Include fruits and vegetables. It's likely that many children are not eating the recommended servings per day (3½ cups for girls ages 9 to 13 and 4 cups for boys ages 9 to 13), so include these food groups at lunch.

Toss in carrots and celery sticks and a low-fat dressing or dip. Too time-consuming to cut veggies? Buy a vegetable tray or veggie snack pack from the supermarket. These prepackaged veggies are convenient and may come with low-fat dip.

Add darker-colored leafy lettuce, such as red or green leaf (not iceberg) to sandwiches. Offer cherries, grapes, pineapple chunks or other smaller fruit as a welcome change to apples and oranges.
Provide variety with a mix of dried fruit (such as apricots, banana chips, cranberries, mangoes and raisins) with nuts. Nuts also can contribute vitamin E and omega 3s.

Add fruit (such as apples, bananas and blueberries) or vegetables (such as carrots, zucchini and other squashes) in muffins.

Avoid luncheon meats with lots of fat and sodium. Bologna and salami are two lunch meats that have quite a bit of fat. Many deli meats come in lower-fat, lean and lower-sodium versions.

Incorporate leftovers. Instead of the same old luncheon meats or peanut butter and jelly. Try packing a lunch with leftover pasta, soup or chili. As a change, try whole-wheat pasta, barley soup or vegetarian chili.

Try alternatives to white bread. Make sandwiches interesting with a variety of breads, pitas, wraps or crackers, especially those with whole grain. This will help to achieve the 3 ounces of whole grains per day recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Pack milk or water, not juice or soda. It is best to limit juice and soda since they can be high in sugar and/or caffeine. Opt instead for low-fat milk, which is a good source of calcium, or water. But if your child only drinks juice, look for 100 percent juice or a fruit-and-veggie juice that children actually might try.

Include portion-controlled snacks. These are OK on occasion, especially if the portion size is controlled (such as 100-calorie snack packs) and they are baked or whole grain. Other smart snacks are unsalted pretzels, applesauce (no added sugar), low-fat yogurt, unbuttered and unsalted popcorn, low- or reduced-fat string cheese, baked, whole-grain tortilla chips with salsa.
Source: ConsumerReports.org