Healthy Habits - 4 Rules to Build a Balanced Lunch

Tips courtesy of Naturally Nourished Kids: The Whole-Food Approach for Balanced Minds and Bodies at Every Developmental Stage

What you feed your child for lunch can have a great impact on their energy levels, mood, brain function, and behavior throughout the day. Follow these four rules to ensure your lunches are nutrient dense, easy to compose, and satisfying to your child.

1. Start with protein! Make sure you pack enough protein to support your child’s metabolic and brain health. A general rule of thumb is 20 grams of protein in your child’s lunch. Precooked proteins such as turkey slices (in-house roasted with no binders, fillers, or nitrites) are a great option for boost lean mass and brain power, and for providing tryptophan, which can reduce testing anxiety. Hard-boiled eggs can be a simple make-ahead protein, or you can consider the portable egg recipes in the Breakfast section to add to a lunch. If your child is twelve or older and an athlete , we’d strongly recommend sending a smoothie or protein shake in an insulated stainless steel container.

2. Pack two or three colors of produce. Using silicone stasher bags, stainless steel containers with lids, or a segmented lunch box, add berries, bell peppers, carrots, cucumbers, snap peas, cherry tomatoes, or whatever else you want , ensuring one choice of color is a nonstarchy veggie. Salads may be an appropriate choice for older kids, and veggies can be served raw or roasted.

3. Keep carbs in check. Carbs are not an essential component of a balanced lunch. Focus on selecting quality proteins, produce, and whole food–based fats to fuel them as foundation. One to three carb choices (15 grams each) per meal are appropriate for most children. These can come from fresh fruit, roasted sweet potatoes, or beans. Hummus can be a great nourishing carb option to get picky eaters to eat their veggies. If transitioning your child from processed bagged snack foods or looking to provide a satisfying salty crunch, you may include a clean ingredient–focused snack such as organic popcorn in olive or coconut oil, potato chips in avocado oil or tallow, or almond flour or sourdough crackers with limited ingredients. Allow your child to choose their fruit option daily to have ownership over their lunch.

4. Ensure fats come from whole-food sources instead of oxidized oils. Pack whole fats to keep your child grounded and mellow. Cheese cubes provide calcium with an irresistible salty, savory flavor! Look for raw aged options for a boost of probiotics and vitamin K2 and choose sources free of rBST growth hormone. Also consider avocado and olives for additional healthy fat options as well as dips and spreads. If your school allows them, include nuts for balanced energy. Use healthy fats as a lower -carb salty/crunchy option too! Instead of crackers and puffs that are high in carbs and contain refined flours and processed ingredients, opt for a Parmesan crisp that has no carbs but instead gives your kiddo protein and fat to aid in balancing blood sugar and supporting satiety. Pork rinds are a great option for little ones who are teething as well as a chip replacement for older children to support connective tissue health as well as brain function. When foods are cooked using olive oil, lard, tallow, or butter, you can count that toward your healthy fat as well.



In Naturally Nourished Kids, beloved real-food mamas and leading functional medicine dietitians Ali Miller and Becki Yoo present 100 gluten-free, low-glycemic, anti-inflammatory real-food recipes for kids from toddler to teenager.

Ali Miller is a registered dietitian (RD), certified diabetes educator (CDE), functional medicine nutritionist, mama, wife, and traditional food enthusiast. Ali has a naturopathic back ground and a contagious passion for using nutrients and food as the foundation of treatment protocols and programs. She is the author of Naturally Nourished (2016), The Anti-Anxiety Diet (2018), and The Anti-Anxiety Diet Cookbook (2019). Ali’s food-as-medicine message has influenced millions through the medical community and media with television, print, and her award-winning podcast, Naturally Nourished. Watch Ali in action for bite-size nutrition and functional medicine info on the Naturally Nourished YouTube channel.



Becki O’Brien Yoo is a registered dietitian (RD), holds a Master of Science in Human Nutrition (MS), and has been practicing functional medicine since 2017 alongside Ali in the Naturally Nourished Clinic. She is the co-host of the Naturally Nourished podcast and YouTube Channel and self-taught food photographer of Naturally Nourished and The Anti-Anxiety Diet Cookbook. Becki lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, two children, a dog, a cat, and a flock of seven very entertaining backyard chickens.