Healthy Lunch Choices

These instructions guide Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) families in packing a healthy, balanced and delicious lunch for their children.

Important information:

• Lunchtime at school is a good time to promote healthy eating habits. A healthy, balanced lunch should consist of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and low-fat dairy. A nutritious lunch can help with weight management, heart health and prevent the development of diabetes.

Tips for packing lunch:

• Pack lunch in an insulated container that can hold a reusable cold pack or a frozen water bottle to keep the meal cold if needed. Use a thermos to keep hot foods hot.

• To save time, pack lunch the night before and have your child help!

• Choose bread with at least 2-3 grams of fiber per serving, such as whole grain or 100% whole-wheat.

• Choose lean lunchmeat such as chicken, low-salt turkey or ham, tuna and lean roast beef. Avoid salami, bologna, liverwurst and pepperoni, which are all high in saturated fat.

• Add vegetables to sandwiches such as spinach, dark green lettuce leaves, sliced tomato, sliced cucumber or zucchini, avocado or roasted red peppers.

• Mustard is a good fat-free condiment to use on sandwiches. Regular mayonnaise contains fat and can be swapped for mashed avocado or low-fat plain Greek yogurt.

• Use low-fat ranch dressing or mix ranch seasoning packet with low-fat plain Greek yogurt or low-fat sour cream to dip vegetables.

• Include one serving of low-fat dairy such as milk, soymilk, yogurt or cheese. When choosing dairy, look for products that are unsweetened.

• If your child is not drinking milk with lunch, pack a water bottle. Avoid packing juice, choose whole fruit instead.

Try these tasty lunch ideas:

• Low-fat cottage cheese, strawberries, whole-wheat crackers, celery sticks with natural peanut butter and water bottle

• whole-wheat pita bread with low-fat ricotta cheese, sprinkled with cinnamon, apple slices, with a side of raw broccoli and low-fat ranch dressing, snack size bag of nuts and water bottle

• whole-wheat tortilla wrap with fat-free refried beans or mashed black beans, low-fat shredded cheese, salsa, side of strawberries and low-fat milk

• whole-wheat wrap filled with roasted vegetables, pesto spread, low-fat cheese, side of apple slices, low-fat yogurt and water bottle

• Thermos filled with turkey/vegetable chili or minestrone soup, with a whole-wheat roll, carrot sticks and low-fat milk

• Tossed dark green leaf salad with vegetables and protein (such as hard-boiled egg, tuna, sunflower seeds, tofu, or beans), low-fat shredded cheese, whole-wheat crackers, a side of blueberries and low-fat soy milk

• Pasta salad with whole-wheat macaroni, chopped vegetables, sliced low-fat cheese cubes, chickpeas, sliced olives, tossed with low-fat vinaigrette dressing, peach and water bottle

• Salad made with dark green lettuce leaves, corn, black beans, chopped tomatoes, low-fat shredded cheese, dressed with olive oil and vinegar, served with whole-wheat crackers, plum and water bottle

Mix and Match:

Choose one item in each category to make a healthy lunch.

Grains

• whole-wheat bread

• whole-wheat bagel

• whole-wheat pita

• whole-wheat tortilla wrap

• Leftover brown rice

• whole-wheat pasta

• whole-wheat crackers or whole grain rice cakes

Meat/protein

• Leftover baked chicken or fish

• Lean and low-salt lunch meat: turkey, ham, or roast beef

• Hummus

• Tuna, egg, chicken, or chickpea salad made with low-fat mayonnaise or plain Greek yogurt

• Natural peanut, almond, or sunflower nut butter

• Hard-boiled egg

• Beans, lentils or veggie burger

Vegetable

• Baby carrots

• Sugar snap peas

• Cucumber slices

• Zucchini sticks

• Celery sticks

• Lettuce wraps or side salad

• Tomato slices or cherry tomatoes

Fruit

• Banana

• Apple

• Grapes

• Orange or clementine

• Fruit canned in fruit juice

• Berries

• Pear

Dairy product

• low-fat cow's milk or soy milk

• low-fat

• American cheese slices

• low-fat cream cheese

• low-fat yogurt

• low-fat cheese stick or cheese wedge

• low-fat drinkable yogurt

• low-fat cottage cheese

Reviewed on June 1, 2022, by Megan Evans, RD; Danielle Campbell, RD