Video:Making Bag Lunches for Kids

Transcript:Making Bag Lunches for Kids

Hey guys, Jonathon Stewart here for About.com. The sandwich, for many years it was the backbone of every kid's packed school lunch.

But now that you're the parent and it's the new millennium, if you think your child will let you get away with one of these and a Pepsi cola, well, that's just bologna.

Today, it's all about how to make an awesome bag lunch for kids. Check it out:

Benefits of Bag Lunches

We all remember cafeteria food, which made many of us jealous of prison. Bag lunches from home tend to be a much healthier, tastier, and affordable option.

All of its advantages notwithstanding, you can't overlook the most important aspect of the bag lunch: getting your kids to eat it.

The biggest complaint kids have about bag lunches is that having the same thing over and over again gets boring, so liven things up.

Cut Fruits and Vegetables Into Fun Shapes

Try cutting apples into slices, bell peppers into matchsticks, or pickles into squares -- anything you can do to give their food an interesting look.

And in the culture of the modern-day schoolhouse, lunch is a commodity, so whoever has the coolest and most diverse (yet still the most tasty and delicious), wins.

Use Different Types of Bread and Fillings

Try mixing it up by using different types of bread for sandwiches: tortillas, crackers, and English muffins are all great options.

Altering sandwich fillings is a good way to go as well: peanut butter and jelly is fine, but how about diced chicken and salsa or turkey and hummus? Or, skip the sandwich altogether and pack a pasta salad, or string cheese and meatballs.

Pack a Healthy Lunch

Packing crackers with deli meat slices and cheese, giving them their own homemade Lunchable, is a great alternative as well.

With childhood obesity on the rise, it's important to make sure to pack your child enough servings of fruit and vegetables, and ease off the ubiquitous kid additive -- sugar.

Pack Various Fruits and Vegetables

Don't just stick to carrots sticks. Instead, try zucchini, baby corn, cherry tomatoes, watermelon cubes, kiwis, strawberries, blueberries, or pineapple, and be sure to pack a low-fat salad dressing or yogurt for dipping options.

Freeze a real juice-juice box overnight and pack that with their lunch in order to keep things cold. Unless you live in Alaska -- it's plenty cold there already.

"But what if my kids won't eat this stuff? How do I know what to pack that they'll like?" You say? Well, that's easy. Just ask.

Let Kids Help Make Lunches

Get your kids as involved in the lunch-making process as they can. The more input they have as to what to put in their lunch, the more they will want to eat it.

The forget the ol' tree-wasting brown bag, liven up the midday meal with a brightly colored, reusable lunch sack.

You can even throw in a little sticker or toy, something you find in a cereal box, for them as a little treat every now and then. Nothing big, I'm not talking about an iPod, here.

Thanks for watching. To learn more, visit us on the web at parenting.About.com.