Rethink the Lunchbox: Simple Healthy Back-to-School Swaps

By Luisa Szakacs, CNC – Marpé Nutrition

After many years of packing school lunches for my kids, I’m now finishing the high school years with my youngest. You would think by now I would have this whole lunchbox thing figured out!

But every year I seem to find something else to rethink.

We spend so much time talking about what food goes into our kids’ lunchboxes, but this year, as I was getting ready for my WFMZ Sunrise segment with Eve Russo, I wanted to look beyond the food.

What are our kids drinking from? What are we storing their food in? What convenient foods are we grabbing without turning them over and reading the ingredients?

And even…what are they using to freshen their breath after lunch?

Here are some of the simple swaps I shared on WFMZ and a few things I am doing with my own family.

I Finally Switched to a Stainless-Steel Lunchbox

This year I ordered a stainless-steel lunchbox for my son, and I wish I had made the switch sooner.

For years, like most parents, I used plastic containers, sandwich bags and all the convenient things that make getting everyone out the door in the morning easier.

But if your child is taking a lunch to school almost every day, that is a lot of contact with plastic over the course of a school year.

A stainless-steel lunchbox is washable, reusable and eliminates the need for many of those little plastic bags and containers. And because it can last for years, it is one of those swaps you can make once and be done with.

What About the Water Bottle?

The same idea applies to water bottles.

I love that kids carry water bottles now. Staying hydrated throughout the school day is important, but I would rather see them drinking out of stainless steel than plastic.

A good stainless-steel bottle can last for years.

And while I was gathering everything for my WFMZ segment, I thought of one more little thing we don’t always consider: the straw!

If your kids like straws, stainless-steel reusable straws are another really simple swap.

Sometimes healthier living really is about noticing all of these little things we use every single day.

Real Fruit or a Fruit Pouch?

Those little fruit and applesauce pouches are everywhere. They are convenient, kids like them, and they certainly look healthy on the front of the package.

But turn them over.

One of the things I always tell people is that you cannot judge a food by the claims on the front of the package. Read the ingredient list.

Some fruit pouches have very simple ingredients. Others may contain added sugars, flavors or other ingredients you weren’t expecting.

And sometimes we make things more complicated than they need to be.

An apple is portable. So is a banana, an orange or a container of berries or grapes.

Real fruit is still one of the easiest things to throw into a lunchbox.

And Then There Were the Mints…

This one wasn’t even part of my original plan.

A client recently asked me about healthier gum and mints, and it sent us down a little rabbit hole at the office looking at labels.

I have generally preferred mints over gum, so I started looking for what I considered the “perfect” mint.

There are some better options available, but as we looked closely at the ingredient lists, I started wondering:

Could we just make our own?

So we did!

We experimented with making homemade mints using xylitol and essential oils. They are simple, and making them ourselves gives us control over exactly what is going into them.

This is especially relevant with teenagers. They may want gum or a mint after eating lunch at school, so why not look at that label too?

It became one more example of something I say all the time: just because something is small doesn’t mean we shouldn’t look at the ingredients.

Homemade Spearmint Mints

Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients

• ½ cup xylitol
• 1 tablespoon water
• 2–3 drops spearmint essential oil

Directions

Place the xylitol and water in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir gently until the xylitol is completely dissolved.

Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool slightly before stirring in the spearmint essential oil.

Carefully spoon or drop the mixture into a small silicone mint or candy mold.

Allow the mints to cool and completely harden before removing them from the mold.

Store in an airtight container.

Tip: Spearmint has a softer, slightly sweeter flavor than peppermint, which can make it a nice option for kids and teenagers. Start with just a couple of drops and adjust the flavor to your preference the next time you make them.

Teach Your Kids to Turn the Package Around

If there is one habit I would love for parents to teach their kids, especially teenagers, it is this:

Don’t stop at the front of the package. Turn it around.

The front of a package is designed to get your attention. The ingredient list tells you what you are actually eating.

We aren’t always going to make everything from scratch, and we don’t have to. There are plenty of times when we need something quick and convenient.

The goal is simply to know what you are buying and make the better choice when you can.

Small Changes Really Do Add Up

After raising four kids, I can tell you that healthy living with a family has to be practical.

Start with one thing.

Maybe it’s a stainless-steel water bottle. Maybe it’s a stainless-steel lunchbox. Maybe you start reading the labels on those convenient fruit pouches. Or maybe you decide to make a batch of homemade mints with your teenager.

So as we finish up another back-to-school season, my challenge is simple:

Don’t just rethink what’s going into the lunchbox. Rethink the lunchbox itself.

At Marpé Nutrition, we love helping individuals and families find practical ways to make healthier choices that fit into real life. If you would like to learn more about our office or talk about small changes that can make a big difference for your family, we would love to hear from you.