Oh, picky eaters! They are enough to drive a mom crazy.

One day they will eat what you give them and the next day the same thing grosses them out completely.

My son is not interested at all in the school cafeteria food and I really can’t blame him.

Coming up with packed lunch solution falls on my shoulders.

The challenge? To keep him interested in his lunches all year long!

Have you ever had a lunch bag come home with not one thing in it eaten?

I have and it makes me feel so bad. Like I let my son starve at school.

How do we keep our picky kids happy with their lunch all year? Well, I have some tips that have helped me and hopefully can help you out too!

How to Keep Picky Eaters Interested in Packed Lunches All Year

Stock up on things that can be used in different ways

Stock up on food you can use different ways. My kids love celery and peanut butter. To mix it up you could also put a hazelnut spread on the celery or send them with a ranch dressing cup. Tortillas could be used for sandwich rolls, peanut butter and banana rolls, or quesadillas.
Mix up your snacks

Stock up on snacks they love that come in a variety of options. Mott’s® applesauce is always a must for our packed lunches. We stock up at Albertsons and I love it because they have so many different flavors. Our favorites are Apple, Apple Cinnamon, and Unsweetened Strawberry.

This is so great because you can pack applesauce on multiple days during the week and still mix it up with different flavors. But, your kids don’t get bored with the same snack.

I feel good about packing these in their lunches too. Mott’s is made with 100% fruit juice, free of sodium and cholesterol, and is a great source of Vitamin C!Don’t miss out a chance to win a $100 shopping gift card and a coupon for $1-off Mott’s 8-pack pouches for the next time you are shopping for school lunches.
Serve the same food differently

Take simple lunch items and serve them just a little bit differently. Oranges can be sent to school whole, peeled, or in slices. Bananas with peanut butter are a lunch favorite of my kids. I can roll them up in a tortilla and cut them up or serve them whole.

You will be surprised what a difference it makes to send a sandwich to school sliced in half, with no crust, with toasted bread, or cut out with a cookie cutter. It’s the same sandwich either way, but just changing it a bit makes your picky eater more interested.
Make lunches fun

Sometimes it helps to make lunch fun! Buy some fun cookie cutters for sandwiches, pack their lunch with a fun note or joke. Kids love having fun and being silly, so putting some of that in their lunch will make them more likely to eat it.
Get feedback from your kids

Talk to your kids about their lunch. What did they love? What did they not love so much? Is there something their friends are eating that they want to try?

Having these talks will let your kids know you care about their opinion. They will love being involved with lunch planning. It also gives you as a mom some guidance on what’s working and what’s not.