I strive to make our kid’s lunch box items homemade without preservatives. I know it’s easier to purchase and  pack a processed snack cake, but it’s not healthier. With this in mind, I make a variety of items to rotate in the kid’s lunches, like granola bars, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, quick breads and healthy cookies. I bake them and prepare individually. Then I freeze them in batches and vary what I pack to keep it interesting.

Ideally if you’re able to bake ahead and freeze a couple of items and freeze them in small batches, it gives children a variety and they are less likely to complain. You may have more of a battle if you’re trying to switch over from processed to homemade. Therefore, duplicate what they like. Okay, don’t duplicate a hostess cake with a shelf life of twenty years, but DO make chewy whole wheat chocolate chip cookies or oatmeal bites.

My suggestions for making the transition easier includes:

• Make your family favorites-go for cookies if that’s what they want
• Start implementing white whole wheat flour slowly substituting one half of the white flour with white wheat flour (King Arthur or Eagle Mills)
• Use full amounts of sugar at first and back down gradually
• Later try raw or  Demerara sugar (I purchase mine in the bulk section of Earthfare)
• Finally, only use white whole wheat flour in all your favorite recipes