My family is very into health and I run track, so I have been brown bagging it since kindergarten (although last year I started buying lunch which was awful!) My typical lunch is: -organic multigrain roll with hummus, romaine lettuce, and tomato (carbohydrate, protein, vegetable); -some sort of fruit: either apple, plum, peach, etc (whatever is in season); -trailmix - depending on the age of your kids - (throw together peanuts, raisins, dried fruit, almonds, or whatever: more protein); -skim milk from the cafeteria (dairy/calcium) or a box juice; - coldcuts such as turkey, chicken, tuna, or other meats can be a good source of protein. Be careful, because some cold cuts are full of fat and aren't good for you. You can also have cheese or fruit bars although I try to stay away from or limit packaged foods or foods high in fat, sugar, or salt. Also, get him/her/them into the habit of keeping a water bottle throughout the day, especially when it is hot to keep them hydrated. there are lots of choices out there for a healthy lunch that will keep your energy up for the day, you just have to look to find them.

I have a great idea! I read an article in a newspaper recently about Bento Boxes for kids lunches- you can roll a sandwich and cut into slices to make it look like sushi pieces, put fruit on sticks, like a kabab and cut out cheese portions with a star, heart or moon using small cookie cutters - and the whole idea is to package them in pretty containers- apparently this is the new and upcoming trend. :-)

These sound like great answers, but I'd like to add one thing: we should really be cautious not to put too much sugar into pur kids diets. The other day I saw a baby in a stroller holding a cup of coke way bigger than it's own head. This disturbed me.

To try to avoid the "boring" label, why not try pita sandwiches from time to time. You can pretty much do the same type of fillers as in a wrap but in a pita instead. Also, add a variety of healthy sides to accompany it. Fruit, cheese sticks, yogurt or raw vegetables (if you're kids will eat them) like carrots, cucumbers, celery from time to time will make each lunch a bit different each time. When there's those small pop-in-your-mouth types to go with a wrap or sandwich, it sometimes makes my kids feel like they're getting a snack instead of sitting down with a "meal" and snacks always go down better. Also, you might even try putting home made soup (or at least a low-sodium one from the supermarket) into a thermos and adding cheese biscuit to go with it. As a treat, throw in a granola bar as a mini-dessert. Peanut-free ones are available in a few varieties nowadays.