There are so many great ideas in this article. I'm definitely going to do some homemade lunchables. My kids have never had the real things so they have nothing to compare it to, but it would be like an American version of a bento box lunch. That healthy sandwich sounds great also with fig jam and avocado. Sounds like a knock out combo.

Um, let's entice the kids to eat peanut butter (full of shortening and sugar) and chips (highly refined carbohydrates) by giving them chocolate chips (mostly sugar and fat) and dips (cholesterol and more fat grams). Sounds like we're training another generation of heart patients.

There is actually peanut butter that is just that peanuts....
try Adams Brand. You have to stir it really well the first time and then keep it in the refrigerator, but it's well worth it.

Some kids NEED the extra fat. Most don't, true. But my 1st grader is the size of a preschooler, and I would LOVE it if he would eat more peanut butter!

To DN: Thank you for the article. Love the ideas in here!

To anyone else reading this: Yesterday I decided to make some "lunchables" by using a cookie cutter to cut cheese and lunch meat and tortilla. He loved it and was upset I didnt put that in his lunch again this morning. So I guess it's a hit!

It's hard to know what will be a hit because sometimes he's starving when he comes home (only occasionally), other times (too often) he'll come home with a lunch box that's still full.

And back to adding choc chips to peanut butter sandwiches - I'd try that! Last year I gave my son Nutella sandwiches since he would never touch peanut butter, and since his lunch was so late (about 1pm) I didnt want to send meat sandwiches. So I made nutella sandwiches and as the year went on, I mixed in more and more peanut butter into the nutella. Now he'll eat PB sandwiches occasionally yea!!

if YOU & your kids are going to eat nothing but healthy foods, good for you! But if you have skinny growing kids that NEED more food, then peanut butter (plenty of protein) is good for them!

It's the same idea as giving them flavored milk rather than having them NOT drink milk and go for sodas (waaayyyy more sugar) or water (no nutrients there).

The dips mentioned here are pretty good (better than the store bought kind anyway) - protein and nutrients in them.

If your kids are couch potoates, then yeah you probably dont want to give them any dips and fat grams but MOST school age kids I know need them.

Do YOU eat salads/veggies without any dip, dressing, seasonings? Kids are no different!

ALL of these recipes here (chips and dips included) are most likely better than the alternative!!!

Great ideas. My oldest went through 6 years of elementary eating the same lunch every day-bologna, white bread, no mayo, no butter, twinkie and fruit rollup. Yup--all of it junk and unhealthy. He is now a healthy, happy adult that is still a picky eater. I would much rather have them eat anything rather than nothing. I tried my best to get him to eat good foods, but after the first year, I gave up and packed him what I knew he liked and would eat.

Well, actually water is a nutrient.

This is actually a good little article for variety in packing packing my own lunches for work. I bring my lunch in a soft thermal lunch box almost every day, and I have an ice pack for the days I don't come straight to work to put it in the fridge. Thanks, DNews.

Yeah, I can see the elementary school kid in the classroom trying to trade his lunch with the class rabbit who's probably at least got a nice salt wheel the kid could lick. Healthy is fine but... pbj won't kill ya!

Skippy has a bottle of Skippy Natural that's just peanuts and you don't have to stir it.

But if you are at a school that has banned peanuts, you have to try these other things.