UTE aD Tips For Packing Healthier School Lunches (NAPSA)—Lunches that make the nutritional grade can help your kids get better grades. And what better way to boost that brainpower than to fuel those bodies with healthy fruits and veggies. Here are a few tips to make your kids the envy of the lunchroom. Covert yogurt: In your children’s lunch, pack a plastic container of plain yogurt and fruit chunks. Encourage them to play detective and identify which fruits you included. If they come home and identify the fruit you added, give them a small prize. Thermosfusions: Help your child experiment weekly with new 100 percent fruit and vegetable beverages in a thermosfor school. Color your crunch for lunch: Have your child choose from a rainbow of colors to brighten up his or her lunch. Carrots or celery with light ranch dressing or apples with peanut butter are a fun way to crunch. Get sporty: Preportion energy snacks for your kids as they head to sporting events, such as their favorite dried fruits and nuts. e Let them play with their food: For a little lunch bag fun, slice apples into boats (cutting apples into eighths), or try red pepper butterflies (slicing red peppers across diameter) or cucumber hearts (sliced with a paring knife). e Slow-cooker creations: Add carrots, potatoes, onions, celery and all your favorite veggies together in the Crock-Pot for a Kids need smarts, too. Boost that brainpower by fueling those young bodies with healthy fruits and veggies. hearty stew that cooks while you help with homework. A Call To Action The national public health ini- tiative encourages Americans to eat more fruits and vegetables— fresh, frozen, canned, dried and 100 percent juice for their better health. The initiative is a national call to action that is attainable and easy for people to understand—it is simply to eat more fruits and vegetables. Moms can find these and more Get Smart! tips, as well as recipes, nutrition information and more, on the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters Web site www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters. org.
