School Lunch Ideas that Your Children will Love!

Packed Lunch Ideas that Your Children will Love!

Does your child prefer to take a packed lunch for school? 10 Great Ideas

Both of my boys liked “home” instead of cafeteria meals.  I  had trouble coming up with easy, original and well liked lunches from day to day, year to year.

I am bringing you some of our favorite packed lunches as well as ones I think my boys would have loved, had I had the creativity and time to figure them out.

I try to do my “part” by using recyclable bags and resources when I can.  I found Bumkins sandwich and snack bags on Amazon and love them!  They are made out of “bib” material, so easy to turn inside out and clean. They also come in fun patterns.  If you are interested, Amazon will send me a little “thank you” for your purchase. 

1. The “31 Flavors” Sandwich: I know, not original. I can hear you saying, my kids don’t like sandwiches. At the beginning of each year we went to our local grocery store. The deli counter there sells Boars Head meats and cheeses.  Have you ever been to a deli where they specialize in Boars Head meats? We named it “31 Flavors” after Baskin & Robbins simply because there are so many choices.  The boys would taste the different meats and cheeses and the come up with an “original” sandwich for the year.  We also picked special bread. 
2. The “Garden” Sandwich: This is a favorite of mine. I like it on a bagel. I smear cream cheese and then sprinkle with dry Italian salad dressing mix, then layer cucumber slices, grated carrots, tomato and sprouts.
   
   
3. Tortilla Wheels: They just look fun. Any combination will work in a tortilla, then cut them into little wheels and lunch is fun food.  There are as many combinations for tortilla wheels as there are sandwiches.  If this interests you, I suggest you look up tortilla wheels + the main ingredient you are interested in. I found Turkey & Cheese, BLT and Caesar wraps.
   
   
4. Pizza: What child does not love pizza of some type? You can do super quick and easy and just throw left overs in the packed lunch, or you can make pizza or pizza roll ups or pizza croissants, there are a ton of options.
   
   
5. Chilled Sesame Noodles: Just like pizza, how many kiddos do not like noodles? Peruse the recipes online if you do not already have a favorite.  They vary from sweet to savory.
   
   
6. Bento Boxes: Whew! These are “a plenty”. They are usually characterized by small portions of a variety of foods. The “picture worthy” ones have a variety of colors as well.  Typically they have fruits and veggies as a “main attraction” which you can add ranch, peanut butter, cheese or hummus to dip. Throw in some crackers and a protein like a hard boiled egg or sandwich and you are a Bento expert.  These can be switched up with any of the sides and treats I talk about later.  Some moms, still wearing those superwoman capes, actually make sandwiches and then get the cookie cutters out and make sandwich “shapes”.  I wasn’t going for the cape, but for ease. 
   
   
   
7. Bowls: They are the trend. We used to have Mason Jar foods and salads, then we slipped into Bento Boxes and now we are celebrating the bowls. Anything can be made into a bowl. They typically have a carb like rice, then veggies, like corn or beans and then a protein. This is a very simple bowl, but you get the idea. I found a bowl that looked really good: Chicken Fajita Lunch Bowl. Each of these will be catered to your child’s tastes.
   
   
8. Mason Jar Salads: True confessions, my boys would never have eaten a salad for lunch unless it was a Caesar.  I also would have been leery of that glass jar making it back home. The idea is there are a TON of mason jar salad ideas. You can get some “all in one” packed salad ideas by looking these up.  I think my boys would both have eaten Taco Salad Jar  had I been aware of it. I would have loved Hummus Salad Jar,  but neither of my boys were hummus type kids.
   
   
9. Chicken Salad: I gave you the recipe for this in: “Quick and Easy Meals Your Kids Can Cook.”   This is a hearty salad that can be paired with crackers or pita bread. It would also go nicely in a Bento Box!
   
   
10. BLT Pasta Salad: There are a lot of ways to do this. There are a lot of healthy variations.  My boys like the BLT Pasta salad best. I also found Pesto Pasta Salad and Greek Salad Nachos.

Are you ready to share laughter with your child?

Get this list of 32 clean joke-“cut outs”!

• Two different lists, one with the punchline and one w/o
• Created on “cut outs” so you can do “a joke a day” for one month
• Hide a joke each day and create anticipation and fun
• Come together at the end of the day with guesses for the answer
• Creates a whole new game and topic of conversation

Email

Create Joyful Moments

What can you add to your “main” attraction for lunch? Fun Sides

1. Fresh fruit: Everything needs to be easy. If you have a “little” that child is probably thinking less about lunch and more about how much time they will have to play outside. Make sure the fruit is ready to go, peeled, sliced etc.  Kids love fruit kebabs. I know, it is the same fruit, but once on a stick it is much more fun to eat.

• Kiwi
• Pineapple
• Strawberries
• Blue Berries
• Apple Slices
• Grapes
• Melon (cut up)
• Seasonal: peaches, plums, cherries
• Clementines
• Pear Slices
  
  2. Dried Fruit: Some of the dried fruit, like Dried Plantains or Bananas can be eaten like chips. You will also be able to find fun flavors that you may not normally get like Dried Mangos. Another advantage of dried fruits is that it allows children to eat the same fruits, but get a different flavor.

• Dried Apples (I like Bare Apple Chips with Cinnamon)
• Dried Coconut Chips
• Dried Mangos
• Dried Apricots
• Dried Peaches
• Banana Chips
• Raisins (you can mix with nuts)
  
  3.Canned or Jarred Fruit: The best thing about these is they are available year round.  I like to “prepare” my own in little containers that can be re-used.  If you are pressed for time and do not mind the hike in cost, there are a number of these that are pre-prepared.

• Applesauce
• Mandarin Oranges
• Pineapple Chunks
• Peaches
• Pears
  
  4. Veggie Sticks: We all want to get the healthy foods into our children, but sometimes they are not as agreeable as we would hope.  Slicing the vegetables into “sticks” and offering a “dipping” sauce can sometimes help.

• Cucumber (this one is not common, but was my boys’ favorite veggie “stick”)
• Carrots 
• Celery (although I know of no child that will eat this without peanut butter)
• Bell Pepper Strips
• Jicama (if you have an adventurous child)
  
  5. DIY Trail Mix: You can add plain nuts as a “side” dish for your child’s lunch, however, creating a Trail mix is catering to their likes and fun.                           The last category does not need to be added, it is a “just in case.”

• Nuts: Peanuts, Almonds, Cashews, Pecans, Walnuts
• Seeds: Shelled Sunflower and Pumpkin Seeds
• Dried Fruit: Cranberries, Cherries, Raisins, Coconut, Banana Chips
• M & Ms, Chocolate Chips,  White Chocolate Chips, Marshmallows, Yogurt Chips, Yogurt covered almonds, pretzels, raisins, malted milk balls
  
  6. Treats: It is always fun to have a “treat” in your lunch bag.  I remember when I was a kid, my friends would have Hostess fruit pies, Twinkies and my favorite: Ding Dongs.  I was not so fortunate.  I had a mom who believed in healthy food.  I did not feel like a lucky duck. Try to come up with a treat you can both live with.

• Pudding
• Yogurt Parfaits (granola, fruit and yogurt)
• Fruit Snacks
• Fruit Leather
• Muffin
• Peanut Butter Balls 
• German Chocolate Fudge Bites (I have never added the chocolate chips. I have always had these on hand and had neighbor children “sneaking” into the fridge to get  “just one more chocolate ball.”  I also use them to curb my sweet tooth after meals!)

The upcoming school year brings many challenges as well as some rewards if you are sending your children to school. The rewards I can think of are time to yourself, only two meals to clean up after and no “I’m bored.”  The challenges are possible anxiety at facing a new year, class, friends, etc.  Also, everyone was able to slow down during the summer, the school year brings crazy schedules, possible carpooling and after school activities.  If your child loves to bring a sack lunch to school, that is one more challenge: what will you pack in their lunch? Here are many ideas to get you started on lunches your child will love,
When you find your children’s favorites, please let me know so we can grow our packed lunch repertoire together!

“One bite and all your dreams will come true.”

~Evil Step Mother “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves”

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I do not recommend anything I have not tried and loved!***