2 weeks of school lunches and snacks.
I love packing the girls’ lunches during the school year (just as much as I love to take a break from it in the summer) and I pride myself in the balance of care and efficacy that I found in making those lunches. My goal is usually to have carbs, protein, and fruits and/or veggies in each box while minimizing the processed foods when possible. The result is balanced snacks and lunches that keep the kids full and energetic, and varied enough from day to day that they don’t get fed up with the same foods.
Snack: whole wheat bun, pears, blueberries, turkey bites.
Lunch: Cream cheese/tomato bagels, pears, blueberries.
Snack: Ritz crackers, apples with peanut butter, salami.
Lunch: cheese & mortadella sandwich, apples, blueberries, chocolate roll.
Processed deli meats aren’t ideal but they are an easy source of protein, and the girls like them. Hummus and chickpeas are a good alternative, especially since don’t cook much meat/chicken at home.
*With peanut and peanut butters/bars/wafers and other allergens, make sure there are no kids who have allergies.
Snack: home-made sesame buns, chickpeas, blueberries, kiwi, marshmallow.
Lunch: Halloumi cheese sandwich, strawberries, home-made lemon cake.
Snack: Pretzels, “sesame snack” with gogi berries for one and raisins for the other, strawberries, Turkey bites.
Lunch: cheese tortellini, cherry tomatoes, grapes.
I love making home-made foods that are custom-made to fit in the kids’ lunch boxes like the mini buns above and mini thyme man’oushés (Lebanese thyme “pies”) and pizzas below. The girls enjoy them so much as well.
Snack: peanut butter whole wheat bun, grapes, shredded mozzarella.
Lunch: grilled cheese sandwich, baked potatoes, grapes.
Snack: thick pita bread, blueberries, apples, hummus.
Lunch: home-made thyme pie (man’oushé) and pizza, cherry tomatoes, carrots, pears.
I discovered pluots this year; it’s apparently a fruit that’s between plums and apricots, and we like it! We have berries at home year-round, but other than berries, I like putting in-season fruits in the girls’ lunches. Their favorite picks are: berries, plums, apricots, pluots, peaches, grapes, apples, pears, kiwi, bananas, clementines, cantaloupes, pineapples.
Snack: mini croissant, Aussie bites, cashews, freeze-dried strawberries, plums from the backyard, Turkey bites.
Lunch: salami and cheese sandwich, pluots, marshmallows.
Snack: mini croissant, strawberries, bananas, mini hot dogs.
Lunch: pasta with olive oil, salt, and nutritional yeast, pluots, marshmallows.
Sandwiches make an easy lunch, but they don’t have to be the same. I like getting the girls different kinds of breads—brioche, bagels, white, whole grain, home-made, pita, toasted/not toasted, croissant… And it fills my heart that they are willing to try all the things!
Snack: mini croissant, plums from the backyard, salami, shredded mozzarella.
Lunch: cheese and tomato sandwich in brioche bread, pears, “poppables.”
Snack: peanut butter wafer bar, apples, blueberries, marshmallow, turkey.
Lunch: French toast casserole with sausages and blueberries, pasta with olive oil and salt, apples.
The lunch and snack boxes are also important for the enjoyment and efficacy of the lunch-packing process. They have to be easy enough for the kids to open and eat from, and easy enough for me to wash. Dishwasher safe is a must too. Here are links to the snack/lunch boxes I love (I’ve used several kinds before I finally settled on these): Lunchbots stainless steel snack and lunch boxes, and Thermos soup/stew insulated container and water bottle, and the perfect lunch bag I found for them. Click to go straight to the Amazon listings:
I hope these lunches inspired you to add variety in your kids’ lunches as well. Winter is coming, and we will have more kinds of pastas and some creamy soups added. I always find new things to add and I ask the kids what their friends are having to get more ideas.
What are your kids’ favorite lunch and snack items?
