Making healthy brown bag lunches for children returning to school

Healthful school lunches combined with some surprises can get good grades from hungry students. Here are a few tips on how to not only add the energy children need to learn but flavor and fun to packed lunches.

•Lollipop bouquet. Use ribbon to tie eight to 10 lollipops in all colors and flavors together and create a bouquet for a child to share with friends.

•Involve children in the planning and it's less likely the food will be traded or come home uneaten. Have children help create a list of foods they like for lunch.

•Keep it small. Children generally prefer minisized food.

•Prepare mini-bagels with peanut butter and raisins: Two mini-bagels or half a regular sized bagel spread with peanut butter and raisins. Add cheese sticks and cut strawberries.

•Try small pita bread stuffed with hummus, cheese or other sandwich fillings. Add a bag of blueberries, a hard-boiled egg and orange juice.

•Use different kinds of breads for sandwiches or cut the bread into different shapes with a cookie cutter.

•Wrap it up. Put salad or lean meat and cheese in a tortilla. Add a banana, a chocolate pudding cup and fruit juice. Alternatively, add vanilla wafers, an applesauce cup and a water bottle.

•Have ham and cheese sticks. Roll up cheese and ham and use a pretzel stick to hold it together. Add carrot sticks with yogurt dip, raisins and fruit juice.

•Send a note. Include a note that wishes the child a great day or hints at a surprise after-school activity.

•Decorate the bag. Turn a boring brown paper bag into a piece of art. Decorate the bag with stickers or ribbons and give the child something fun to open at lunch.

•Brain teasers. Include a word game or fun riddle with a child's lunch.

This story is provided by North American Precis Syndicate Inc.