Sick of opening a half eaten lunch box? I get it. Lunch box packing is an art and a science, and there are lots of reasons why your little may not be eating. (More on than in another post). For the first few weeks, give yourself (and your kid/s) grace with how much they eat at lunch. Then try this — 1. Pack something you know they’ll eat. Even if it’s not the main course, but a snack or side dish like fruit that’s always a yes. You have room to build on this over the year. 2. Don’t shy away from packing “unknown” foods, just pack less and test! That will result in more data for future lunch boxes and less waste. 3. Pay attention to growth spurts. Are they sleeping more? Eating more at dinner or snacks? It may be time to pack more lunch. Same goes for the days after sports practices or games, since they often don’t eat enough at breakfast time. 4. Shelf stable snacks are such a great option for tricky/pickier eaters. Nut butter pouches, trail mix, fresh fruit like apples or oranges that you can reuse later, meat sticks, bars, applesauce pouches, there are endless options. And yes, I know Built puff bars aren’t squeaky clean, but for us, it’s about weighing the options and offering compromise. For their growing bodies, these are a “cool” choice they’ll happily eat over the offered snacks at school, like goldfish, which doesn’t offer longer term satiety and blood sugar support. And while these are great, this where education comes in with your little about eating the fresh stuff that isn’t shelf stable first, as much as possible 😉 Have these tips and ideas been helpful? 💡