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When my son started school, I was determined to pack him healthy, nutritious and satisfying lunches. Without me hovering over him while he ate, he brought his fancy sandwiches right back home, sometimes untouched. I could see he wasn’t really into what I packed for him.
After he brought several lunches back, I resorted to ordering food at school, but that never sat well with me since they weren’t very balanced meals – very little fruit or veggies. And, I could never tell if he actually ate his lunch.
Then I got creative. Read on for great (easy) lunch ideas for cold and hot school lunches your kids will actually eat and you’ll feel good about. Thank you to Shamrock Farms for sponsoring this post!
One of our favorite easy lunches to pack (and make ahead) are tortilla pinwheels and I’ve included the print-friendly recipe for those below!).
P.S. Don’t miss our new lunch ideas post for 2017!
Update on the Lunchbox:
For first grade, my son started using this Planet Box lunchbox (affiliate link).
Start with the drink:
1. Milk: my son’s drink of choice so I always make sure he has milk for lunch.
2. Juice – select a juice box that has reduced sugar and real fruit juice
School Lunch Main Course (Grains & Meats):
1. DIY “lunchables”: crackers, deli turkey or salami, sliced cheese
2. Sandwich or sandwich kabobs: disguise their sandwich by threading turkey, cubed string cheese, and squares of bread on skewers.
3. Mini bagels and cream cheese
4. Easy chicken sliders (canned chicken – drained well and mixed with mayo and black pepper to taste, place filling between lettuce and cheese to keep the bun from getting soggy)
5. Tortilla pinwheels (cream cheese, sliced cheese, deli turkey, thinly sliced tomatoes, shredded lettuce or spinach – roll tightly and slice into rounds). Get the print-friendly recipe for tortilla pinwheels below.
School Lunch Fruit:
1. Small banana
2. Grapes
3. Blueberries, strawberries or other berries
4. Fruit kabobs
5. Apricot, apple,.. whatever your kids love
6. Applesauce 7. Peeled clementines
School Lunch Veggies:
1. Baby carrots with ranch in mini cups
2. Cucumber slices
3. Snap peas
4. Salad (romaine, cheese, croutons, side of ranch)
5. Avocado slices (to prevent browning: slice flesh into bite-sized pieces inside the skin, scoop out flesh and replace into shell, drizzle with lemon juice, cover tightly with plastic wrap)
School Lunch Snacks and Treats:
1. Banana bread (Here is my husbands perfect banana bread)
2. Yogurt
3. Pudding
4. String cheese
5. Pretzels, or gold fish crackers
6. Fruit snacks or fruit leather
7. Dried fruit (raisins, craisins, banana or apple chips)
8. Z-Bar or fruit bars
9. Muffin
10. Chocolate chip cookie (click for soft homemade cookies)
12. DIY trail mix
Here are some winning lunch combinations:
[DIY “lunchables”, cucumber slices, grapes, yogurt]
[chicken slider, salad with ranch, trail mix, banana]
[turkey sandwich kabobs, carrots & ranch, apricot, pudding]
[mini bagel with cream cheese, snap peas, strawberries, fruit leather, string cheese]
[tortilla pinwheels, sliced avocado, blueberries, banana chips]
Hot Lunch Ideas (with a Thermos):
Tips for using a thermos: *We recommend the Thermos Foogo 10 oz or Thermos Funtainer 10 oz: *Pack hot thermos in the morning (5 hours before it’s eaten) *Heat the thermos first: add boiling water, cover and let sit 5 min then drain. Heat food until it’s hot. Place into heated thermos and close tightly with lid. Food will be warm at lunchtime.
What to put in a hot lunch thermos:
1. Soup (try: chicken noodle soup or Mom’s meatball soup)
2. Pasta (try: chicken alfredo or spaghetti with shrimp)
3. Pilaf/rice, or stir fry (try: creamy chicken and rice, or shrimp fried rice)
4. Leftovers! You can really get creative with a thermos. Just avoid foods with overwhelming aromas (i.e. broccoli and cabbage).
Tortilla Pinwheels Recipe (School Lunch Idea)
Ingredients
Tortilla Pinwheels
- 1 flour tortilla
- 2 Tbsp cream cheese
- 1 slice mozarella cheese, (or your favorite cheese)
- 1 oz turkey deli meat , (2 slices)
- 1/4 cup shredded lettuce, (or spinach leaves)
- 1/4 tomato, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Spread cream cheese over tortilla.
- Add sliced mozzarella and deli meat over the top half of the tortilla followed by shredded lettuce and sliced tomato.
- Tightly roll the tortilla from the top downward then slice the roll into rings.
Nutrition Per Serving
Can you tell by the look in his eye that I promised him candy for this photo? 😉
I like my son to have a hot lunch at school. His favorites are meatball soup and hot oatmeal. I get fruits, nuts, crackers, cheese for snacks also.
I tweeted: https://twitter.com/short624/status/626574495126401024
Personal pizza items!
I posted a tweet: https://twitter.com/FireRunner2379/status/626534238234525696.
I usually pack them a bagel, cheese stick, yogurt, homemade cookie and a few chips.
My son’s favorite lunch is cold GF pasta, apple slices, mini GF muffins and GF pretzels.
I like to pack a thermos with tomato soup. I always include a piece of fruit and a homemade cookie-usually oatmeal or peanutbutter.
I usually pack an avocado cut into slices with a bit of salt and maybe a dash of salt. I then layer it off with a row of avocado, a row of ham and cheese slices and baby tomatoes or any other veggie I want to toss in. Or a salad with some shrimp or chicken. Throw in a few crushed up vinegar chips and I got my croutons.
I usually pack a sandwich, chips, and other unhealthy snacks. When I try to go healthy a lot of times I would get greek yougurt, put some granola in there, and half of a bannana. I would also just take a salad or a home made wrap.
In my kids lunchbox there always has to be 1 fruit, 1 vegetable, 1 hot or cold food, a snack or yogurt and a drink. For example, sandwich or pasta. Fruit- apple, strawberry, grapes or banana. Vegetable – baby carrots, celery or peas. Snack- pretzels stick or trail mix or cheerios and some portable yogurt. Drink- juice, milk or water.
Very good idea with school lunches. A lot of kids will go to school in few weeks and for moms its a great idea.
I pack fruits, string cheese, turkey sandwich. For sure will use some of these ideas!
When I pack my Lunch I pack everything for a sandwich but the bread. I prefer a couple of crackers or chips on the side. Pickles are always in the bag and a frozen bottle of home brewed tea that keeps everything cool and fresh.
I will definitely be using your tips when my kids start school, 2 more years for my older son (yikes). For myself however, I love to make salads for work. Love a lot of different veggies and seeds and cranraisens on it. Also will add chicken if I have any leftover.
I will definitely be using your tips when my kids start school, 2 more years for my older son (yikes). For myself however, I love to make salads for work. Love a lot of different veggies and seeds and cranraisens on it. Also will add chicken if I have any leftover.
Thank you so much for tips & ideas. My older daughter will start school this September and I had no idea what to buy her for lunches.
One of my husbands favorites is coconut chia seed pudding with berries:)
My favorite things to pack are: Bread with meat, cookies or crackers, yogurt, apple or banana and water or apple juice.
I love salads so I usually take a plastic Tupperware container and chop up whatever greens I happen to have, add fresh or dried herbs, sometimes throw in dried fruit, nuts or even buckwheat. Then shake everything up before I eat it.
It is always different and always delightful.
One of my favorite combos is:
chopped spinach + cooked peas + sliced olives + dates.
I love to take the Sweet and Spicy Baked Chicken just because it reheats so well many days after and tastes delicious.
I pack encouragement cards