School supply shopping, done. Clothes shopping, done. Meet the teacher night, done (well, at least for one kid).
So, what’s left? Gotta get my “what to pack for lunch” game plan in place. I’ll be honest, sometimes, dinner leftovers become lunch for the next day . . but when that doesn’t work out or you don’t actually have dinner leftovers you can pack, you gotta plan, prep and pack!
This year, I’m taking the Power Your Lunchbox Pledge to pack a healthier lunchbox for my kids and to start the school year off right. I guess I’ve been lucky in that my kids do actually love fruits and most veggies . . well, my oldest will only eat her raw veggies if she has a creamy ranch dressing to dip them in. But hey, I say if she’s going to eat those carrot sticks and celery, have all the creamy ranch dressing you want!
My kids like a lot of variety and get bored with food easily (and won’t do the dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets anymore) so I have to change things up a bit. They also love the bento-style lunch box containers and love their food to be in separate compartments.
Did we care about this as kids? I don’t remember being so picky. My food was in plastic baggies and in a brown paper sack most of the time.
But if it will help them actually EAT their lunch, I’m on board and will keep using these fabulous lunch containers.
One thing I don’t have time for is cutting their sandwiches into animal shapes. To all you moms and dads out there who do that, I applaud you. But I don’t have time for that. What I do have time for and what my kids love?
Little notes in their lunch! Or jokes or fun facts! My oldest daughter LOVES these. And she will tell her little sister these jokes and they laugh and laugh. Last year, they were all about knock knock jokes. It was too cute.
So, visit Power Your Lunchbox and take the pledge to pack our kids healthy lunches! Power Your Lunchbox will run through September 18 and encourages parents to pack healthy lunch boxes, while supporting children’s hunger relief efforts. For every pledge taken online, $1 will be donated by the sponsors to children’s nutrition programs through Feeding America.
After you sign up and take the pledge, you will have the chance to download those free printable lunchbox cards for your kids, as shown above! You will also find more lunchbox recipes and tips!
25 Healthy Back To School Lunch Ideas!
Here are some great lunchbox ideas to get you started! These are actual lunches I have made and packed for myself and my kids and some other great lunch ideas from some of my favorite bloggers! I hope you can find something here that you will want to make or something that will inspire you!
1) Tuna Veggie Rolls (above), using canned albacore tuna
2) Hummus & spinach sandwich, grape tomatoes, sliced figs with baked sweet potato fries from Super Healthy Kids
3) Zucchini Fritters from Just A Taste
4) Baked Fish Sticks with Homemade Tartar Sauce from The Lemon Bowl
5) Inside-Out Sandwiches with Apple Slices and Trail Mix from Very Culinary
6) Brown rice, tofu and soy sauce (above)
7) Baked Corn Dogs from The Baker Mama
8) Homemade Spaghetti-O’s from Fake Ginger
9) Zucchini Tater Tots from Cupcakes and Kale Chips
10) Vegetarian Spring Rolls from Weelicious
11) Easy Soba Noodles (above)
12) Fabulous Fish Tacos from Super Healthy Kids
13) Mashed Potato Waffles from Healthy Nibbles and Bits
14) Asian Pasta Salad from Eats Well With Others
15) Healthier Creamy Potato Leek Soup from Joyful Healthy Eats
16) Spinach Artichoke Mac and Cheese from Well Plated
17) Super Easy Pasta Salad (above)
18) Hummus Veggie Wraps from Weelicious
19) Asian Spring Rolls (above), all of the veggies can be prepped and cut the night before!
20) Carrot Fritters from Oh My Veggies
21) Baked Veggie Taquitos with Black Beans (above)
22) Chicken Parmesan Meatballs from Real Food by Dad
23) Cauliflower Pizza from Food Faith Fitness
24) Kale and Apple Soup from Floating Kitchen
25) Crunchy Egg Salad (recipe down below!)
Now I have cool, new freezable lunch bags to keep lunches like this egg salad, fresh and cool! *For the apple, we’ve used both Granny Smith and Gala apples.
- 3 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise + more if needed
- 1/2 to 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 celery stalk, diced
- 1/2 tablespoon red onion, finely diced (optional)
- 1/4 cup apple, diced*
- salt to taste
Using a medium sized mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients and mix together. Spread on bread slices or enjoy with crackers.
Disclosure: This post was written in partnership with Produce for Kids. I was not paid for this post but did receive a gift card, the Bentology lunch box containers above and some coupons. I believe in this campaign and hope that you can help me spread the word about Power Your Lunchbox so we can raise more money for children’s nutrition programs through Feeding America.
