August is back, and as the end of summer nears, planningfor the beginning of school begins. The lists of needed classroom materials areappearing in the mail with reminders of after-school activities starting upagain. Along with the school gear shopping, sleep schedules need to be fixedand meals planned again. It’s up to you to make sure that your children areprepared for the school year. Needlessto say, whether the kids are heading back to school this week orare planning their last days of freedom until the next break, back to schoolcan be a stressful time of year.

In addition to pencils, paper and amazing amounts of handsanitizer, children need lots of energy to work those brains after a longsummer away from school. In addition to plenty of sleep and time toplay—secretly known as exercise— in their day, you prepare your kids forsuccess with the meals they eat.

Does that seem like a lot of pressure?

Meal plans don’t need to be agonized over. There are plenty of resources to help you create balanced meals without the stress. To create this good habit and simplify your back-to-school routine, try preparing balanced meals with these meal ideas.

There’s a reason that these meal plans include dairy. It’s the same reason your parents encouraged you to reach for a glass of milk at mealtime: it keeps kids energized throughout their day. When children eat a balanced breakfast containing dairy, it helps them stay focused and energized until lunchtime. Students who eat breakfast are shown to have better memory, attention, and problem-solving skills than those who skip the first meal of the day. With the energy to last until their lunchtime refuel, your children will have a more productive day than if they were to skip a meal. Going back to the basics of three servings of dairy a day make the back to school routine a little easier.

Regardless of if you send the kids to school with special themed lunches or extra money for dessert, you know that the milk served with each meal is helping your kids receive needed fuel for a successful day of learning and creativity. The basics you were raised on will help them grow, too.

Now that leaves finding a good bargain on graph paper and remembering the dress code.

For more back to school meal ideas, visit our kid-friendly recipes or browse our school meal Pinterest board.