Nutritionist Michelle Dudash offers brown bag hacks to make lunch fun, tasty

GLENDALE, Calif. (KABC) -- No need to rework that old turkey sandwich or PB&J, today's brown bag lunch has been upgraded.

Author, chef, and mom of two, dietitian Michelle Dudash knows firsthand how kids eat.

"When it comes to kids, it's all about how you market those foods," Dudash said.

She's all about keeping good healthy fuel in the mix, but aims for fun and creativity to get them excited when the lunch bell rings.

She playfully calls her combos Michelle's "Munchables," to-go containers filled with all kinds of healthy tastes and textures.

Since peanut butter is off limits in many schools, her sun butter frushi roll is a great swap.

"A piece of 100 percent whole grain bread and we're rolling it flat," Dudash said.

Cut the crust, spread on sunflower seed butter, add sliced grapes in lieu of jelly, then roll and slice.

Some kids get a kick out of kabobs. Dinner leftovers work well here.

Turkey meat balls or cooked chicken threaded with cherry tomatoes are a nice hit, paired with ranch-flavored Greek yogurt and veggies, plus popcorn trail mix.

And here's a great craft idea: Let little ones use a white crayon to draw on hard-boiled eggs, then dye them.

"I'm a big advocate of boiling a batch on Sunday. You have them for breakfast, for lunch, for snacks. They can peel the shell off at school, and it's a great source of protein and iron," Dudash said.

Fun and filling.

For the veggie crowd, a tub of hummus and veggies, along with whole grain crackers and something she calls a star apple nut butter sandwich.

If there was ever a time to go green it's now. There are plenty of eco-friendly containers for your kids to take to school, so they don't have to throw anything away.

Planet Box comes with the ice pack, it has flat ware, even fun little stickers for kids to play with.

Dudash said one ice pack won't cut it. Freeze their water bottles, even grapes, and make sure you have a few freezer packs to make those "munchables" safe to eat.

Michelle's Munchable Ideas:

- Frushi rollups, hard-boiled egg, edamame, grapes

- Turkey meat ball and teardrop tomato kabobs, cucumbers with ranch-flavored Greek yogurt, popcorn trail mix and a dessert sandwich

- KIND bar, nut butter and apple stack hummus tub with raw veggies, whole grain crackers, star apple sandwich