School lunch season again…know any Quick & Easy School Lunch Ideas? I have a few and I’m sharing them here in a round-up of the most popular school lunch posts in Parent Club. Please share your tips in the comments – we could all use some lunch help!
School Lunch List ideas
Sometimes, just having a grocery list makes demystifying lunch a little easier. Plan by food guide category or sensory category (crunchy, soft, etc…) or by numbers (at our school: snack #1 is fruit or dairy, #2 is lunch, #3 is something sweet).
Make lunch in bulk
There are ways to bulk prep lunches (for work and for school). This even works if you are a stay-at-home-mom and you need to make healthy lunches a little more go-to friendly.
- Wash, chop, and bag raw veggies like carrots and cucumbers as soon as you get them home from the grocery store.
- Make and freeze lunches make life easier.
- Create a snack basket where kids can grab-n-go granola bars, crackers, dried fruits, etc…
- Offer a diversity of foods you know your kids enjoy (because you don’t want them to not eat lunch)
- Remember no nuts for school. Most schools are nut free due to food allergies.
Hot or cold lunch?
Switch up hot and cold meals to give choices. I created a list of easy hot lunches which are school box friendly which might make your life easier.
TIP: heat your thermos for 5 minutes with boiling water before adding your hot food to it. Pre-heating the thermos will help it stay hot longer.
Check out my Pinterest school lunch board for more ideas on how to make lunch better. I have pin-ned my favourite sandwich-less, bento box, make-ahead, kid-friendly lunch ideas. (pssst…I think I need to try the mason jar ‘lunchables’!)
Great ideas and inspiration to stay motivated. It’s only Tuesday! Thanks Caroline 🙂
What a fantastic list of lunch and snack ideas !