The "Back to School" Lunchbox!

Back to School is in full swing and that means coming up with what to pack for lunch every-single-day. Ugh... I dread this, 'cause I myself get in a rut! Do you??

While we still have 2 weeks to go back to school, I've already started looking and have found some great resources, tips, and ideas that I thought I shared with all of you.

(Most) Important Things FIRST!

Before I even start talking about lunch, let me advise- BREAKFAST is KING for children.  Studies have found that "eating breakfast has a positive effect on children's cognitive performance, particularly in the domains of memory and attention".
But not just any breakfast (see, that's the important part)- make sure your kids have a healthy and filling breakfast with protein, fiber, and fat.  Yes, the brain likes FAT! SKIP the sugary cereals and pancakes and think eggs, oatmeal with nut butter, greek yogurt with fruit and granola, etc..

TIPS for EASY Lunch:

• Your Food Rule- First make up what your "lunch rule" is.  For example, mine is "one fruit and one vegetable" with every packed lunch. That makes it simpler for me because then I just "fill up" the rest!
• Be creative- think outside the sandwich box! It could be a variety of little snacks or leftovers from the week.
• Freeze, freeze, freeze- cannot stress this one enough.  Baking some zucchini muffins? make a double batch and freeze. While you make breakfast next week put in toaster oven to defrost/warm and they are ready to be packed.  Easy!  Freeze cheese sticks and pack them frozen, they will still be cold by lunchtime. Also, make smoothies and freeze in Freezie Pop Molds.
• Get them involved- I ALWAYS advise this with children.  Ask what they'd like, what they think- of course within the realm of healthy options! They might have some great ideas that they see from friends or that they come up with.
• Don't underestimate their willingness to eat it- you'd be surprised what they will eat outside of the house.  Without you (with the best intentions, I know) saying "eat your veggies", "one more bite" etc.  
• Keep it simple- While the Pinterest looking lunches look lovely, who has time for that?! Well, maybe if you want to get the kids "making their own" it might make it more fun for them, otherwise... keep it simple!

Now, for the lunch ideas:

The Beloved Sandwich

1. Turkey, cheese & greens sandwich, carrot sticks, and a peach.
2. PB&J (or any nut/seed butter), edamame, and apple.
3. Quesadilla, kale chips, and blueberries.

The Bento Box

1. A (frozen) cheese stick, whole grain crackers, few nuts, cucumber slices, and a banana.
2. Hard boiled egg, broccoli, a pear.
3. Cheese cubes, turkey and grape skewers with two slices avocado and strawberries.
4. Carrot and celery sticks with hummus, a cheese stick, pretzels, apple.
5. Yogurt- WATCH OUT for sugar content! I like to pack my own plain (whole or low fat) and put berries on top, perhaps some granola or nuts; carrots and cherry tomatoes on the side.
6. Homemade Smoothie of choice (on a Freezie Pop Mold), mini oatmeal muffin, and apple slices.

The Baked Goods

1. Whole wheat Zucchini bread, carrots, and pear.
2. Whole wheat Carrot- Applesauce muffin, kale chips and grapes.

The Hot Lunch (Mostly, The Leftover Lunch)

1. Lentil soup, cucumber slices, apple.
2. Chicken soup with side salad of greens with strawberries.
3. Mac and cheese, carrot sticks and cherry tomatoes, berries.
4. Pasta with red meat sauce, kale chips, a pear.
5. Rice and beans, avocado slices, an apple.
6. Fried rice (EASY!- you can even make it the same morning- throw in a pan some oil, leftover rice, frozen peas, frozen corn, perhaps some pieces of carrot, an egg-scrambled and a hint of soy sauce!), pineapple cubes on the side. 

Lastly, here are some great products for easy lunch box packing:

• Bento lunch box or containers with compartments for those days of mixed, healthy snacks.
  
• Good thermos- that will keep your hot lunch warm until lunchtime. 
  
• Freezie Pop Molds- to pack smoothies. Put a couple of ice packs in the lunch box to keep cool.  They will be thawed but still very cold by lunchtime!
  
• Ice Packs- there are some containers that include ice packs in them.
  

Need more ideas and beautiful visuals? Here are some fabulous resources.

100 Days of Real Food
Thirty Handmade Days and...
Pinterest, of course... :)

Have a great school year!

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