SCHOOL LUNCH IDEAS (PRINTABLE CHEAT SHEET!)

by Cindi Sutter, Founder & Editor Spirited Table® — Content provided by Detoxinista

Coming up with school lunch ideas can be overwhelming when back-to-school season rolls around. So, let me take the guess-work out of it for you! Below you’ll find a “cheat sheet” and kid-friendly recipes to help you pack healthy school lunches that your kids will actually want to eat.

You can mix & match from this list to come up with hundreds of combinations to keep your child’s packed lunches interesting all year long. (Feel free to use these ideas for yourself, too!)

How Do You Pack a Healthy School Lunch?

I think the hardest thing about packing a school lunch is figuring out which foods will still be appealing after sitting in a lunch box for 4+ hours.

I love using bento-style lunchboxes for my kids, because it keeps each item separate, allows for more variety, and keeps them from feeling overwhelmed by large portions. (Just make sure you include an ice pack in your zippered lunch box to keep fresh food lasting well until lunch.)

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to spend too much time packing lunches everyday. Instead, I keep the list below handy so I can pick one thing from each category to easily fill the compartments in my kids’ lunchboxes. This method takes some pressure off you, while giving your kids plenty of variety!

In each lunch they’ll get:

• a serving of fruit

• a serving of veggies

• protein & healthy fats

• something you know they will eat and love

I’ve divided my school lunch ideas into 5 categories because that’s how my brain compartmentalizes them, but you don’t have to include all 5 options into each lunch if it doesn’t make sense for your kids.

For example, I don’t always include a main course or a crunchy item in every lunch. If I fill up the compartments with 1-2 servings of fruits, vegetables, and a few options with protein and healthy fats, I know they will feel full, even if they didn’t necessarily get a sandwich, a slice of pizza, or something else that we would usually consider to be a main entree.

A homemade larabar can be just as satisfying as a peanut butter sandwich, but the bar is more fun for kids to eat, so sometimes I’ll give them that option, instead. Bite-sized finger foods tend to be more kid-friendly, so I’ve tried to include plenty of those ideas in my list!

Here’s Your Printable Cheat Sheet:

Click on the image below to get the full-size PDF, which you can download or print!