Dietician offers healthy suggestions when packing school lunches

NEW YORK (CBS, KYMA/KECY) - Packing healthy school lunches that your kids actually want to eat does not have to be a struggle.

Registered dietician Megan McNamee, the co-author of "Feeding Littles Lunches," stopped by CBS Mornings with some tasty suggestions.

Each school lunch includes: A carbohydrate source, a protein, a fruit, a vegetable and then something fun like a dip, dessert or chips.

Some examples include veggie wontons, rice cake sandwiches and a yogurt parfait.

"The point of the yogurt parfait is they can build it as they want. If they're not into mixed foods yet, maybe they eat them separately. People think they have to do, again, that formal lunch but we can have breakfast for lunch, that's okay," McNamee expressed.

McNamee says variety is key.

As for picky eaters, she says it takes kids between 10 and 20 times seeing something before they eat it for first time, so continue exposing your children to healthy foods.

The more they see it, the more likely they are to eat it eventually.