Packing Healthy Lunches for Back to School
It is almost that time again – when the days become quiet but the mornings turn into a whirlwind. That’s right – back to school.
As a mom, one of the hardest parts of the daily grind is packing a healthy lunch that the kids will love.
I now have it down to somewhat of a science, if you will. My mornings have become much easier and my kids are eating more nutritious meals. This is what works for me.
Every Sunday, I make a healthy meal plan for the week. I figure out what days that the kids will be buying lunch in the school cafeteria and which days they will bring a “brown bag” lunch from home. One of the easiest things to forget is my own schedule. I try to make sure that I will have time the night before to help the kids bring it all together.
Our school offers several different choices including healthy lunch options. I know that left alone, my kids would eat chicken nuggets every day. But I try to steer them towards making a smarter selection at least once a week.
On the days that they pack their meal, the KEY is putting it together the evening before. No matter how tired I am, I remind myself that healthy lunches are not made the morning of. Washing fruits and chopping vegetables takes time, something that is in short supply in the am. If we wait until dawn, we end up tossing pre-packaged, and unhealthy grab-and-go foods into the lunch box or to forego the process altogether and buy something at school.
Two things that I cannot live without when it comes to healthy school lunches is a wide mouthed insulated container and a beverage container. Not only is this better for the environment but it also encourages better nutrition. I use the wide container for soups and for packing leftovers. The beverage container is perfect for water and juices.
Getting the kids involved also helps a lot! It certainly cuts down on the complaints about not liking their food. Usually I try to snag them for a few moments every evening to get things in order for the next day. But if the evenings are too busy, we will sometimes do the bulk of the work on a Sunday. I have found that sandwiches – minus the fixings – freeze well. We also manage to package up single serving side dishes on the weekends as well.
As far as treats go – I try to skip them. My motive is two fold. If the kids are eating nutritious meals at school, then when they arrive home, I get to be the “good guy” and allow them something sweet.
In theory it sounds rather easy, but sometimes figuring out what to put in healthy lunches is half the battle. Here are a few ideas for healthy school lunches.
The Main Event
- Leftovers from yesterday’s dinner
- Lunchmeat sandwiches
- Tuna salad
- Hard boiled eggs
- Soybean butter or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
- Mini bagels and cream cheese
- Cream cheese and cucumber sandwiches
- Yogurt
- Pasta and sauce
- Pasta salad
- Cold tacos (my kids love these – I pack the meat, cheese and shells separately and they assemble at school)
- Lean Pockets, heated and cooled the night before
- Cold pizza
- Pierogies in the wide mouth container
- Sliced chicken or turkey sausage
The Sides
- Salad (check out these delicious pasta salad recipes that are kid pleasers)
- Carrots and celery sticks (or any vegetable) and dip,
- Fresh fruit (apples, peeled and sectioned oranges, pears, plums, peaches, nectarines, mixed berries – to name a few)
- Unsweetened applesauce
- Raisins
- Cheese sticks or cheese cubes
- Yogurt tubes
- Popcorn
- Pretzels
- Granola bars
- Homemade cereal mix
- Baked chips
- Homemade muffins (made with a little extra bran and no saturated fats
- Goldfish or cheese crackers
- Whole grain crackers and cheese slices
- Baked tortilla chips and salsa
- Dried fruits
- Dried fruit bars
Beverages
- Water
- Milk
- Soymilk
- Orange juice
- Other fruit juices with or without added water
- Can of seltzer
Now, I know that kids are picky eaters (mine are no exception) – but I constantly encourage them to try new things. My best strategy is to pack something that I know they will eat alongside something not so familiar.
The road to healthy lunches is time consuming but well worth the effort!
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