Disclosure: I’m proud to partner with CVS Pharmacy on this post for the CVS healthy foods line. All opinions expressed are my own, and all product claims or program details shared should be verified at CVS.com or with the appropriate manufacturers.
We’re a few weeks into the school year now, so making school lunches has become almost second nature. I’m finally getting into the groove of packing it quickly after figuring out what Shane will actually bother eating at school- not exactly an easy task. The combination of the short list of foods he actually likes and the short amount of time that he gets to eat his lunch means that we had a little bit of trial & error, but I think we have finally figured it out!
One way that I’ve been encouraging Shane to eat his lunch is by including a cute note in there every day. He always looks forward to seeing what the note of the day will be! Another, even bigger part of our experimenting included going to CVS for some healthy snacks. Shane is at school for over six hours a day and only gets 15 minutes to eat lunch- and since he spends half of that time talking to his friends, we figured out that snacks were the way to go. In addition to his sandwich and a piece of fruit, he gets a couple of mom-approved snacks every day that he can enjoy during lunch or on the playground.
If Shane had his way, all of his snacks would be more like desserts. But of course I’d rather he have something much better for him, so we have to come up with a compromise between being delicious and being better for him- and CVS is making that so easy! CVS has been changing their stores to be much more health-focused over the last few years, and the snack aisle is one of the biggest ways that’s happened.
This spring, CVS added more than 250 fresh, refrigerated, and non-perishable healthy foods and beverages to shelves from some of my family’s favorite healthy brands, like Annie’s Homegrown, Chobani, Amy’s Kitchen, and so many more. With such a wide variety of snacks to choose from that are actually mom-approved, Shane had no trouble finding a few that he wanted to see in his lunchbox.
CVS is so committed to helping people {including kids!} find their healthy that they are going beyond just adding new products. Many CVS stores have now dedicated about 25% of checkout space to better-for-you snacks, like KIND bars, Larabars and Vega One bars- instead of candy bars. They’re also making it easier to find better choices by specially tagging them on the shelves, so that even if you’re in a hurry you can quickly spot good options.
Our CVS is actually just down the street, so it’s easy for us to go in and stock up on our favorite snacks. I love that I can get so many of our favorite brands without having to make a special trip to the much farther specialty grocer- and at better prices, too! Some CVS stores even have a trend zone that highlights products that fit with specific dietary preferences, like Paleo and raw diets. Since I always like trying new foods, I love this little addition because it encourages all of us to try something new- and some of those items have become guests in Shane’s lunchbox, too!
Be sure to grab these free printable lunchbox notes to help make your child’s day even brighter. I give these to Shane and he loves them- sometimes I even match them up to the snacks in his lunchbox {like the bunny one for Annie’s Homegrown, or the be kind one for a KIND bar}. Just click here to download!
If you’re looking for healthy snacks for your child’s lunchbox or for them to enjoy when they get home from school, be sure to check out all the new options at your local CVS! You can find a store near you here.