Can you remember your favorite lunch box from elementary school? This may date me, but I was in love with my tin Cabbage Patch lunch box with green thermos. It had green trim and a scene of 3 Cabbage Patch dolls playing in a tree house. To this day, I wish I still had that lunch box.

I’m sure you can remember some of the lunches you took in elementary school. Before my family learned to eat healthy, my sister and I had lunches that consisted of ham and cheese sandwiches on white bread, greasy potato chips, Capri Sun and Oreo cookies the size of your palm!

Kids are still taking their lunch but parents are looking for something with a little more redeeming nutrition. We’ve put together some lunch and snack ideas, a few tips and our Top 10 List of Snacks. Pull out the lunch box – whether it’s tin, plastic, paper or insulated. Teach and plan with your kids how to build a healthy lunch box. You’ll both start the year off right and Living Well.

Snacking often gets a bad reputation, but kids need snacks. Three meals a day is often not enough to meet your child’s energy and nutrient needs. Their little tummies can’t hold a lot at one time. Snacks fill in the gaps. Here are a few tips to start smart snacking:

1. Give Kids Ownership – When kids help plan, shop for and prepare food they are more likely to eat what was prepared. Ask your child to stir, spread, or smear. Did you know that kids who cook eat more fruits and vegetables and are more likely to try new foods?
2. Make It Fun – Let kids play with their food. Kids learn by using all their senses. Help your child assemble a fruit kabob, make a veggie face mini-pizza or use cookie cutters on their sandwich.
3. Choose a Snack Shack – Set up a place in the kitchen for snacking. You'll save your kids countless calories from mindless munching in front of the TV.
4. Don’t Be Fooled by Tricks – Many times a food labeled low-sugar will be loaded with fat and calories. Similarly, a low-fat product may contain an entire day’s worth of sodium. Check the labels and be a smart shopper.
5. Double Duty Snacks – Teach your kids variety by encouraging snacks that include at least 2 food groups (vegetable, fruit, whole grains, lean proteins, dairy, healthy fats).
6. Use the Supermarket as a Learning Experience – Kids are never too young to learn. Teach kids the difference between root and stem vegetables (carrot and celery).
7. Be Patient – Snacking habits don’t happen overnight. Remember that it can take a child 8-10 times to taste a food before he/she is ready to swallow it.

Prepackaged snacks may seem convenient but they're full of Sodium, Fats and Calories. For example, compare a Lunchable Lunch and common sides to their healthier alternatives. The differences may surprise you.