As we enjoy the last weeks of summer (or “freedom,” as kids may call them), it’s time to prepare for the new school year. For organic families, the emphasis is on healthful lunches.

Sound challenging? Not if you follow these four kid-pleasing tips.

1. Protein in Perspective

Years ago, our moms sent us to school with protein-heavy meat sandwiches and coins to buy whole milk. These days, it’s easy to lighten up with your kids’ favorite organic vegetables, low-fat cheese or tofu—each of which proves wholesome with whole-grain bread. Beans are another terrific source of protein and fiber, with negligible saturated fat.

“Nuts and seeds are portable, healthy snacks that are perfect for lunch boxes,” she adds. “They are loaded with protein and packed with energy. Ounce for ounce, pumpkin seeds have almost as much protein as beef or chicken, with a lot more of the good fats—and even have some of the amazingly heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.”

2. Liquid Logic

“What your child drinks with lunch each day is just as important as what he or she eats,” Dr. Renna says. “Send your child with either water, low-fat milk or a fruit-juice box—but make sure that the juice box is made from only 100% juice and is fortified with calcium, as well. Many juices contain only minimal amounts of real fruit juice and instead are filled with a lot of sugar. Read the labels and look for a juice box that is 100% pure fruit juice, such as Apple & Eve’s 100% juice box line .” (It’s organic!)

As an added bonus, juice boxes can help keep your child’s lunch cold throughout the day. Simply freeze a juice box the night before school and use it as an ice pack, Dr. Renna suggests. By lunchtime, it will be perfectly defrosted and ready to drink.

 3. Involvement and Input

Moms haven’t traditionally asked us what we wanted to eat for lunch. We’d open our lunch box and grab a soggy tuna sandwich and some cookies—the icky kind no one even wanted in the daily trade. Times have changed: When you take your children to your local natural and organic food store, allow them to help you shop for school lunch staples and snacks.

“Involve your children in picking out the foods and packing the lunch box,” says Elena Serrano, an assistant professor of human nutrition, foods and exercise at Virginia Tech. “You’ll find out what they like and, if they feel a part of the process, they’re more prone to eat it.”

Make sure your children have a variety of foods in their diet, including whole grains and low-fat dairy products, she adds. You can visit MyPyramid.gov to learn more about healthful organic choices in each food group.

 4. No Fuss, No Muss

It may seem obvious, but it helps to prepare organic lunches that are ...

As you know by now, all parents have a different idea of what is healthy food and what is not. For years, you have had the opportunity to hand select and monitor what your child eats for lunch. Now it is time to test their ability. It is only natural for your child's eyes to wander and notice, and be envious of, what the other kids are eating. Here are a few tips that may help your child's lunch be healthy, fun and get noticed by the other kids.

The lunchbox: It is important to have the right gear and the lunchbox is an important asset. Consider letting your child pick out his own lunchbox or purchase one and let him decorate it with paint or markers. Make sure your child's name is on it with a permanent marker or paint. Most schools will not provide a refrigerator to store lunchboxes, so you should select an insulated one with a re-usable freezer pack to keep the lunch fresh. Or, instead of using a freezer pack, you can freeze a bottle of water, and add it to the lunch box. It will keep the lunch cold and fresh during morning classes and by lunch time it will have thawed and be ready to drink.

More gear - containers: Those gimmicky, salt, fat and sugar-filled, "Lunchables" trays are very popular with kids. Not because they taste so good, but because look so cool. There is no reason a homemade lunch needs to look dull and unappetizing. Buy colorful containers in different shapes to pack your child’s lunch. They are better than plastic bags and less wasteful too. If your child is drawn to characters, buy some stickers and decorate the containers. Put your child's name on the containers, but it is inevitable that some containers may not make their way home. Another option is to purchase inexpensive or "semi" disposable containers that will not disappoint you if they accidentally end up in the trash.

Offer plenty of choices: Provide small servings and many choices -- variety is a key to healthy eating. Providing your child with plenty of variety is not hard or time consuming. Many lunch foods can be prepared, in advance, in large quantities. Each morning, simply fill up small containers with different foods. Quick lunchbox food suggestions include:

• Dried fruit
• Nuts
• Fresh fruit pieces or a piece of whole fruit
• Applesauce (no sugar added)
• Celery sticks filled with cream cheese and raisins, or white bean dip
• Sugar snap peas with Ranch dressing for dipping
• Yogurt or a smoothie
• Lunch meat roll-ups with cream cheese and an asparagus in the middle
• Hard boiled egg
• Cheese cubes or string cheese logs
• Peanut butter (or sunflower butter) and apple slices or crackers
• White bean dip or hummus with carrots and mini pita breads
• Whole grain crackers or pretzels
• Trail mix made from cereal, nuts and dried fruit

Talk to your child about lunchtime: Don't assume that your child's uneaten lunch is a sign that he did not like the food. If you ask a few questions, you may find that your child does no...

· Cheese and cracker packages

· Naturally flavored and sweetened gum or sugar-free gum

· Small bags of pretzels

· Small packages of nuts or raisins

· Peanuts in the shell

· Fruit-Roll Ups

· Granola bars

If you are not opposed to sugar, but would prefer your treats to be natural or vegan, we suggest you visit your local natural food store. There are many natural candy companies that offer a big variety of candies. The one drawback, expect to pay more for these items. Natural products come at a higher price tag.

You could make a homemade treat. Unless you are in a neighborhood with close friends, we don’t suggest this approach. Most parents are trained to go through the Halloween candy and throw out unopened, unwrapped or homemade treats. If you decide to make your treats, wrap your homemade item up well, and add your name and phone number to the bag with the treat. If the parent recognizes your name, it will make them feel the treat is safe.

Halloween Treats Do Not Have To Be Edible

An alternative to avoiding the junk food challenges is to hand out a non-food treat. Today, many families are opting for this choice. With a little bit of thought and some clever shopping, you can find some really nice items for a few cents per item. Here are few ideas:

· Cool stickers or temporary tattoos

· Halloween balloons, you can even rent a helium tanks and fill them on the spot

· Crayons, pencils, colored chalk or fun-shaped erasers

· Whistles or noise makers

· Rubber spiders, worms, or other equally creepy figure

· Spider, skull, or pumpkin plastic rings

Check your local dollar store for fun items. There is also plenty of time to shop online, and have items shipped to you. DollarDays.com and OrientalTradingCompany.com are just two sites that offer a good selection. A quick search on Google will give you plenty more online sopping choices.

Halloween Day:

Start the day off right, with a festive breakfast of bagels, pumpkin cream cheese (recipe follows) and fresh apples. This meal also works as a great treat for a morning Halloween party at your child’s school.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese

Beat in a bowl:

8 ounces softened cream cheese

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 cup of canned pumpkin

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Serve with toasted bagels and fresh apple slices.

Before your children venture out in their costumes, make sure they eat a meal before going trick-or-treating. Try the Incredible White Bean Pizza recipe below. It is fast and simple. With full tummies, they won't be so tempted to dig into their bag of goodies before they get back home. Ask your kids not to eat candy while they are out.

Incredible Bean Pizza

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons water
˝ teaspoon oregano
1 pizza crust (like Boboli)
Shredded Mozzarella cheese
Fresh diced tomatoes
Chopped basil

Directions:

Puree first fi...