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Lunches for school children is a big topic in the news right now. Parents and educators are working to make school lunch more healthy for students. Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution is bringing awareness to the lack of nutritious school lunch options. Recently, here in Colorado Springs free and discounted school meal plans were threaten due to budget cuts.

Coming up with lunches to send to school with kids can be challenging. We don't want to send the same sandwich every day and we want to make sure the food they are eating is healthy and good for them. Here are some great ways to make a lunches more fun!

• Use a Bento Style Lunch box. Laptop Lunchbox's have small containers for all kinds of foods and even dipping sauces. It keeps the foods separate and it is easier to use than plastic baggies. There are lots of great websites with recipes and menus for moms who want to make bento box style lunches with their kids to school.

• Another fun lunch idea is Kebobs for Kids. You can use a bamboo kebob stick, make sure to cut the sharp point off. You can cut the sticks to fit into your child's lunch box. We like to use blueberries and strawberries and melons. You can use cheese and any meat, olives, tomatoes, basically anything you can skewer can go on a kebob. Kids love making and eating these.
• On cold days, soup or pasta is nice. You can buy a small thermos and use it to keep their lunch warm. We like to send a fun alphabet soup in a thermos and a cheese sandwich with a pickle for a healthy and easy meal. Here are a few tips for using a thermos for meals:

1. Help your container keep food hot or cold by letting it stand filled with hot or cold water. Empty the water just before adding your food or beverage.
2. Heat hot beverages or food until they're steaming hot. Stir the item at least once during heating to equalize the temperature. Make sure cold beverages or foods are as cold as possible before filling a container. If you make lunches well before you leave the house, refrigerate the filled container until you send it off to school.
3. When sending a small child with a jar of hot food, suggest she ask an adult to open the jar come lunchtime. This will protect her from burns if the hot contents splash out.

What are your tips and ideas for making a better lunch for your kids?