Since it's a requirement at my daughter's montessori school to have lunches that contain a dairy, two fruits or veggies and a grain, I had to learn to get creative.

The school provides the milk to meet the dairy requirement, but from time to time, I still like to give her a yogurt cup in a wacky swirled flavor.

She likes it when I cut her favorite sandwich, just plain old peanut butter into different shapes (4 squares, pizza, or diamond shaped). When I want to add some pizzazz to the PB, I just dab a little honey on it instead of jelly.

She's not wild about sandwich meats, but they're a hit when I give her 6 Ritz crackers, 3 squares of turkey or turkey ham, and 3 squares of American cheese so she can build her own mini sandwiches.

I also try to give her different fresh fruits like a few (3-4) small chunks of a peach quarter, pineapple, or green apple. Although her grain usually comes from the bread or cracker, I try to make her lunches extra special by giving her a chewy (fruit flavored) granola & yogurt bar, which she loves.

By the end of the day, she's buzzing with excitement to tell her Nana, Pop-pop and Gee-Gee what she had for lunch and that she ate it all up.