If your children continually bring home uneaten lunches, ask yourself what you can do to improve their eating habits. Here are a few tips.

How to prepare and make a healthy lunch for kids:

1. Get kids involved in planning meals they will enjoy. Let them help you make up weekly menus, shopping lists and even help you do the shopping.

2. Let your youngsters help in meal preparation. They can help make part or all of their lunches either the night before or in the morning.

3. Make sure the lunch is properly packed. A few good investments are a wide-mouth vacuum flask for soups or hot meals and ice packs or insulated boxes or bags to keep
cold foods cold. Frozen juice boxes also make good ice packs.

4. Use a variety of tasty and visually interesting breads for sandwiches, such as regular or mini whole wheat pitas, English muffins, flour tortillas or oatmeal or rye bread. For younger children, cut their sandwiches into cute shapes using a variety of cookie cutters.

5. Make a colourful fruit salad with oranges, kiwis, grapes and bananas.

This story was originally titled "Healthy Lunch Tips" in the March 2006 issue. Subscribe to Canadian Living today and never miss an issue!

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