School lunches for children are a challenge. They have always been a challenge, but with a little creativity you can make lunches that your kids will look forward to eating. The goal here is to find stuff kids want and make it appealing and more nourishing. We want to end up with lunches kids will not be willing to trade even for Pokemon cards.

Before we get into ideas, I'd like to remind parents that if your child is willing to pack a lunch, this is an ideal time to show them special attention. My kids and my husband always looked forward to their lunches mostly because of the notes on the napkins. They were personal and relayed a bit of encouragement or caring for the lunch carrier. They were individualized and special to that person. Sometimes, when I failed to be creative in lunches and the food was traded, the notes were still saved and cherished. Sometimes they were mushy, "I love you's", sometimes jokes. Often they were reminders of appointments. They contained encouragement on doing well on a test and were great self-esteem builders. Sometimes I used that time to reinforce good behavior or mention something that needed to be done by them, but in a humorous manner. Don't underestimate the value of the personal touches. Add a note, a special photo, a silk rose, or make your own kids meal with a toy or special token of affection. We are not talking a gift daily, but what a surprise when you do add that special treat.

Start your " Lunches they will enjoy!" campaign with a brief session with your child or spouse. Ask them first what is the ideal lunch for them. Note their choices, favorites even to how they like their sandwich cut or uncut. Try to get a good list of what they like. Don't assume you know everything they would like to eat. Some things are not practical, too messy or complicated for lunch bags. Other things are things they may not want to be seen eating. Ask your teens about this. It sounds strange to adults, but teens are super sensitive as to their appearance. Some don't even want anyone to see them eat.

With list in hand, gather together supplies at the next grocery trip. Baggies, containers, plastic ware, paper products, and thermoses for those who will carry hot foods and soup are a must.

By this time no doubt, some of you may be staring at lists of cookies, Twinkies, candy, and chips. Tell your child thanks for the help in figuring out the treat part of their lunches, but now you must have ideas for the real food.

Sandwiches are the mainstays of brown bag lunches, but they need not be boring. Take your basics to start with and add something to make them unique. Instead of peanut butter and jelly, try peanut butter and bacon sandwiches. Tell them about Elvis' favorite- peanut butter and banana sandwiches; see if they're interested. Try raisins in tuna fish or almonds in their chicken salad. Wrap the ingredients for a Hoagie separately and let them assemble it at the last minute. If you wrap lettuce and tomatoes separately everything will remain crisp and nothing gets soggy. Older kids usually love these sandwiches. Finicky eaters might respond to the appeal of finger sandwiches filled with cream cheese mixed with a bit of jelly or deviled ham or egg salad.

Make your sandwiches and then cut in four slices lengthwise so each sandwich is a narrow finger size. Some people love leftover meats cold in sandwiches try one for your child. Meatloaf, sliced thin and degreased is very good, as are hamburgers, chicken, pork or roast beef. Add the fixings separate so the sandwich does not get too soggy.

You can freeze many sandwiches, especially those with peanut butter and cold meats so you could make them ahead. If you start with frozen bread, fillings go on easily without tearing bread. Keep bits and pieces of leftovers in small containers to use for the next days bag lunch.

Forget sandwiches one day and send chicken legs fried in flour or breadcrumbs rather than batter, which is not as good cold. Your teen dieters may appreciate cold sliced meat, along with other finger foods. To any sandwich or cold meat lunch add olives, pickles, cheese cubes and crackers, hard cooked eggs, peeled and halved and wrapped together. Small containers of cranberry sauce or applesauce are a great addition instead of fresh fruit if they tire of that.

To keep your cold lunch cold, freeze a plastic bottle of water or juice. Put in frozen, it will be defrosted by lunchtime.

For those who love hot food, fill the thermos with soup or chili or last night's beef stew. Make sure you have a good thermos that actually keeps food hot. If you pack a cold lunch, but still want something hot add a thermos of cocoa.

Salads can be added like carrots and raisin slaw, Waldorf, creamy potato or macaroni salads or even a green salad. Make sure to pack dressings separately to avoid the wilted salad your kid will never eat. Also fruit salads or chicken or ham salad in half a cantaloupe in a round container would be a refreshing change from the norm. Wrap with plastic wrap before you put it in the container to keep salad in place.

Adding a goodie is never a problem as long as it is balanced with the 'real food.' Try a popcorn ball or some homemade trail mix for dessert instead of traditional sweets. Maybe a few peanuts or mixed nuts. Some kids absolutely love dried fruit. Fruit rollups, which incidentally can be made from scratch with a food dehydrator and are much healthier, are very popular.

Parents are very lucky now to have such a wonderful array of lunch items. There are individual servings of almost all puddings, applesauce, and yogurts. I've seen many kinds of crackers and cheese or peanut butter in individual servings. There are even tuna and crabmeat with crackers packaged the same way. Lunchmeat and cheese are also available. The list of goodies is endless so surprise with something different or unusual. We all get sick of eating the same stuff day after day. Your children and spouses are no different. Shake things up a bit and help kids discover the larger world of food. Your lunches will be consumed and the complaints about the dreaded bologna or peanut butter and jelly sandwich will be gone forever. And don't forget the note.

Credits: Jo Ann Wentzel