It can sometimes feel overwhelming to pack school lunches.
For some, packing school lunch is an additional part of the morning routine and it often becomes a struggle. Schedules are tight, children are picky, and the choices of options that stay well at room temperature can feel limiting.
To start, some tips:
*Deena Segal from @Deena on the Daily suggested this idea. Make a list of 8-10 ideas, and repeat every two weeks. This way there’s plenty of variety, yet you don’t need to think too much and the shopping list is always the same. (For more great tips from Deena, see these posts!)
*Have the right containers available. This is half of the solution. This hack using cold cups and condiment containers makes it easy to keep components separately, or scroll down for more ideas.
*If you have a child that is complaining about school lunch, even when there’s a perfectly good one available to him/her, offer the following compromise. Let them pick a couple of ideas that are easy for them to prep on their own (age appropriately). Have the ingredients/containers available for them. This way, if they want to take lunch, they can do it independently.
Basic To-Go Meal and Snack Ideas:
Dairy/Pareve:
- Grilled cheese
- Quesadilla (i.e. grilled cheese in a wrap, with or without added veggies)
- Cream cheese on any fresh bread (freeze them!) / bagels with cream cheese
- Leftover pasta from dinner
- Crackers, sliced or cubed cheese, with cut cucumbers or grapes
- Pizza bagels/pizza snaps
- Tuna or egg salad wraps or sandwiches
- Pancakes (put syrup or fresh fruit in little condiment containers)
- Yogurt parfait
- Leftover soups (you need a good thermos so they stay warm and don’t leak)
- Chewy Oatmeal Squares
- Acai Cups
- Chummus/Guacamole/Pretzels/Cut Veg. The veggies combined with the carbs from the pretzels and protein from the chummus make this a filling meal or snack.
- Tuna + Crackers + Pickles + Tomatoes. Containers with compartments make it easy to prep in advance and grab and go. We recommend adding the crackers after removing from fridge.
Basic To-Go Meal and Snack Ideas:
Meat:
- Turkey sandwiches or wraps
- Leftover schnitzel or grilled chicken becomes a great sandwich. Use a baguette or a wrap. Just add some dressing and some lettuce.
Additions (keep it simple with fresh cut fruits or veggies):
- Cucumber sticks or circles
- Pepper, celery, or carrot sticks (pair with hummus)
- Grape tomatoes, whole or sliced
- Edamame
- Grapes, whole or sliced
- Apples, whole or sliced (see this hack)
- Clementines
- Melon
- String cheese or sliced cheese (if the main doesn’t have cheese in it)
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Crackers
More Creative Lunch Ideas (Great for Teens):
Start by preparing your grains in bulk so you always have them on hand. You can freeze portions in Ziplocs as shown here if not using all in the same week.
Some more great components to have on hand besides for cooked grain is roasted chickpeas (very filling addition) and cooked corn.
Squeeze some lemon over your sliced apples and add another fruit for variety.
Salads don’t need to be boring! Store dressings separately and enjoy fresh, crunch options like this (the dressing is a mixture of soy sauce, sesame oil, and sesame seeds).
With the right thermos, hot foods also work well! Your favorite soups and even sauces (pour over pasta or rice) will store well in a thermos.
When all these components are ready and available, it’s easy to take along more wholesome feel-good meals like this one!
Here is a great post we wrote a while back on healthy snacks and how to have them ready for grabs.
More Back to School inspiration and solutions:
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