It is that time of year again.....back to school! This means it is time to start thinking about school lunches. I hear the groans, but packing lunches does not have to be a huge pain in the hiney if you plan ahead.
My 10 year old son does not like the hot lunches at school at all so I get the honor of packing him one every day. I don't mind though because this way I know what he is eating and if he is getting enough good foods to keep him satisfied and energized throughout the day. For this reason, I like to try and keep his lunches interesting as well as healthy and nutritious. I find that I do better when I have a list of ideas on hand to refer to, so I thought I would share these with you as well.
Here's my list:
Entrees
- sandwiches (PBJ, meat/cheese, tuna, etc) made on bread, tortilla wrap, pita bread, bagel, mini sub bun
- bagel w. cream cheese
- cheese/crackers/turkey pepperoni
- rolled meat/cheese/large flatbread crackers
- cheese/chicken quesadilla
- pita pizzas (made night before)
- hummus and pita bread
- meat and cheese skewers w. crackers or pita bread
- yogurt parfaits
- pasta salad
- hard boiled eggs
- pizza breadstick w. ranch (Bosco sticks)
- salad - tossed or taco
- muffins - ham/cheese muffin, corn dog muffin
- chicken wings w. ranch
Thermos Entrees
- soup
- chili
- leftover pasta
- chicken nuggets
- baked potato
Sides
- veggies and dip
- fruit - whole, cut up, add dip
- string cheese
- yogurt
- cottage cheese
- apple sauce
- banana bread
- muffin
Snacks
- pudding
- crackers
- granola bar
- protein bar
- trail mix
- animal crackers
- combos
- chex mix
- cereal bar
- raisins
- fruit snacks
- mini rice cakes
- Quaker multi-grain fiber crisps
To make your life even easier, invest in some divided plastic containers to pack the lunch in. I use the divided Ziploc containers here and they work great. Save on waste too!
For more great ideas and divided containers, check out EasyLunchBoxes.com.
My 10 year old son does not like the hot lunches at school at all so I get the honor of packing him one every day. I don't mind though because this way I know what he is eating and if he is getting enough good foods to keep him satisfied and energized throughout the day. For this reason, I like to try and keep his lunches interesting as well as healthy and nutritious. I find that I do better when I have a list of ideas on hand to refer to, so I thought I would share these with you as well.
Here's my list:
Entrees
- sandwiches (PBJ, meat/cheese, tuna, etc) made on bread, tortilla wrap, pita bread, bagel, mini sub bun
- bagel w. cream cheese
- cheese/crackers/turkey pepperoni
- rolled meat/cheese/large flatbread crackers
- cheese/chicken quesadilla
- pita pizzas (made night before)
- hummus and pita bread
- meat and cheese skewers w. crackers or pita bread
- yogurt parfaits
- pasta salad
- hard boiled eggs
- pizza breadstick w. ranch (Bosco sticks)
- salad - tossed or taco
- muffins - ham/cheese muffin, corn dog muffin
- chicken wings w. ranch
Thermos Entrees
- soup
- chili
- leftover pasta
- chicken nuggets
- baked potato
Sides
- veggies and dip
- fruit - whole, cut up, add dip
- string cheese
- yogurt
- cottage cheese
- apple sauce
- banana bread
- muffin
Snacks
- pudding
- crackers
- granola bar
- protein bar
- trail mix
- animal crackers
- combos
- chex mix
- cereal bar
- raisins
- fruit snacks
- mini rice cakes
- Quaker multi-grain fiber crisps
To make your life even easier, invest in some divided plastic containers to pack the lunch in. I use the divided Ziploc containers here and they work great. Save on waste too!
For more great ideas and divided containers, check out EasyLunchBoxes.com.