Back To School Lunch Ideas

I thought it timely to share a round-up of my Back To School Lunch Ideas posts – hopefully this might make back to school lunch prep a little easier (I know it does for me – refreshers are good n’est pas?)…

 Back To School Lunch Ideas…

Crunchy Category

• cut vegetables: carrots, celery, broccoli, cucumber, peppers
• pretzels, fish crackers, rice crackers, popcorn, crackers
• dry cereal
• cereal bar
• crunchy fruit: apples, grapes

Soft Category

• yogurt, cheese
• soft fruits: pears, banana, clementines, orange slices, raisins

Wet Category

• apple sauce, fruit cups, drinkable yogurt, juice
• pudding
• wet fruits: watermelon slices, cantaloupe

Treat Category

• brownie, cookie, muffin

Main Lunch

• sandwich
• room temperature pizza
• thermos with spaghetti
• bagel and cheese (or just butter)
• pita with filling (call it a wrap)
• crepe
• thermos with egg or tuna salad
• green salad and vinaigrette
• cereal and milk

Click this link for the complete list of Back To School Lunch Ideas  (I recommend switching up school lunch every day. Different fruits, different veggies, different mains – it allows kids to eat a rainbow of colourful foods…and no one gets bored with lunch).

Snack Routine Get in the habit of making homemade snacks.

It takes less than 2 hours every 3 weeks to make a batch of healthy cookies, healthy muffins and spinach brownies.

Set an afternoon to bake with the kids, then store them in the freezer and on school mornings, the kids can pop them into their snack container with their lunch. Teach them the benefits of making homemade snacks and avoiding processed packaged snack foods while improving their baking skills and having fun in the kitchen!

Homemade really is easy and cost effective. Read more tips on how to make morning routine easier and more Back To School Lunch Ideas HERE.

And yes, school lunch box gear matters…check my post recommending which gear is the greatest. And I note the following – practice school lunch. Have kids practice opening and closing lunch box gear so that you know what works and what doesn’t. For me – I know my little one can’t open a Thermos by himself but he can open a snap lock type of container. That makes my lunch planning for him a whole lot easier.

I also highly recommend making a healthy snack basket in your fridge (that’s our basket pictured above). It’s great for grab n’ go lunch making.

How are you prepping for back to school lunch?