Are there ever days when you have no clue what to pack your child for a school lunch? Check out these easy ideas for school lunches!
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Do you have picky eaters in your house? I know I do and it makes it so difficult to figure out school lunches on some days.
Ideas For Making School Lunches Easier
There are certain things you can do so that you don’t break your head trying to figure out what to pack as ideas for school lunches.
Use A Meal Planner Called Ideas For School Lunches
You can use a meal planner for your weekly dinners, which makes life easier. But you can also use one that you call Ideas for School Lunches and this planner can be used specifically for your kids weekly school lunches. You can fill out the planner on the Sunday before the week starts and then you won’t need to think about what to make every day.
Get Your Child To Decide What They Want To Eat
When you sit down on Sunday to complete your school Meal Planner, have your child or children sit with you. You can give them certain options or ask them what kinds of ideas for school lunches they would like and try to make it interesting and fun. If you don’t have everything you need, then write down the missing groceries in the section reserved for that and go pick up the groceries with your kids.
Show Your Child How To Make Their Lunch
I noticed that my kids love to get involved with any kind of meal planning and if I ask them to help me with cooking meals, they get even more excited! So after you and your kids have planned out their ideas for school lunches and you’ve done the groceries to be sure you have everything, ask them to help you make their lunch. Depending on their age, they can do different parts of lunch preparation.
Younger children will be able to put any cold cuts on their bread for a sandwich, they can pack their sandwich in their sandwich box and any fruits or veggies they might be bringing. They can pack their lunch box. Older kids can make their whole sandwich, just teach them how to use a knife very carefully and they can butter their bread or put on any condiment they might like. If you feel they are responsible enough, you can teach them how to cut up any fruits or vegetables they might be bringing for a snack.
Easy Ideas For School Lunches
I have one child who will eat basically anything I stick in the lunch bag and I have another child who gets bored very easily and likes to switch up the lunches. So I’ve had to become creative when it comes to making school lunches. Add to the fact that the school has a no nut policy, it can make it tough when my picky child could eat peanut butter or Nutella every day!
Bagel With Cream Cheese
This has become one of my daughter’s favourite ideas for school lunches! Your child can choose any kind of bagel they like and these days, you can get cream cheese in different flavours. So it makes for a simple lunch to be made and a fast, easy lunch for your child to eat at school. And if they choose different kinds of bagels and cream cheese, they can have it numerous days in a row, each time tasting a bit different.
Mini Croissant With Cheese
This has become another favourite in our house as ideas for school lunches. You can use any size croissant you or your kids like best. I use the small ones because I find they’re easier for the kids to eat and faster. Since they have a limited time to eat and are busy chatting with friends at the same time, if I pack a sandwich that is too big, it often comes back half eaten. But these mini croissants are small and easy and if anything, I just pack 2.
Mixed Lunch Of Cold Cuts, Veggies, Cheese And Crackers
This lunch idea is like a de-constructed sandwich. Instead of bread, you have crackers. My kids love these kinds of ideas for school lunches. They are easy for them to eat and can be custom made to the liking of each of your kids. Have them tell you which kind of cold cuts they enjoy, along with their favourite cheese and vegetables and just put it all together in their sandwich box. They can have the crackers with the cheese or with the meat. I just roll up the cold cuts so that it all easily fits in the sandwich container.
Leftover Pasta In A Thermos Container
This is such an easy and fast lunch! Did you have pasta the night before? If so, make sure to use the leftovers for your kids lunch or make sure you make extra so that you will have leftovers. I use left over pasta with sauce, I will give my kids tortellini or ravioli. And of course, the most loved kind is plain white pasta with butter and cheese! My kids can eat this every day and they’re such easy ideas for school lunches.
I warm up the pasta in the morning and then I put it in thermos that goes into their lunch bag. This is an easy solution for parents whose kids don’t have a microwave in their school cafeteria, as mine don’t. The thermos keeps the pasta warm until they eat it at lunch.
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Simple Chicken Wrap
This is a fun lunch for me and makes me smile! When trying to think up ideas for school lunches, my son mentioned that he LOVES McDonald’s. He especially enjoys the wraps that they have on their menu. So he nicknamed his lunch request as the McMommy Wrap. The night before I’ll make some chicken strips in the oven and the following morning I’ll heat one up, stick it in a tortilla with some ranch dressing and shredded cheese. You can put in whatever your child likes, so some lettuce and tomatoes as well.
Mini Pizzas – Frozen Or Homemade
Another favourite for ideas for school lunches. When I’m short on time, I’ll use frozen mini pizzas. I will normally cook them in the oven the night before and then the following morning I’ll either give it to my kids cold or I’ll warm it up and then it goes into their lunch bag. Another option is to make a homemade mini pizza. You can use pita bread or naan bread, get yourself some pizza sauce and then add the toppings that your child loves! Mine are pepperoni and shredded mozzarella cheese! Sometimes they will add some bell peppers as well. It’s also fun if you get your child to dress their own pizza!
Mini Pitas and Tzatziki
You can’t get easier ideas for school lunches than this! My daughter LOVES anything with garlic and so she loves tzatziki sauce. She can eat it just like that with a spoon. But instead I put some in a container for her and add some mini pitas on the side and then she dips her pita into the tzatziki. I also add some veggies like cucumbers, bell peppers and carrots that she also dips into her sauce.
All Kinds Of Sandwiches
You definitely can’t go wrong with sandwiches. You can make all kinds of sandwiches, depending what your kids enjoy (except peanut butter at some schools!). Try using cold cuts, just cheese, make a BLT. You can use regular bread, you can use buns. And most sandwiches are simple enough for your kids to help you make. These are great ideas for school lunches!
Sanwich On A Stick
How fun is this lunch?! This is one that your kids will definitely want to help you with! I think this one tops the list of ideas for school lunches! First, have your child choose what they would like to put on their sandwich stick. Bread, vegetables and cheese are the best option. You can cut the bread into little squares and do the same thing with the cheese. Then stagger those 2 ingredients within some vegetables. Cucumber, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers are all good options. Stick it in their lunch container with some fruits like the blueberries shown above or some grapes and they have a fabulously fun lunch!
Simple Pasta Salad
Yum!! This is a delicious and easy lunch for your kids to bring. If you’re having pasta the night before, keep some white noodle leftovers for the pasta salad. Then throw in some vegetables. Half some cherry tomatoes to throw in, you can add broccoli or cucumber, basically any veggies your kids enjoy. My son loves just using Kraft Italian Dressing to toss the salad in, which is so easy. But you can use any kind of dressing your child likes.
Cheese Quesadillas With Sour Cream And Salsa
This is a delicious lunch for your kids to bring. Quesadillas are great ideas for school lunches. They can be made the night before, or if you have enough time in the morning, you can make them then. Just make them in a pan with some cheese inside. I like to add a little salsa in with the cheese, as well as having some as a dipping sauce on the side. I then cut the quesadilla in 4 quarters and put them into my kids sandwich container. On the side I will give them two little containers, one of sour cream and one of salsa.
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Kinds Of Meals And Snacks
Here is a general list of the ideas for school lunches, which include the main meal and the different kinds of snacks you can give your kids.
Main Meals
- Bagel with cream cheese
- Mini croissant with cheese
- Mixed lunch which includes deli meat, crackers, cheese and vegetables
- Leftover pasta
- Chicken wrap (or any kind your child prefers)
- Mini pizzas (homemade or frozen)
- Mini pitas and tzatziki
- Different kinds of sandwiches
- Sandwich on a stick
- Simple pasta salad
- Cheese quesadillas
Fruits and Vegetables
- Apples
- Grapes
- Bananas
- Oranges
- Pears
- Cherries
- Strawberries
- Raspberries
- Blueberries
- Carrots
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Bell Peppers
- Salad
- Cherry Tomatoes
Snacks
- Cheese cubes/cheese sticks
- Yogurt
- Granola bars
- Mini muffins
- Crackers
- Fruit gummies
Drinks
- Milk
- Water
- 100% juice boxes
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What You Need For Your Ideas For School Lunches
You need a few things for your kids so that they will be all ready to go to school with their super fun lunches!
First off, your child will need a lunch bag. You can find so many fun and cute lunch bags on Amazon. Have your child look through the different models with you so that they can choose one that they love!
Next you will need some containers for lunches and snacks. There are many different models of lunch containers. You can get some like Bento Boxes – 39 Ounce Divided Food Storage Containers With Lids, which have divided compartments for the main meal and snacks. You can also use the Rubbermaid LunchBlox Kids Box and Meal Prep. These are the ones I always used for my kids, they are stackable and come with an ice pack that goes in between the containers.
It will also be handy to have some lunch thermos’ in case your kids want to take a hot meal like pasta as ideas for school lunches. The DaCool Insulated Lunch Container Hot Food Jar 16 oz is a good choice. It comes with a convenient folding spoon. If you want a thermos that’s a bit smaller, you can go with the THERMOS FUNTAINER 10 Ounce Stainless Steel Vacuum Insulated Kids Food Jar with Folding Spoon which is also a good option. It’s what I always use for my kids and it’s a good enough size.
Now you will need snack containers for all the snacks you need to pack! Having snack ideas for school lunches is a must, since kids get hungry from all the running around and hard work they do during the day. You can get the TAVVA 18/8 Stainless Steel Food Containers. These ones are on the higher end price wise since they are stainless steel. You can also try something like the Sistema Lunch Collection Food Storage Containers, which are cheaper and come in a 3 pack. They are a great choice for snack containers.
Lastly you will need ice packs to keep all your ideas for school lunches nice and cool, especially if your child is bringing fruits, cheese or yogurt. These Fit & Fresh Soft Cool, Set of 2 Flexible Ice Packs Boxes are such a good choice. They’re flexible, which makes them easy to place in your child’s lunch bag. You can also go with 10 x Ice Packs for Lunch Box, Slim Ice Packs Quick Cooling & Long-Lasting for Lunch which go together like puzzle pieces and can be placed around the sides inside the lunch bag.
Did you enjoy this post about Ideas for School Lunches? If so, don’t forget to check out our 3 Free Meal Planner Printables so that you can easily plan your kids school lunches every week.