In need of lunch box inspiration? We have 5 healthy and simple lunch box ideas your kids will love! Of course don’t miss our guide to five lunch box essentials for easy packing and this 28-day lunch box menu to create healthy lunches on the fly!
We’ve finally hit the point of life where the majority {that being two} of our three girls are in school. Of course knowing what school lunch is like, I get a lot of questions revolving around what I let my kids eat and not eat.
But before I step on my mini soap box and give you insight on how we feed our kids, I wanted to let you know that I created a very special lunch-box menu for you! This FREE downloadable calendar has 28 healthy and delicious meal ideas to pack for your kids this school year! I promise it will help you! Just continue to mix and match for a full years worth of healthy lunches.
Click here to download that FREE 28-day Lunch Box Menu!
Now back to the soap box….
I wanted to give you a little insight into how we feed our kids, also known as our “raising healthy eaters” philosophy.
It’s really pretty simple:
Control what we can and don’t freak out about what we can’t.
why it works
I know it’s a pretty anti-climatic response, but the good news is the majority of the time we have control over what food options are offered, one of them including school lunch. But the truth behind feeding healthy kids is letting them have some independence.
In fact, eating is the first independent skill a child learns. Before anything else, they can probably hold their bottle, shove every thing good and bad into their mouth and even develop strong opinions around what they want to eat and how much. One of my worries as a parent isn’t so much whether my children will or won’t choose healthy options, it’s them deciding they don’t want to do health because mom forced it upon then.
Instead, I’d rather foster this independent skill, give them options within reason and help them learn the ropes of healthy living as it means for their own unique body. I write more about it here, but basically there is no forcing of food in our house. They are never required to finish their meal, try new foods or even eat if they simply don’t want to.
On the flip side, of course I choose what comes into the house. This means there is limited snacking between meals. They can’t refuse to eat because they’ve filled up on snacks or plan to pull the last-ditch effort before bed to get something to eat just because they didn’t like supper.
But at the end of the day, food is meant to be enjoyed. It’s not something to be fought over because in time, statistics have shown that the force of food in childhood extends into adulthood in forms such as bingeing, restricting and simply being consumed by food.
remember this
We have to worry about controlling what we can and stop worrying about what we can’t. That means we have a pretty good grip on breakfast, lunch and dinner. If we do this, then we don’t have to worry so much about the “treats” they get at school for birthdays or what is eaten at a friend’s house.
Remember health is about consistency.
The big tip in all of this that I’ll leave you with is connecting the dots to what we eat and how we feel. I think this is the greatest lesson we can teach our children when it comes to health. Helping them to understand the correlation between choices and the physical response of how they feel. It’s fascinating how quickly they learn, without pressure and start to know their limits.
All without force.
So ask your kids, how does that food make you feel? Did it leave you full or were you hungry all morning? Let their eyes be open, independently, to learn how amazing healthy food can be for our bodies.
take a deep breath
Sometimes, it requires a lot of deep breaths like when your child seems to refuse everything you put in front of them or cries for a popsicle ever single night even though you don’t even have any in your house. I get you! These are very real things in our house too. Remember, the more attention you bring to it, the longer it will last.
Take a deep breath and know you are doing a good job no matter what!
Be the example and everything will fall into place.
End soap box.
5 lunch box ideas
Well that lasted a little longer than I anticipated. But as I mentioned, packing a school lunch is something I can have some control over. It’s daunting some days and takes a little extra work of course. But in the end I know it’s what is best for their growing body’s and minds so we continue moving forward.
The trick is keeping it quick and simple.
Incorporating healthy food they enjoy and healthy food you don’t have to do much work for. I wanted to share five of our favorite go-to lunch box ideas and as the year continues, follow me over on Instagram and Facebook to see more get posted. I try to keep them seasonal, but for now we’ll start with the basics and help you understand the mind of a child and food.
Remember they like to dip, eat finger-food, the looks of layers and a variety of textures. But at the end of the day, kids really prefer the same foods over and over.
ideas to pack
For us the breakdown looks a little like this:
The main goal is to have a good source of protein. Some examples include:
- Hard boiled eggs
- Lunch meat
- Nuts/seeds
- Nut butters
- Beans or bean dip {like black bean dip or hummus}
- Cheese {string cheese, cottage cheese, cheese slices}
- Shredded meat
- Chicken salad
- Bacon
- Protein powder {on-the go smoothie, breakfast cookies, etc}
From that point we add in a healthy grain to pull the protein together. This could be things like:
- Crackers
- Sprouted breads
- Rice
- Popcorn
- Veggie straws
- Organic graham crackers
Then we add a vegetable and often a fruit and finish it with a dip.
Here are a few examples to get you started. It’s mix and match and mostly helping them to be a part of the process.
lunch box idea #1: BREAKFAST
Breakfast for lunch of course, because you can never go wrong with bacon and waffles mid-day, am I right? This lunch is packed with these make-ahead 6-ingredient blender waffles cut into ‘dippers.’ We’ve added some syrup for dipping – of course – bacon {my kids prefer it cold} and grapes.
If the waffles are prepped and the bacon is cooked and refrigerated, this one’s made in less than five minutes. Perfect for the mornings you’re running just a little bit behind.
lunch box idea #2: PB&J WITH A TWIST
Obviously you could do PB&J a number of ways, including on bread. But I try to incorporate what they love with an added twist. It’s slightly messy, but apparently that’s part of the fun. This apple sandwich is a highly requested item. I generally pair it with a trail mix and yogurt stick.
lunch box idea #2: “LUNCHABLE” REMIX
When I was a kid, I used to love those prepackaged Lunchables that really only kept you full for 20 minutes post eating. But the joy of pulling out crackers, cheese and meat and stacking them to your liking had me living heart-eyes every time. This could also be partially because we got Lunchables VERY RARELY as a child, but I still love some crackers and cheese so I wanted to remix this.
I have to tell you, the crisp, cool cucumbers may even outdo crackers. For real though, if you haven’t experienced cucumber sandwiches you must try it {not just for your kids, but you}. The basis is sliced cucumbers, cubed nitrate-free deli meat or hard salami and cheese. Let you kids make they just the way they prefer.
I may also add a few crackers on the side with carrots and ranch to keep their dipping game strong.
lunch box idea #4: PICKLE WRAPS
Yes, I’m talking the cream cheese spread in a thick layer on top of ham and wrapped around a pickle. The thing you often only see at holiday parties is making a come-back in this lunch box. Of course you could do the same thing with any veggies. We often wrap avocado slices in cream cheese and ham and my kids plow through them.
Pair that with some mixed fruit and popcorn for the win!
lunch box idea #5: HOLY GUACAMOLE
Most likely my favorite lunch idea of them all is guacamole with all of the dippers. Healthy fat, filling, satisfying, delicious and fun to eat you can’t go wrong. We use a heaping scoop of guacamole along with pepper strips and cheese quesadilla, chips, carrots or whatever else your child prefers. This is a winner!
what are you packing?
But I want to know, what are you packing? Leave a comment below and let me know your child’s favorite lunch. Also feel free to ask questions on your biggest struggles with lunch packing and be sure to download my free one month meal plan for packing a healthy school lunch below.
