Hi! Faiza here, student writer for this blog post, I hope you enjoy.

It’s that time of year again where kids are going back to school and adults are stressing about lunches and snacks. It can be easy to get swept up with busy schedules and dismiss the proper nutritional care one's body deserves. Therefore, I have come up with some simple healthy back to school/work snacks and lunches to enjoy when running on the clock. 

Let’s start with kids. I find the key to packing a child’s meal is variety. Kids tend to grow out of certain foods if they are constantly eating the same meals. It’s important you change up their meals and offer choices so they don’t eventually stop eating or dispose of their food. This can cause a negative relationship with food. A great way to introduce variety is through the bento box mechanism. 

Bento box containers provide compartmentalized sections so you can add different options of food from a variety of food groups without the items touching or mixing. 

Fun Fact: bento boxes originated in Japan and allowed people to eat rice as their main carbohydrate with a wide assortment of other side dishes like meats and veggies. 

For me personally I am thankful that I received a packed lunch from home, as many kids do not have that luxury and depend on school provided food or go on with an empty stomach. Nevertheless, the lunches that were provided for me were not of quality, and I vividly remember consuming the same sandwich for 5 days straight in high school. This could have been because it was the easiest item to make for my mom and it was convenient to eat at school as utensils or containers were not of requirement. In elementary school, I remember always receiving a Kool-Aid or low quality fruit juice and granola bars that were smothered in chocolate and syrups with my meals. Looking back those snacks and juices provided little to no nutritional value and a tremendous amount of added sugar, equivalent to a soda can or chocolate bar. However, the brands that marketed such snacks and drinks would deceive the public (aka. my mom) by branding as a healthy serving of fruit or a granola bar with lots of fibre, disregarding the added alternatives to appeal to children's taste buds. 

Treats: Homemade juices or lemonade, homemade baked goodies 

Drink choices: 2% milk, water, whole fresh fruit

The key to designing your bento box is understanding what your child enjoys eating and incorporating that in new and fun ways. Keeping in mind the 5 food groups and variety to meet all serving recommendations outlined within Canada’s Food guide for children of appropriate ages.