Is Your Child Eating Enough at Lunchtime?

Amanda, aka Bento Ninja, has been blogging about fun American style bento lunches for about a year at www.bentoninja.net. You can also find her on Instagram www.instagram.com/bento_ninja, Facebook www.facebook.com/bentoninja.net, Pinterest www.pinterest.com/whatsup_ninja and Twitter @bento_ninja.

Many parents struggle with picky eaters, especially during the toddler through early elementary years. My kid is one too – but I prefer to say “less-than-adventurous eater”. In my experience as a former “picky eater”, calling a kid a “picky” or “fussy” eater often masks issues associated with food. Part of our job as parents is to help our kids learn to deal with and overcome those issues so they can become healthy eaters.

I started making fun bento lunches as a way to help my kid be a better eater and enjoy the experience – and I’m thrilled to share some of my favorite tips for packing lunches for the less-than-adventurous kids out there here on the Bentgo blog today.

1. Choose the Right Box: Kids with food issues often hate it when their food touches – the Bentgo Kids lunch box solves this issue for you with it’s divided interior tray. It also holds a good amount of food, but not an overwhelming amount. Kids will often shut down and refuse to eat anything when given too much of a food.
2. Think Small: When possible, choose the miniature variety of a fruit, veggie or even crackers – mini bananas, wild blueberries, mini crackers, mini cucumbers – the possibilities are endless, and many mini options are available at conventional grocery stores. Utilize miniature cookie cutters to make larger food smaller and fit your theme.
3. Add a DIY Component: Kids love to do EVERYTHING themselves – including making food. Providing an opportunity to DIY a component of their lunches gives kids a sense of control and creates a willingness to eat what they made.
4. Choose a Theme: Think of some of your kid’s favorite characters and activities, and invest in a few accessories to dress up your lunches. My personal favorites are food picks, cupcake toppers and themed cloth napkins.

This Mickey Mouse themed Bentgo Kids bento lunch utilizes all of these tips in one box – mini themed sandwiches, small carrot sticks accented with a Mickey glove pick with hummus for dipping, mini crackers packed with cheese and turkey cut into shapes that can be stacked as desired, and grapes on Mickey & Minnie picks surrounded by tiny wild blueberries.

For more tips and lunch packing ideas throughout the year, visit me over on Bento Ninja and keep reading the Bentgo Blog! Happy Packing! 

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