i’ve had several mom friends ask me–particularly at the beginning of the school year–so what do you pack for lunch?!? it seems that we’re all pretty good at feeding our kids at home, but once it’s packed up and shipped out to be consumed around a table at school, our minds go blank.
for me, and perhaps for others, it’s the fact that peanut butter is off the table that is difficult. not that we even have peanut butter all the time at home, but once i know it’s off limits (and with good reason! nut allergies are no joke!), it’s like i can think of no other substitutes for that “protein” section. so i’ve given it a little more thought recently, been a little more ahead of the game, and come up with some lunches recently that have been hits for parker at school (and that i’m happy to send him off with too). i’d love to know what works for you.
here’s the lunches pictured above:
lunch 1: applegate turkey rollups, sliced carrots, babybel cheese (parker calls it “circle cheese”), annie’s cheddar bunnies, apple sauce
lunch 2: applegate turkey rollups, apple slices, babybel cheese, fig cookie, pretzels
lunch 3: whole milk greek yogurt w/ frozen blueberries, cheese stick, grapes, pumpkin bread
lunch 4: organic all beef hot dog sautéed with broccoli, grapes, cheese stick, tj’s pumpkin cookies
other ideas we’ve done (not pictured): chicken sausage, sautéed with peas or another veggie. hummus in a little dipping container with veggies or crackers (though he’s recently gotten sick of hummus so we’re taking a hummus break). sliced cheese and crackers. coleman organic chicken tenders (baked the night before, cooled, then refrigerated. they come up to room temp by the time he eats which is pretty early in the day)
also, this is the greatest lunchbox on the planet.
that lunchbox looks awesome! i’m pinning this for when i will need it- im sure it will be a chore once it happens, but it sounds kind of fun right now!
-Brittany
i’ve got wishlists for mama + babe on my blog today!
http://www.notablob.com/
OMG…you nailed it! I needed this so badly. I have had that blank slate when it comes to food in the lunch pail and it is so frustrating. I think it’s hard without being able to reheat items. Anyways, I love your blog. You inspire me in so many ways!
thanks so much christina! that’s so nice of you to say.
Wow! I’m really impressed with your lunch choices AND those lunch boxes!
I also have planet box and just love it. However I still haven’t put any meat in it (besides deli sandwich) because I struggle with the idea of cold hot dog or cold sausage. What does he think of it?
he doesn’t mind it at all! though it may still be warm (or at least room temp) by the time he eats it. i cook it that morning and put it right into the container (and the whole planetbox goes into the zippered cooler thing so i think it holds its temp pretty well)
Those lunch boxes are great while they’re little. You may find you need to upgrade once they get bigger. Or, at least we did. My sons are now in 2nd and 4th grades, and we generally stick to a sandwich (son #2 almost-always wants cream cheese and jelly on wheat) or roll-up (son #1 goes through phases but his current one is turkey and cheddar on a wheat roll-up), plus fruit (grapes, strawberries…), and some other side. Side options include applesauce, mini bell peppers or baby carrots and ranch, cheese sticks, fig bars, yogurt, raisins, etc. (Much of what you’ve already named.)
I don’t pack many hot lunches these days, because son #2’s lunch is at 1PM! Nothing stays warm that long and he won’t tolerate cold food that should be warm. But son #1 still enjoys leftover Annie’s mac ‘n cheese – or, if we happen to have leftovers – french toast sticks in a thermos.
Oh! And the lunch boxes we now use are these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004S129AQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Oh, and sunbutter is always an option – I like packing ants-on-a-log sometimes, or a plain ol’ sunbutter & jelly sandwich for those field trip days.
Does the yogurt leak into the other compartments? I struggled with the planetbox because it isn’t water-tight. The crackers I packed would get soggy from the freshly washed fruit next to it. I found the lunchbots box to be watertight and you can pack yogurt or hummus right in it instead of needing a separate container… but maybe I was doing it wrong 🙂
Also, it there anything worse than putting together a nutritious and delicious lunch in the morning and then see 90% of it come back home uneaten?
it doesn’t, but i put it down at his school right side up – if it got jostled all day long in a backpack, it might!
parker is a rare bird– he eats almost his entire lunch every day! (i hear other moms grumble about uneaten lunches all the time though!)
Thank you for this! Great ideas!
Great ideas! I love the hot dog and broccoli idea and will definitely be adding that to my rotation. We also have the Planetbox. It’s the best and I think all the different sections help me think outside the box. We’ve had luck with quesadillas, sunbutter and banana roll ups (in a tortilla and sliced), cucumber and cream cheese “sandwiches”, hard boiled eggs, and chicken or egg fried rice.