How Do YOU Pack a "Hip" Lunch?!
With the beginning of school fast approaching, I am starting to dread packing my kids’ school lunches. Although my kiddos definitely have the option of choosing a hot lunch at school, I prefer to pack a lunch in order to save money AND to provide them with healthy food choices. With that being said, I really get tired of the same old peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, carrot sticks, apple slices, and some kind of homemade treat (that’s usually not very good because well, Collin the baker… enough said). I need some variety AND my kids need some variety too!
…So this is where you all come in. Please share your most creative ideas for packing a healthy lunch that kids hopefully will enjoy eating and that parents can feel good about packing. And if you have any fun ideas for adding in a little note or fun surprise (I love making my kiddos feel special 😀 ), please share those ideas too!
Perfect timing! I was just thinking this same question as my son starts 1st grade this year and has full day school. He does not like lunch meat so I was wondering what to do because P,B and J will get really old every single day for the little guy!
Molly- If your son like peanut butter and banana’s- spread peanut butter on a tortilla place 1/2 of a banana to one side and roll it up.
My kids are already in school: ( I like to change it up a bit by using tortillas instead of bread with pb&j or even lunch meat and cheese! they love it and its still pretty easy to make for them.
Anything you can put on 2 slices of bread is also good rolled up in a tortilla. Add some cream cheese or peanut butter to help hold it all together and yum yum. When I was little I loved tortilla with peanut butter topped with granola and dried fruit and rolled up.
We try ham and crackers, pb and bagels, trail mix (made by me of course!), bananas, almonds, Kashi granola bars, apples with pb to go (using a coupon!), or celery and pb. My son tends to eat very little at lunch to run out to play so I have to pack full of protein and offer just a few selections. We don’t put anything sweet since he doesn’t have much time. We eat those goodies after school!
My mom used to include a popcorn ball occassionally. It made a fun treat that wasn’t too bad for us…
I have recipes to make them with jello for the stickiness too.. if anyone is interested.
a bag of carmel popcorn is not expensive either… and easy to do.
Crackers with cheese, lunchmeat, or pb/dip isnt too bad.. a la lunchables,, but NOT so expensive,, save the ranch dips, honey mustards, jellies, etc, from any take out orders to add a little zip to the lunches too.
I am so glad to read this! I am doing a LUnch Box Recipe Series on my blog over the next couple of weeks! Our school’s food is $2.00 a day…which to me is expensive, and it is very unhealthy! And, Peanut Butter is not allowed at many schools because of other kids having allergies! I will be giving out tips and recipes for lunch box style food, you can read up on it if you like! https://thriftytiff.com/?p=2395
Doesnt your school have nutritional guidelines they have to follow? If they are not meeting those guidelines contact the office.
You would be surprised at the nutritional guide lines. Some schools are supposed to provide a very high minimal amount of caolries per meal in case it is the only meal the child gets that day.
While most school’s do have nutitional guidlines, sadly they are not as “nutritious” as they lead you to believe. School lunches are VERY unhealthy pretty much all around- even the chicken nuggets are fake chicken that is fried! Then all those options that kids can pick from the a-la-carte menu (when you pre-pay for the week/month the children can just spend the money, they dont have to neccessarily buy the actual lunch.
I don’t count on the school’s nutrition guidelines when french fries count as a vegetable!
Yes, did anyone see the Jamie Oliver Food Revolution back in the spring? It’s true, our kids are eating all packaged and processed foods in the school cafeteria. Nothing made from scratch anymore. It’s so sad.
OUR SCHOOL DOES NOT ALLOW PEANUT BUTTER BECAUSE OF ALL THE ALLERGIES. ANOTHER GOOD OPTION IS TUNA SALAD OR CHICKEN SALAD WITH CRACKERS TO DIP IN.
ALmost every school I have heard of does not allow peanut butter – what a shame due to how good it is for the kids. Great source of energy. But, to many kids were getting reactions at school from the other kids’ lunches.
Have you tried sunflower butter? It is delicious and is peanut free!!!!!!! HTH
my daughter loves turkey and cheese, I drop the bread and do 2 slices of turkey and roll up a slice of cheese inside then cut into cute wheels. She loves them. I also let her help make the lunch. I let her choose her fruit or veggie, drink and what ever yougart happened to be free that week.
When we do PB sandwhiches we use cookie cutters to make them cute. Then I eat the crust. 🙂
My husband (whose mother always packed lunch) pointed out that kids don’t usually mind having the same things over and over like adults do.
I made a list of items: Protien Carb Fruit/Veg Treat then listed up to 6 items for each category. Then, roll dice for each category.
Also, the Protien doesn’t have to be a sandwhich…bacon, ham cubes, cheese sticks… and kids don’t seem to mind cold foods the way adults do…my kid LOVES cold sausage links (ewww).
I don’t have kiddos but my husband is close enough to one that it works!
I also like to switch it up with tortillas, they are fun and easy and who doesn’t like to eat anything all rolled up!
I also do things like tuna salad or chicken salad with cucumber dippers, just slice up cucumbers and send them along, it is fun and nutritious!
i have also been adding mangoes and avocados to his ham or turkey sandwiches, very healthy and kicks up the flavor.
i have seen several sandwich cutters in the dollar stores with all kinds of shapes, that would also be a fun switch up. I like to take a sharpie and write funny or sweet notes on each baggie that i put in his lunch.
happy lunch packing!
Very sweet!
Try also taking light/fat free mayo and putting it in a tupperware bowl and adding cranberry sauce – then mixing it up and using it as a spread. It also addes a twist, a sweet tangy twist to any sandwich!!
Don’t forget about egg salad, tuna, and BLTs. You can even send the tuna in a small bowl with Ritz crackers to scope it with. Using cookie cutters to cut out sandwiches keeps things fun. My daughter always enjoys a heart sandwich. You can do this with melon too. She always welcomes our homemade lunchables too…whole grain crackers, her favorite cheese, and some slices of lunchmeat rolled up and held together with a toothpick.
My mom used to cut our lunch into shapes with cookie cutters. I remember loving the hearts. Around Easter time, she’d us a rabbit cookie cutter.
another idea that my eolder kids especially love is packing something “warm” in a thermos — mac & cheese, spaghetti, or something along those lines is a favorite! You can find smaller size thermoses – especially this time of the year (with all of the lunchbox supplies), and they actually do pretty well at keeping things nice and toasty until lunchtime!
Love the small thermos idea for mac-N-cheese or Spaghetti!! Thanks!!!
We do the thermos, too. Mac ‘n cheese, spaghetti, ravioli, occassionally pizza rolls or the popcorn chicken nuggets. It def helps putting variety into the lunches.
PIZZA ROLLS??? I’ve been biting my tongue until now but PIZZA ROLLS????
That’s a great idea. I’m stuck on how to send a lunch with my child. She’s so picky. She doesn’t eat pbj, or any lunch meats. And I don’t really want to send her with just a cheese sandwich everyday. With a thermos i could also send her veggies like corn, green beans, etc. which she does like to eat.
I have to agree….even though I have used a thermos for things like soup, spaghetti, mac-n-cheese, etc. I can’t believe I never thought to put things like chicken nuggets/pizza rolls (YES, PIZZA ROLLS), veggies, and the like in there. What a great idea! Thanks! Will DEFINITELY be using these ideas this year!
You can do many things to make lunch fun and creative like putting lunch in a different container other than the normal “lunchbag”. I have seen lunches before where someone will take an empty tennis ball container and put the lunch in there and voila- neat lunch. Drinks and food fit perfect. Portability is the main idea, because you want to be able to eat and go.
My mom would always write a note on my napkin, so when I went to use it, I would see it.
i really like bento boxes. you dont have to go nuts and make them completely extravagant, or even buy the bento boxes themselves, you can get some gladware and some small tupperware pieces and make a cute little lunch out of leftovers from dinner and cut up sandwhiches into bite sized pieces and add a small little touch of cute. there are “everyday” bentos and very fancy ones that take too much time for me to even think about making. but for like a birthday or good grade treat, they always makes me smile.
there are a TON of websites on how to do one and inexpensive supplies (colored toothpicks, cupcake holders, colored wax paper, etc) in case you are afraid of the little ones not bringing home all your plastic containers. =)
I switch it up a lot by doing “corndog” muffins and “cheeseburger” muffins. My kids love them. They are easy to pack and are good at room tempature. I do a lot of bento boxes for my kids. I try and pack a healthy and “waste-free” lunch. No paper bags or plastic baggies:) There are a ton of blogs out there with simple ideas!!
What is a bhento box?
Here is a local (local to me) woman. I follow her blog quite a bit. She packs very simple, yet cute bentos for her kiddos:)
Forgot the link:)
https://bentolunch.blogspot.com/
These are great for kiddo lunches:)
https://www.easylunchboxes.com/?AFFID=41055
Wow, those are some creative and amazing lunches! Ziploc has some containers with sections that would be great for school lunches. I used them for picnics all summer and always got compliments! (got them from doing a ziploc houseparty 🙂
My daughter prefer wraps vs sandwiches, so I buy the spinach or sun dried tomato wraps for them! I also buy the mini (single serve) packages of hummus, she loves to dip carrots in hummus. I freeze yogurt tubes overnight, so its nice & icey by the time she eats lunch!
For a fun surprise, when she was younger I would always draw a smiley or funny face on her banana, however I was told , “Ma, please NO more smileys on my bananas, its embarrassing” But I still want to! 🙂 lol
Try rice, corn, lil hotdog, egg, chopped steak or marinated grill chicken wing (wrap it in tortilla). My kid love it.
I’m a single woman in Illinois, but here are some ideas for lunches that I use- I hope they’re helpful to you with kids.
Try Greek yogurt with a little sugar or vanilla syrup and fresh or frozen fruit. I buy my Greek yogurt (fat free, though it comes in whole milk and 2% milk versions) at Trader Joe’s, put half of the 2 cup container into another container, and then add the vanilla syrup (sugar free for me) and the frozen fruit. Greek Yogurt has double the protein of regular yogurt, so it will keep your kids going a little longer.
For veggies, I just got this delicious carrot salad recipe from my sister:
3 medium carrots, shredded (I figure this is about half a 1 lb. bag of carrots)
1-2 Tbsp. raisins
1 1/2 tsp. toasted whole cumin seeds (or 1 tsp. of ground cumin)
1-2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
Olive oil to taste
Lemon juice to taste
It’s fresh, fun and different.
Use snack bags to make your own 100 calorie packs of snacks. Way cheaper than the 100 calorie packs they sell in the stores, and you get to pick what snack your kids already enjoy.
a good website is “justbento.com”. here is a good example https://justbento.com/bento-no-74-5-minute-no-stash-beginner-bento
Thanks! I have been wanting to start making these.
My main goal with lunch packing is to make sure there is a balance of fruit, veggies, protein and carb. I also like to make lunches he can put together like cheese and lunch meat slices with crackers. Or veggies with ranch dip. I also try and do the hot meal in the thermos once a week. Usually it is leftover pasta or chicken breast nuggets if I have time to put them in the oven in the morning! Do others find the kids bring some of this home anyway?
my girls have always ejoyed a simple lunch of turkey meat rolled up. a cheese stick, strawberries, apples and grapes, cut up and put together and some sort of crackers like captin wafers or ritz crackers, and a cold container of water. they have always loved this at home and away. and every now and then you can add a small pack of cookies or a small trinket or note. they love that too. and by the way, here in south ga. we have been in schoo for 2 1/2 weeks now, doesn’t seem fair.
I love making lunch for my kiddos (weird, i know:) I use bento boxes and silicone muffin cups as dividers to separate things. Sandwiches are always cut out with a cookie cutter (I save the scraps for my lunch that day – lol). Tiny cookie/fondant cutters (from craft store) make cute veggie shapes (carrots, bell pepper). I use kids tattoos or edible markets to decorate bananas (boys love superhero bananas). Cute picks (craft store again) pierce grapes or cheese/turkey slices. It does take some time but it is an extension of my love for them and I hope it is something they remember even when they are all grow up… 😉
these are awesome!!
Check with your school before sending: but I used to make sandwiches on a stick- cut up chunks of cheese, turkey, ham (lettuce if they like it) and using small bread squares- make a sandwich shish kabob by layering the different items on the stick.
Love the sandwich-shish-ka-bob idea! Same ingredients with a different way of packing 🙂
Just be sure to ok this with the school- don’t want anyone’s children getting into trouble for brining a potential weapon into school. I guess you could use popsicle sticks (rounded edges)
I utilize the thermos alot. I heat up chef boyardee (free at target right now), macaroni and cheese, left over pasta dishes, hot dogs, soup, and fishsticks. I fill the thermos with hot water and let it sit while i heat the food in the microwave to very hot. My girls tell me the food is still warm at lunch time. I do sandwiches and wraps too. I hate to spend $ on school lunch!
Nutella is a great alternative to PB & J. Also cream cheese and jelly. I made the mistake of buying the precut apples and caramel dipping sauce, thinking the kids would eat the apples if they were dipped. The apples came home, but not the caramel-LOL
Mini bagels with ham or turkey and cheese. Costco has Kirkland brand individual organic chocolate milks that my son just loves. String cheese, some kind of fruit. I love putting little notes in every once in a while, or sometimes my husband shows up at school to surprise my boys by having lunch with them! If he brings pizza, it’s even better…
I loved the Kraft.com lunch notes we were able to print earlier thanks to your post. I saved several varieties to my computer which I will print and use often. They were so cute. With the great post-it note deals we have been able to snag lately, no one should be in short supply of note materials for lunchboxes. However, my favorite thing to do is to take snapshots and send picture text messages to my kids each day. Granted all children don’t or can’t have cell phones at school, but mine love getting that one little message from me during the day so they know I’m thinking of them right then.
Another yummy idea for a snack is take a green apple and slice it, not like slicing a normal apple but cut the apple horizontally (like circles) then spread peanut butter on each layer and stack them back up. We call them apple stackers!
Love this idea and nutella or almond butter would be great if your school doesn’t allow PB!
Also try soynut butter (imo: it’s better than peanut butter)
But a lot of schools don’t allow any nuts at all, so almond butter and Nutella are out.
I will decorate my kids lunch bags or napkins with love notes from me or pictures from the little ones that aren’t in school yet. Some times I will just add a little note. My little (big) guy says that his friends tease him because of it, but I tell him that they are just jealous because his mom loves him more than his friends. (I don’t really think he gets teased, just gets a little embarrassed.)
I will make my kids home made “lunchables” with crackers, meat and cheese. I will also sometimes give them jerky instead of a sandwich. They love it.
I’m sure he does get teased, kids are mean even that young. I volunteer at the school about 35 hours a week, and the teasing from headstart on up through the 5th graders is relentless. I wrote “Happy Birthday Gilly Bean” on a school reader board for my daughters birthday, and though she is well liked and popular, she was picked on for 2 weeks. Maybe put the smiley note inside his lunch so no one but him can see:)
My kids like peanut butter/jelly graham cracker sandwiches (instead of bread).
This is a great topic – thank you! My daughter is beyond picky about lunch – will not eat sandwiches, bagels, yogurt, etc. I am always looking for suggestions and I think the bento boxes will be really fun. One of her favorites last year was quesadillas. Weird, yes, but I would make them in the morning, pack them up and she was good to go. She loves soup, so we do thermos lunch often. Lots of fruit and veggies – carrots, cuc sticks, peppers, etc.
I also send a daily note in with her. Sometimes just a smiley face, other times a little note.
Michaels craft store has cute sticky pads with notes on them.. it’s 1.00 for like 100.
Also bento lunch box has a lot of cool ideas for lunches to pack..
yogurt “sundays” with blueberries and granola sprinkles..
hummus and bean sprout with shredded carrots, homeade granola bars,
tofu and salad.
lots off good ideas.. google it!
Homemade lunchables with crackers (cheap from the pantry of course), cheese or the new mini philly cream cheese and either lunch meat or cucumber. cookie cutters make this so much easier. Any scraps I use in salads later.
Do that too… My son loves homemade lunchables…
I used to make peanut butter and fluff if I was sick of PB and J. Cheese sticks is another easy lunch to make. Another fun thing to make is to cut up steam asparagus and roll it in thin slices of ham! It is fun and nutritious snack!
Everyone seems to be going the PB & J route, so here’s my take on it. I was trying my daughter on a gluten-free diet for a while…and we tried this maple almond butter…man, she devoured that stuff! It smells really good ( I wasn’t brave enough to try it 😉
She really likes the pizza lunchables…hmmm…guess I haven’t gave this one much thought…and school starts thursday! i’m in trouble 😉 r
I just did a blog post about this very thing!
https://momsreview4you.blogspot.com/2010/08/easy-lunch-boxes-kids-lunch-boxes.html
My kids both love hummus. I send my oldest to school with hummus, crackers for dipping (or carrots), an apple and a special treat like cookies or granola bar. You can even make a hummus tortilla with cucumbers and tomatoes if you like. My kids don’t like it that way, but you could try. Chicken noodle soup in the thermos is another good idea. Good luck!
I wish you made these question entries a weekly part of your blog. I love reading other’s ideas on topics!!!
I remember when i was in elementary school there was a girl who’s moms would always pack her different kinds of pasta in a thermos. I always thought that was a neat idea
what do i do with my picky 11 year old dancer…she needs good healthy food especially because of the hours she puts in academically and then at the dance studio after school each day. She will not eat a single veggie, and the only real fruit she’ll touch is grapes. I swear she lives on cereal and mac n cheese. Out of the 4 kids, she is the only picky one.
I’m from Japan, and alot of the parents fix very neat lunch called ‘obento’ over there. They put eyes and mouth etc.(using seaweed cut by craft punch or by scissors) on the boiled eggs or rice balls so they look like a face. And using little plastic picks(shaped like tree, leaf, legs heart etc.) for the meat balls or cherry tomatoes making them more fun.
My first son finally started to go to Kindergarten this morning, and I’m having fun to make Obento for him!
I’m from Japan, too so I agree with you that bento is really neat! I remember “octopus wiener” (not actual octopus, make legs by knife and boiled so looks like octopus :)). My daughter will go to kindergarten next year and I will make bento as well. I will call my mom soon for get some ideas 🙂
Hi Takako, nice to talk to you! I’m so glad to see Japanese here!! And I also tried to write about octopus wienner, but I couldn’t explain enough by my vocabulary.lol My son came home from Kinder, but he is a picky eater, so he ate just one piece of smile potato(store made). 🙁 I need to call my mom to get some ideas too!
Hi, Karin. You can check youtube, too. They have lots of great recipes. Maybe you and your son could pick something from there then he might likes his bento. I’ve got call my sister as well since she makes bento for her teen age son. Thanks to your note! 🙂
Thank you for your advice, Takako! I’ll check Youtube out today. 😉
For the sandwich kabobs mentioned, I have done them on pretzel sticks. I also love to include yogurt or string cheese. My daughter is going to kindergarten and I know yogurt parfaits will be a favorite for her. I can throw some frozen fruit on the yogurt and put in a little bag of granola or crunchies (grape-nuts).
Freeze juice boxes if you include them and they keep the food cold but thaw by lunch.
We sometimes do peanut butter on crackers to mix up the sandwich theme.
But my kids all time favorite is split pea soup, or chili.
I know it couldn’t be an everyday lunch due to price, but if anyone is near Publix, the deli has come out with their version of a “lunchable” Small sandwich, fruit, veggie, juice and a treat. I think it’s somewhere around $3 – Good for field trip days.
I make homemade lunchables and my girls think they are fun!
• Ritz (or any type of cracker)
• deli style cheese cut and thick cut deli meat cut with cute cookie cutters
I also have a big butterfly cookie cutter and make Peanut Butter(fly) sandwiches. Plain old PB just cut into a butterfly shape.
I make fruit kabobs with appetizer picks and do the same with meat and cheese; it is a nice change from the standard sandwich or fruit salad and the kids love them. They also like themed lunches using cookie cutters to cut the sandwich, fruit or veggies. Homemade Mac ‘n Cheese in a warm food container is also a huge hit. As much fun as I have packing lunches I still am not looking forward to the kids going back to school.
Thank you Collin! I son will start kindergarten next week and I need help with lunch ideas – thank you, thank you!
Have you ever heard of “Bento Boxes”? They’re based on sectioned Japanese lunchboxes and there’s an emerging trend of filling these environmentally friendly containers with healthy fun-shaped food for kids. If you search for “Bento Boxes for Kids” there are dozens of blogs and articles bound to spark some creative ideas!
Have you thought about freezing yogurt tubes and sending them. I sometimes make individual size pudding or jello in the small round glad bowls.
How about trying kabobs? Put rolled up slices of lunchmeat, chunks of cheese, celery chunks, etc. on a kabob stick. You can make a fruit kabob for dessert. These would be fun for any kid!