Some of the best ways of getting kids to eat healthy food you pack in their lunch box is to make it look exciting! Try using a rainbow of foods to brighten their day. Here are some easy suggestions for rainbow colored fruits, vegetables, and other tid-bits you can use to make a fulfilling and colorful lunch for the little ones.
White: white rice, mushrooms, cauliflower, potatoes, butter beans, cheese cubes
Black: black beans, olives, black rice
Pink: pink grapefruit
Red: beets, cherries, red peppers, strawberries, tomatoes
Orange: apricots, carrots, oranges, orange peppers, peaches, pumpkin
Yellow: yellow peppers, bananas, summer squash, pineapple
Green: broccoli, green peppers, spinach, green grapes, lettuce, cucumber, peas
Blue: blueberries, blackberries
Purple: plums, grapes, eggplant, purple potatoes, purple cabbage
Brown: almonds, walnuts, chocolate chips (in small quantity!)
Don’t forget the dipping sauce – yogurt for fruits, or a simple vinaigrette for vegetables. You can either use a small separate tupperware for the sauce, or use a silicone muffin cup right in the container with the rest of the food.
But wait a second – rainbow lunches aren’t just for kids – eating a variety of different colored fruits and vegetables provides essential nutrients and enhances any diet – and let’s face it – wouldn’t it be kind of exciting to open up your own rainbow lunch after a hard morning of work?
What other tricks do you use to get your kids to eat their lunch?
Photo: Jewelmaker
15 responses so far ↓
1 hrga // Oct 9, 2009 at 3:32 pm
o0mggggggggggggg
2 heather picton // May 13, 2010 at 12:06 pm
Love the idea!!!!!!!!!
3 Chariese // Sep 12, 2010 at 11:31 am
I would love a whole book of presented healthy lunch ideas like this. One question…..how many servings of a complete protien per day should children be getting? My child is 5. We allways have meat at dinner only, but I have been packing his lunches with meat and letting him skip meat (unless he wants it) at dinner. Is it ok to have pack lunch without meat, or will I get negative responses from school for it?
4 Sam (The Second Lunch) // Sep 12, 2010 at 11:39 am
Hi Chariese,
Well I’ll just have to think about writing one! Thank you!
The protein question is tough. I’m not a registered dietitian, but I am a health coach – and getting enough protein is really not as much as a problem as it is made out to be. (Particularly if you are eating meat at dinner). You can get protein from many sources, including beans, whole grains, quinoa, etc – although I’m not a vegetarian, most of my protein comes from non-meat sources, personally.
I don’t think you’ll get any flack for a meat free lunch. (I rarely had meat packed for me as a child – it’s safer in a lunch box to go meat free anyway) – you can certainly get protein without meat. Nut butters are a good source (and kids tend to like them) – you could do it in a sandwich, and beans and whole grains make great kid friendly salads that hold up well in the lunch box.
5 jamie // Oct 24, 2010 at 10:13 pm
Hi! I love this posting! Is that colored rice in the center of the dish? How did you do it?
Thank you!
6 Comit // Jan 17, 2011 at 6:58 pm
Omg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!that is so cute I love it !!!!!!!!!!!
7 Dager // Jan 17, 2011 at 6:59 pm
Cool
8 Cloak // Jan 17, 2011 at 7:01 pm
What’s in the middle of the dish
9 Ludicrous Mama // Mar 20, 2011 at 9:25 am
Chariese – The Food Pyramid has a customizer for kids 5 and under, based on age and activity level.
http://www.mypyramid.gov/preschoolers/Plan/index.html and there’s a goal chart for kids 6-11 with daily recommendations. http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/resources/mpk_worksheet.pdf
10 Ludicrous Mama // Mar 20, 2011 at 9:27 am
My daughter loves her bento meals, and when we’re home, I try and do at least one meal a week in a muffin tin (google Muffin Tin Meals.) She loves the novelty of it, and the little bits of many foods appeal to her. Plus anything with a pick in it! And because her veggies are presented just as creatively as the fruits, she eats them more often than not.
11 LunchBag: Rainbow of Nutrition | PureGoodness // Jul 19, 2011 at 10:36 am
[...] is something I want to pass on to my kids. I found this picture and idea for lunch boxes that I’d like to put into practice this coming school [...]
12 Rion // Sep 30, 2011 at 5:52 pm
Hi…im very interested in knowing how you colored the rice…as well as what type of rice you used in this bento….very creative and the natural tone to the colors from the fruits, vegetables and to the rice….i am a chef in hawaii and really enjoy the takes on styles of bentos that are being made these days….Hawaii is a place very influenced by asian cooking especially bentos…we have our variety here…very high calories but very delicious….could you please email me if you are willing to share your technique….would really like to learn….Aloha
13 Sam // Oct 21, 2011 at 11:38 am
Hi Rion,
I actually grabbed this photo from flickr, but typically I make similar ones with natural food coloring. I’ve had good success with beet juice for making red rice, and try to do natural coloring as often as possible – mixing the rice with pesto for greens, etc. But, for this really bright color, there isn’t much you can do without food coloring.
14 Lack of Sleep | Tulle In The South* // May 31, 2012 at 10:17 am
[...] everyone remember, Have a wonderful day and eat Rainbows for lunch ( I heart bentos- I plan on making them a lot once I move to the new apartment *Cough* if and when [...]
15 Back-to-School: Clever {and Healthy!} Lunch Ideas | Modern Baby // Jul 30, 2012 at 4:04 am
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