
This is a typical lunch I make for my kids: a peanut butter and jam/jelly sandwich, a piece of fruit, a serving of raw veggies, and a snack. I aim for healthy snacks like granola, popcorn, rice balls, homemade muffins, etc., but I also do stuff like potato chips, pretzels, little debbie snacks. As you can see today for lunch they had a Capri Sun (made with no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives, but it is owned by Kraft Foods), chips, an apple, a baggie of baby carrots, and a sandwich. It's smooth peanut butter with blackberry jam. I try to do different jams than grape occasionally and different breads like wheat or multi-grain.
This lunch is also vegan!
Here's another one, today it's Capri Sun, pretzels, an apple, a baggie of raw green pepper and cucumber slices, and a sandwich. It's crunchy peanut butter with raspberry jam.

I totally get that vegetarian and vegan parents who won't give Capri Sun or other juiceboxes to your kid. For people like me who do, they are a good choice compared to many other brands.
Off hand I can't think of any juice box brands that don't have high fructose corn syrup in them. I used to get a health food store brand many years ago but my kids didn't like it. You can also pack a water bottle in her lunch or put juice in a thermos. Old school! I do that sometimes too.
I gave up on keeping them from juiceboxes years ago and settled for finding a brand that had some redeeming qualities. The bulk of their diet is great, natural, healthy stuff and they love fruit and vegetables so I let them have juiceboxes for school lunches like the other kids have.
I tell you what though, I never got juiceboxes so a lot of it is wish fulfillment for me...my kids would be ok with natural juice poured into a little thermos all the time (instead of just sometimes like now) because they are cool like that. Capri Suns were new when I was a kid and I always wanted to have them in my lunches.
Labels: kids, lunches, meals