Kids love chips and they love dips.
What parents like are fresh and real ingredients -the MOMables®way. 

I reviewed a store bought boxed nacho lunch and made my own MOMables version. Which do you think can be called nutritious? Get the MOMveeta (cheese dip) recipe here.

Related: Top 5 Lunchboxes We’ve Tested 

Round 1: Contents
The boxed lunch comes with tortilla chips, salsa, and “cheese” dip. I put cheese in quotations because cheese is not even one of the first 3 ingredients listed. It also includes a sugary fruit-flavored drink and a candy (which was prominently advertised on the front of the box, but thankfully, actually quite small – you can just see it peeking out from the chips).

My MOMables nacho lunch, packed in a Laptop Lunches bento lunch box,  contains Newman’s Own salsa, all-natural, gluten-free, non-GMO Better Chip tortilla chips, low fat natural refried beans (no lard), real & homemade sharp cheddar cheese dip, and fresh juicy strawberries. Winner: the MOMables lunch made with real food.

Round 2 : Nutrition
The boxed nacho lunch lacks protein, fiber and fruit. The first 3 ingredient of the “cheese” are water, oil, & starch. The salsa, made from tomato paste and seasonings, does count as a vegetable serving, but it has a lot of additives such as high fructose corn syrup and preservatives. The artificially flavored and colored drink contains less than 2% fruit juice – let’s call it sugar+water+color+2% juice.

The MOMables lunch includes a whole fruit portion, and beans for fiber and protein. The cheese dip is made from real cheddar cheese. The all-natural salsa in the MOMables lunch is full of vegetables. Winner: the MOMables™ lunch. 

Round 3 : Appeal
The only appeal the boxed lunch had was the colorful box. It also lost points for being difficult to open. The plastic seal was difficult for even me to peel off without sending the contents flying, I doubt a child could have managed it.

My kidlet didn’t want to try the packaged nachos – well, except for the candy – but she ate the MOMables nacho lunch. She loved the sharp cheddar cheese dip, and I loved that I knew it was made with real cheese. When you make it yourself, you know exactly what’s in it!  Winner: The MOMables lunch!

With MOMables lunch menus, putting together a healthy lunch is easy, and you get to choose your own ingredients.

Fresh vs Packaged – Which nacho chip lunch would you rather your child dip into?

The MOMables lunch is a winner!