By Andrea Weigl

McClatchy Newspapers

RALEIGH, N.C. — Your children have gone off to college. We know, you miss them already. So why not send them a care package?

Cindy Rose , 58, of Chapel Hill, N.C., put it best when she talked about sending care packages to her daughter, Jenny, now a senior at University of North Carolina-Asheville.

"The care package is like sending them a big kiss, so you want it to be sweet," Rose says.

While Rose confesses to sending Dove chocolates and candy to her daughter and son, who has since graduated from college, we'd like to suggest a healthier approach to the care package and sought suggestions from local dietitians and nutritionists.

The key, says Meagan Myers , registered dietitian at Rex Healthcare in Raleigh, N.C., is to "focus on nutrient-dense foods (that have) not just carbs but carbs and protein."

Look for energy bars with protein, such as Luna, Clif and Larabars. Choose soy crisps, which are high in protein, instead of rice cakes, which aren't. Easy homemade nutritious treats include granola, energy bars and trail mix.

Freda Butner , a nutrition marketing specialist with the N.C. Department of Agriculture, says half the struggle with getting your children to eat healthier foods while away at college is simply making it available and easy to eat. Consider portability: small cans of juice, single-servings of diced fruit, nuts and dried fruits. And don't forget to send plastic spoons and knives, always assuming they don't have them in their dorm rooms.

"If they have that alternative on hand, they are more likely to get some nutrition in them," she says.

Consider sending more than just food, says Emily Ford , a clinical dietitian at WakeMed in Raleigh. "So much of our reward system is built around food," she says. "I think we also run some risks from it." Instead, Ford suggests sending tickets to a nearby museum or baseball game or a gift certificate for a massage.

To make it fun for both parent and child, consider doing what Lee Bierer did. Last fall, she hosted a care-package-making party for more than a dozen moms, many of whom had sent a first child off to college. The children got treats, and the mothers got to talk about their children.

Amy Gould of Matthews, N.C., was one of the moms at the party.

"It was a really nice afternoon of thinking about our children and everyone else's children," says Gould, who was sending packages to her son Kenneth at boarding school and her son Scott at the University of Central Florida.