I am not claiming these lunches to be perfectly balanced or even the most healthy options. Do I give them chips sometimes? Yes. Do I usually include a dessert or treat? Yes. BUT, I try to keep it fairly healthy and all of these are things my kids will eat. Some of them like certain things that others don't and sometimes I get them mixed up and give someone the wrong thing, but these are most of my tried and true, easy and quick to pack lunches.
What containers do I use?
Like I mentioned above, one of the questions I got the most of was what containers I used to pack the kids' lunches. I bought THESE Tupperware brand containers a few years ago from a Tupperware party and have used them almost every single day! It just makes packing multiple things so much easier and I cuts down on the waste of ziplock bags.
I also have a collection of THESE and use them frequently, too!
What goes in the lunches?
I always try to give them a "main dish", a fruit or vegetable, a cheese or yogurt, some kind of crackers/chips/pretzels, and then some sort of sweet treat. I used to always pack a juice box just because that is what I always had as a kid. However, my neighbor told me she packed the mini water bottles in her kids' lunches and I have been doing that ever since for the past 2 years. They take a large reusable water bottle to school each day to drink throughout the day and after PE, Recess, etc. They usually forgot to bring it to lunch though so I like to send a little water bottle in their lunch boxes.
Main dish ideas:
Turkey roll-ups
Chicken salad with crackers
Bagel with cream cheese
Guacamole packet with tortilla chips for dipping
Turkey, cheese, tortilla shell rollups cut into bite-sized pieces
Peanut butter packs with pretzels for dipping
Pepperoni, cheese and crackers
Hummus packets with Wheat Thins or pretzels for dipping
Laughing Cow cheese spread with crackers
Sandwich on Hawaiian Roll, mini-bagel or croissant
Palmetto Cheese packet with crackers for dipping
Fruit/Veggie ideas:
Apple slices (with no skin for my picky one)
Strawberries
Grapes
Blueberries
Cuties
Raspberries
Carrots with ranch in a little cup to dip
Dairy ideas:
Cheese sticks
Cheese slices with crackers
Danimal yogurt drinks
M&M or Oreo yogurt
Flavored greek yogurt
Pimento cheese
Laughing Cow cheese spread
Hot Lunches
One of my three loves to have a hot lunch, but doesn't love the idea of buying school lunch. For her, occasionally I will send something hot to eat in a Thermos container like THIS. I will heat it up in the morning using the microwave (usually double the amount of time I would normally so it is very hot) and put it in the Thermos container. She says it stays pretty hot by lunchtime so I guess it works pretty well!
Hot lunch ideas:
Ravioli with pesto sauce
Spaghetti with marinara sauce
Macaroni and Cheese
She has even taken left over chicken pot pie before. (For the record, this makes me want to gag, but she was happy about it!)
Lunch box short cuts
If it comes in an individual packet (hummus, guacamole, pimento cheese, peanut butter, etc.) then I buy it that way. Sure, I could get a large container and put it smaller ones to save a buck, but I HATE packing lunches so this makes it easier and a little less painful to me so it is worth it in my opinion!
I like to have my kids help with packing their lunches and if we have a rare night at home, then I do have them help. However, most days as soon as they get home from school we are off to practices or games and by the time we get home they are eating, doing homework and going to bed so I generally end up doing it just to save time.
I always prep the lunches the night before and stick them in the fridge. In the mornings all I have to do is stick everything in their lunch boxes with an ice pack to keep it cold.
Some school's have plastic forks/spoons available to kids, but some do not or only have those for kids buying their lunches. I always make sure to stick in a napkin (not that it ever gets used) and a plastic spoon if they are having yogurt that day.
What are your kids' favorite things for their lunch boxes? I'm always looking for more ideas!
Follow us on Pinterest HERE.
Follow us on Instagram HERE.
