If you commonly open your child’s lunch box after school only to find half of its contents untouched, don’t despair! Sally Sampson, founder of the family cooking magazine ChopChop, has some tips to make school lunch planning and prep a little easier. We also asked Sampson to suggest kid-tested ideas for healthy school lunches, then grouped them into mix-and-match lists. See “Lunch Box Boogie”, below, for a fun way to put together some back-to-school lunch menus.

Involve your child in preparing his own healthy school lunches.

“Kids who cook have a more diverse palate,” says Sampson, who has authored 21 cookbooks. “Cooking” could be as simple as tossing a salad or stuffing almonds into dates. Whatever the dish, Sampson has found that children are more likely to eat it when they’ve helped make it.

Don’t force your child to eat a certain food.

If your child is reluctant to try something new, just keep including it in her lunch box. Eventually, she might decide on her own to give it a taste.

Combine new foods with favorite ones.

Doing this can help overcome some kids’ resistance to eating unfamiliar or just plain unliked ingredients. “If you pair the hated food with the beloved food,” Sampson says, “it creates a conflict, and they’ll want to try it.”

Shift (gradually) to healthier versions of familiar foods.

Switching from standard pasta to whole wheat, for example, or from whole milk to low-fat is a relatively simple way to boost kids’ intake of nutritious foods. To transition more easily to new flavors, start by substituting a quarter of the total amount with the healthier food. Then, slowly increase that quantity until the original food is phased out.

Apply the morning clothes principle to healthy school lunches.

The popular trick that makes it easier for some parents to get their kids dressed before school—offering shirt A or shirt B instead of the whole closet—works just as well with meals. “Do you want the apple or the banana with your lunch today?” lets children express their preferences without opening up the entire kitchen pantry for discussion.

Have a variety of food items readily available.

This is a good one for both parents and kids. And it’s useful both for healthy school lunches and healthy after-school snacks. For example, wash and cut up a batch of strawberries and leave the bowl on the counter. That way, you’ll reach for those first if your child needs a little something extra in her lunch bag or you need a quick bite before dinner.

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Lunch Box Boogie

Choose one item from each column or read across a row for well-rounded and fun healthy school lunches. A frozen juice box or insulated pack is great for keeping lunch bags cold.

 

MAIN COURSES	SIDE DISHES	DESSERTS
Chicken salad With a twist: Season the chicken with tarragon for a new flavor	Bell peppers with cherry tomatoes With a twist: Roast along with zucchini and squash for a dish that’s good hot or cold	Banana-cocoa bread
Tuna salad With a twist: Try low-fat yogurt instead of mayo to moisten the tuna	Whole grain crackers	Fresh fruit kebabs
Peanut butter and jelly sandwich With a twist: Spread the peanut butter on a rice cake or corn cakes instead of bread	Lightly steamed (still crunchy) green beans or shelled edamame beans	Carrot cupcake
Vegetarian or turkey chili	Corn bread	Dates stuffed with almonds
Hummus or white bean dip With a twist: Make a salad instead by sautéing whole chickpeas or white beans with greens like spinach or kale	Pita chips and raw veggies	1 or 2 squares of dark chocolate
Tabouli	Sesame noodles	Frozen grapes
Corn and black bean salad	Ranch dressing and veggie sticks	Dried cherries and golden raisins

Originally posted in 2011 and updated regularly.