How to Add More Vegetables to Your Child’s Lunchbox
By
Holley Grainger |
Published:
Feb 5, 2024 | Latest updated:
Feb 7, 2024
UPDATED FEBRUARY 2024 WITH FRESH NEW RECIPES AND IDEAS!!
If you’ve found yourself asking what are the best vegetables for a lunchbox or how can I add more vegetables to my child’s lunchbox, these 10 practical veggie lunchbox tips are fun, delicious, easy to prepare and add an extra boost of nutrition. Scroll down for my top tips for how to add more vegetables in a lunchbox with kid-approved lunchbox recipes and ideas.
I’ve been packing lunchboxes for a long time and the number one question that parents ask me is how to add more vegetables that their child will actually eat.
It’s taken quite a bit of creativity to crack the code and by no means have I perfected it! In fact, as soon as I think I’ve worked it all out, the girls change their mind and decide they like something else.
Whether your children are eating lunch at school or at home, hopefully, you’ll be able to snag a few new ideas to help boost the nutrition in their lunchbox.
And remember, keep your lunchbox insulated or include an ice pack to keep perishable items fresh until lunchtime.
How to Add Vegetables to Your Child’s Lunchbox
1. Serve Dip with Vegetables
Pair crinkle cut carrot rounds with hummus dip.
Don’t get discouraged if the raw baby carrots you pack for lunch day-in and day-out continue to be sent home untouched. Studies have found that children are more likely to eat their vegetables when offered with a dip (according to a 2013 study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics). I think of dip as a “vehicle food” to help the girls eat more vegetables.
Consider this:
- Lone carrot stick – may or may not eat
- Lone carrot stick dipped into ranch, guacamole or hummus – all over it all day long!
Kids love to eat with their hands to give this deconstructed, dippable salad a shot.
Next time you pack a lunchbox (or serve lunch at home), try pairing with dippable vegetables such as carrot sticks, celery sticks, grape tomatoes, broccoli florets or cucumber rounds with dip. You can make own Creamy Homemade Ranch Dip or use individually sized containers of dip such as ranch, salsa, guacamole or hummus.
BUY THE BOX!
Shop all of Holley’s favorite lunchbox gear in her online store.
2. Create Veggie-Based or Grain-Based Salads
Serve a mini Caesar salad in a Bento box.
The options are endless when it comes to “salads.” They’re a fun way to add color, flavor and a variety of ingredients. From traditional green salads to chopped veggie salads to grain-based salads the options are endless.
Southwest Beans and Rice Salad
Make a grain salad with a base of rice, quinoa, or couscous, and stir in cooked or raw vegetables, along with your choice of protein and sauce.
3. Incorporate Canned Fruits, Vegetables and Beans in the Lunchbox
Try canned green beans in a lunchbox.
Whipping up a quick corn and black bean salsa to add to a lunch takes no time when the ingredients are in the pantry and ready to go. Serve with tortilla chips for a yummy side dish or snack.
The same goes for canned green beans – a staple in our lunchboxes. Because the girls eat them straight from the can, I can add them to a lunchbox for quick packing the night before.
4. Add Veggies to Sandwiches to Wraps to Increase Exposure
Go beyond traditional iceberg or Romaine lettuce and give some other vegetables a try. Layer sandwiches and wraps with spinach, tomato slices, thinly cucumber, grated carrots, or roasted vegetables for added crunch and flavor.
Fill wraps with lettuce, tomato, avocado, and shredded carrots.
And if you’re worried that your child is going to pick off/out the veggies, that’s okay. Remember that studies have found that it may up to 15 times of exposing a child to a new food for them to be willing to give it a try.
5. Use a Bento Box Help Add More Vegetables and Fruit
Designate a “veggie compartment” in the bento box and let your child choose what to include.
When prepping a Bento box, designate a fruit compartment and a vegetable compartment. Fill those each time you pack a lunch to ensure at least one to two servings of produce at each meal. It’s an easy way to remember how to add vegetables to a lunchbox!
Looking for fruit and vegetable ideas? Download my easy lunchbox guide to help spark some creativity with what to pack.
6. Put It On a Skewer
Thread bacon, lettuce, tomato and toasted bread onto a toothpick to create Mini BLT Skewers.
We love sandwiches and it is easy to get creative stacking sandwiches with veggies beyond the traditional lettuce (such as cucumbers, peppers, alfalfa sprouts, etc). However, I’ve found that skewers are a favorite for my girls.
Turkey and Cheese Lunchbox Skewers
These BLT Skewers always go over well and of course Pancake Skewers, Peanut Butter and Jelly Skewers and Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken Skewers are favorites. Looking for more ideas that pack more of a vegetable punch? Give this Sandwich-on-a-Stick recipe from Weelicious or Lunchbox Bagel Kebabs (4 ways) from Mom’s Kitchen Handbook.
7. Add Veggies and Beans to Sweets
Include veggies (and legumes) into foods that your child already loves like Edible Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.
Don’t “hide” vegetables in food but find creative ways to add it. Have you ever thought about…
WATCH: How to make The BEST Edible Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (with secret ingredient chickpeas)
8. Change It Up
Have you ever sent corn on the cob to school? What about a baked sweet potato sprinkled with cinnamon? Oven baked potato chips? Or Crispy Chickpeas instead of chips? Continue to keep your kids guessing or bring them with you to the grocery store to select a new fruit or vegetable to try.
Swap edamame for green beans to keep kids from getting bored with the same veggies.
9. Pack a Veggie-Filled (Non Sandwich) Main Dish
Beefy Burrito Bowl
If you’re already adding veggies to family favorites like Meatloaf Muffins (shredded carrots!) then you never know what else your child may be willing to try. Cauliflower Fried Rice, Beefy Burrito Bowls, Black Bean Empanadas or Homemade Hot Pockets may just become a new favorite!
Veggie Quesadilla Lunchbox
For a delicious make ahead option, these Make-Ahead Beans and Greens Veggie Quesadillas can’t be beat!
10. Prep Lunchbox Fruits and Vegetables Ahead
Prepping Make-Ahead Beans and Greens Quesadillas for lunchboxes
Take some time at the beginning of the week to plan your lunches. This allows you to think about which vegetables you want to include and ensures you have them on hand.
Families are more likely to eat fresh produce when it is washed, prepped and ready to eat. Designate a certain day (or days) to prep produce and store in the fridge in airtight containers. Make sure the containers can easily be reached by the kids so that they can access them when they want a snack or when they’re helping prep lunchboxes. Having vegetables prepped ahead of time makes it easier to add to a lunchbox without much effort in the morning.
*Exception: Refrain from washing berries more than a few hours ahead as this will cause them go bad faster.
Image: Veggies and Virtue
My friend and fellow mom dietitian, Ashley, at Veggies and Virtue does a great job of this with her snack drawer.
Download 36 FREE Lunchbox Love Notes Printables
There are so many resources out there to help you learn which vegetables to add to your kid’s lunch. Don’t be afraid to explore something new and bring your child into the kitchen to help you do it!
Need Lunchbox More Help?
I am here for you! I have enough ideas to get your child from kindergarten to college!
Visit my HEALTHY LUNCHBOX HEADQUARTERS to find everything you need for back to school, lunchbox packing, nut free lunches and snacks, homeschool friendly snacks and more! Plus, you can find free downloads to guide you along the way!
A few favorites:
Build a Better Lunchbox: 5 Lunchbox Tips for Success
Lunchbox Ideas for Picky Eaters – Make a YES List
50+ Nut-Free Snacks for School
5 Tips for Stress-Free Lunch Prep when Homeschooling
