Friday, August 27, 2010

Back to School - Lunch Box Ideas

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