BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Low Carb Healthy Lunchbox Meals

It's the time of year when people are thinking about lunchboxes! What are some healthy lunchbox meals to make?

First off, stay away from plain white bread. They strip all the nutrition out of that stuff! Go with a nice multi-grain or wheat. Kids who are raised on white bread might need time to adjust - but it's much better for them in many ways. Every human needs fiber in their diet, to keep their digestive system healthy!

Little snacky veggies are great. Cut up carrots, cut up celery, maybe with a little tupperware of dip or peanut butter. Look into the sugar-free varieties of peanut butter and jelly. It is really scary how much added sugar they dump into foods they think kids are going to eat.

It's amazing to think oranges used to be "super special treats" that some kids only got for Christmas! Treat your kids to a nice orange for dessert, rather than more chocolate. Who knows, the kids could do better in school when they can focus on studies, rather than fighting off a sugar high!

What other ideas are great for lunchboxes?

I give my kids things like peanuts, almonds, homemade granola, and cheese sticks. They also like hard boiled eggs and baked tofu.

I don't necessarily make traditional lunches like sandwiches as they get boring.

There are millions of sandwich ideas out there - don't discount them as the standard old pb&j ideas! Bread is a nice "holder" to keep items together, as is wraps. Try wrapping up tuna, roast beef, chicken, turky, you name it. There are all sorts of things, and you could go every day in a school year without duplicating items. Variety is definitely key!

One of the best things I think I do for my daughters lunch box is that I do not pack juice boxes. I pack small bottles of water instead.

I also pack meat rolls - deli meats with mild smooth cheeses (cheddar seems to sharp to her yet) - so like Havarti, Meunster, etc. and roll them up with the meat.

Yogurt - she loves this, sugar free jello cups - she loves this

She also likes when I send a few baby carrots, sliced red bell pepper (it's sweet!) and sliced cucumber with a little container of dressing to dip it in - these days there are tons of bottled varieties that are low fat, low carb, etc. in all kinds of flavors - her favorite is Raspberry Vinegarette.

If your kids are older and have access to a microwave at school they may love a lot of the comfort foods in George Stella's cookbooks.. he has very traditional Italian food recipes.. meals my teenagers enjoy are the Low Carb Lasagne recipe that has no pasta noodles.. I know it sounds crazy.. but it tastes just like regular Lasagne and I pack it with a little side salad.. they also enjoy the Meat Loaf recipe from "Extreme Lo-Carb Meals" with a side of mashed steamed cauliflower and cheddar cheese which makes a good mashed potato's substitute.. and they love home made chicken fingers which are rolled in soy flour or flax seed and then oven fried.. or BBQ sandwiches where the meat is on the side in the zero carb/calories walden farms BBQ sauce and the bread is in a zip lock bag.. they just have to scoop the shredded meat onto the bread, and enjoy... Oh, and meatballs and sauce with spaghetti squash or with alfredo sauce and chicken.

These foods sound great for kids or adults!

Water is definitely SO important, and it's amazing how sugar-filled our water consumption has gotten. Juices can be so sugary! There are all sorts of sugar-free water flavorings, if someone gets bored of "plain water". I like raspberry ice, myself