Healthy Lunch Ideas - Avon Lake,OH

You did not mention his age but here are some suggestions.
Macaroni and cheese
Grilled cheese
Soup or ramen noodles with leftover meat/frozen mixed veggies
crackers with cheese and a little mustard on top, or with any cheese spread or chopped leftover chicken with a little mayo mixed in
mix baked beans with cooked rice
nachos
quesadillas
cut-up raw veggies and ranch dressing (dip)
Pita bread with filling
Pita bread or tortilla pizza
Apple slices with peanut butter or soy butter
egg/cheese sandwich
sliced hard-boiled egg sandwich with mayo
egg salad filling for any of the above(on crackers, with pita etc.
Hope this helps.

Here are some foods that make our lunch table often...
-tuna salad on whole wheat
-cottage cheese
-soup
-grilled cheese on whole wheat

always served with a fresh fruit or fresh fruit salad

Boiled eggs, egg salad, roll up some string cheese and a little honey mustard in a slice of turkey ( a mini wrap), make your own trail mix and let him help choose what goes in it. TRY NEW THINGS.....chicken sausages are GREAT and they come in a variety of flavors...sun dried tomato, primavera, etc. Abbie LOVES these. They can be served in a bun, by themselves, w/ spagetti or pasta. What about fresh veggies w/ dip?

You didn't mention his age, but let HIM start picking out new things to try, PARTICULARLY in the produce section. Learn and try new things TOGETHER. I started doing this with THREE year olds. We also talk about HOW they grew (science), WHERE they grew (geography), talked about the texture, difference ways we might prepare it and what other foods or flavors might go with this. I didn't have ONE child who didn't get into all of this. Let him choose....carrots or broccoli.....apple or pear, etc. Let him start making choices.

MAKE IT FUN and a learning experience. WHAT nutrients does this contain? Why does our body need it? The more you understand the WHY behind what you're eating and/or doing, the MORE apt you are to do it. Good eating habits and good food choices should be taught EARLY so that they don't have to struggle as they get older.

My best answer is a banana wrap. We buy whole wheat wraps, put peanut butter on it, slice up a banana, and top it off with honey, if you want. It's yummy, easy to travel with, and actually pretty healthy! =) Other options: single soup cups, grilled cheese (can add ham or turkey), frozen healthy meals that you just heat up.

Sides: fresh fruit, canned fruit, frozen fruit, cooked carrots, raw carrots, broccoli w/dip, salad, green beans, corn, ants on a log (celery w/peanut butter and raisins on top), healthy chips.

Hope that helps!

Lunch in our house tends to be left-overs of the previous night's dinner. I always try to get three or four meals worth out of whatever I cook for dinner. For example if I make a stew, we will have it for dinner that night, lunch the next day, one other meal that week, and I try to freeze one meal's worth for later in the month when I am short on cooking time. By doing this, I shorten the cooking time for the week as well. I only have to cook three or four times in a week, and have some nights free from cooking. I plan meals for the week on Friday night, and do grocery shopping for the bulk of the items I need for the week on Saturday morning. If you try to organize your main recipes into catagories that use many of the same ingredients, you can buy in bulk which sometimes saves money as well.

Do you live anywhere near a Trader Joes? If so, they have a nice variety of 'fast' or 'convenience' type foods that are much healthier than most grocery store selections. My favorite is there frozen turkey meatballs. I just heat up 1 or 2 in the microwave and cut them into little pieces. My daughter does not do well with meat but she loves this. Here are some more of our staples:

cottage cheese
PB&J (all natural PB and whole grain bread)
green beans
broccoli
any fresh fruit, can offer w/a 'peanut butter dipper' (or almond butter)
mozzerella sticks
simple spaghetti w/whole wheat pasta (just as easy to cook as mac'n'cheese)
any type of 'roll up' (whole wheat tortillas with whatever you can think of: lunch meat, pizza toppings, veggies, peanut butter and banana, tuna salad, cheese, eggs, refried beans, etc)
LEFTOVERS!!

Also, don't be afraid to use all those breakfast foods at lunch. Nothing wrong with that! We give our daughter tons of eggs. They are SO healthy!! Such a great source of protien and we almost always throw in some kind of veggie with them (Usually broccoli or spinach).

I am anxious to see what people say. I am always looking for ideas as well. School lunches, in my opinion are HORRIBLE and lack a lot of nutrition. We have a severe peanut and tree nut allergy and minor egg allergy in our home and do total avoidance of those products or products processed with them so my options are limited.
My daughter enjoys flavored bagels with cream cheese as well as summer sausage, cheese, and crackers.
Good Luck!