Hey Moms,
Getting ready for a new school year, and we have resolved to have our seven-year-old daughter bring her lunch to school every day instead of buying it at the cafeteria. We really only want whole, healthy foods, but my ideas are kind of limited. Peanut butter, wheat bread, carrot sticks & ranch, fruit slices, trail mix, raisins, yogurt, granola, cheese, ham/turkey slices. Anybody have any good ideas?
Anybody have any creative storage ideas for school lunches also?
Yes, SH, my daughter does eat these things, I don't pack her stuff she will not eat.
My son takes the below most often.
Pita bread or Pita chips, hummus and carrots
Cheese Quesadilla
Pita filled with chicken, potato and cheese
Garden Salad, nuts and a half sandwich
Pasta Salad
Egg Sandwich
Love weelicious website....http://weelicious.com/
She has great receipes that are healthy specifically for kids. she takes a picture of her kids lunch every day - looks great...if you follow on FB you get sent to you what she made for lunch every day...she also has some cool bento box (lunch box) ideas on site as well.
check out http://www.facebook.com/weelicious and http://weelicious.com/. she has a whole SLEW of great school lunch ideas. she even takes a picture of the school lunch she packs. wonderful for ideas.
I Loved these:
http://www.containerstore.com/shop/kitchen/foodStorage/le...
**ok, I don't know why this link won't work, but check out the klip it lunch cube...
http://www.containerstore.com/shop/kitchen/foodontheGo/fo...
How about hummus and whole wheat crackers or a whole wheat pita bread.
You can also take a whole wheat wrap and spread it with peanut butter (or any nut butter - you can readily find almond or cashew butter now) and then put sliced strawberries in it in place of jam.
Check out laptoplunches.com. They have cute boxes that have sections for the food.
Then check out weelicious. They have a Facebook page where she photos school lunch ideas. All very healthy and nutritious. http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.342399236608.194...
Laptop Lunchbox - check out their website. Amazing ideas for storage and menu.
Make sure you get whole grain wheat bread, not just enriched wheat.
Deli meats from the deli counter are healthier than those prepackaged.
Chicken salad, egg salad, etc.
Whole wheat pitas stuffed with whatever yumminess you want!
Whatever she eats at home she can eat at school. You can get one of those blue freezer packs to put in with her cold items. You can even freeze a water bottle or fill one with lots of ice, that will keep the cold items for a few hours. If you want to send hot items, purchase a thermos. Fill it with very hot water and let it sit for about 5 minutes, rinse and add the hot food. It will be fine until lunch time or even later.
For elementary school age, I've always found that several healthy snacks make a good lunch.
Is it a nut and peanut free school?
Does, your daughter eat those things, and will she?
MANY times in school, kids do not eat their home lunches. Even if hungry.
I see this myself, being I volunteer in my kid's school.
Then, the child goes ALL day, without any food in them. From breakfast time.
Thus, I would pack, only what you know your child WILL eat.
Also consider pasta salads, hard boiled eggs, and humus. This food and most others will be fine in a thermal lined lunch pail, or even just a paper sack.
If she has a good bowl shaped thermos then you can send her with leftovers from dinner, like spaghetti, casseroles, chili, etc (if she likes that sort of thing.) You can also send leftover fried chicken, hard boiled eggs, crackers, pita chips, all different kinds of sandwiches and wraps, leftover pizza (again, whatever she likes.)
Some kids like sushi and edamame.
My SIL used to pack my nephew 2 hot dogs in a thermos, and packed the buns and mustard on the side. When he opened his thermos at lunch they were still hot!
My son loves it when I make salads for him. I put shredded lettuce and cherry tomatoes in a plastic ziploc container. In a ziploc baggie, I put shredded cheese, croutons, sunflower seads, and bacon bits for him to add to the lettuce at school. I'll throw in some ranch packets or put some ranch in another plastic container. Sometimes, I'll cut up some lunchmeat for him to add to the salad as well. HE LOVES this lunch!
Also, wraps are always a favorite. Ham/Turkey/Roast Beef sandwiches on croissants are yummy. Sometimes just substituting a simple ingredient like croissants for bread make a HUGE difference.
Ants on a log...celery and peanut butter with raisins lined up on them are good.
If you really want a TON of ideas go to www.allrecipes.com and do a search for "Healthy School Lunches". I love love love this website.
Hope this helps!
You've gotten some good suggestions for food so I won't repeat, but want to answer about storage ideas. We love FUNtainers by Thermos, they come in bottles for drinks and food jars for pastas, soups and stews in lots of different character designs, keep food hot or cold, and I buy them in-store at Target but they are also sold online:
http://www.target.com/s?keywords=funtainers&searchNod...
