Ideas for home-packed lunches

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Seems like just yesterday our kids were getting their yearbooks signed, cleaning out their desks and planning their end of the year ice-cream parties for their classes and now this! Summer is officially over for my kiddos who attends a Chandler school. The summer came and went and now it’s back to bedtime routines,packing lunches and snacks and remembering what day of the week it is. What’s a mom to do as I prepare for my youngest kid to enter Kindergarten?

no school

8 weeks of summer vacation doesn’t seem long but I think it’s perfect amount of time away from school. Long enough to do fun stuff but not too long that they forget what they learned last year. Like I mentioned before I intend to pack most of my kiddos lunch this year to give them more nutritious food and more time to actually eat their food. Standing in line for 10-12 minutes to get your lunch and scarfing it down in 10 minutes is really not good for you. Eat well and slow so your food will work for you! As always I look onto my peers for lunch ideas for the kids. Pinterest, here I come.

easy non-sandwich school lunch box ideas for kids gluten free nut free allergy friendly

 

I love the ideas Keeley has here.  My kiddos get tired of sandwiches which makes her suggestions of mini meals great. Fruits, veggies and a little protein goes a long way for kids with allergies and or non sandwich eaters.

 

 

 

 

lunch kabobs

The kabob idea is great and puts a fun new spin on serving up your kiddos sandwiches. Mini muffins make for a yummy treat at the end of their meals.

 

 

 

 

 

 

make lunches look good

I know my kids eat with their eyes. So seeing something colorful, fun will look very tasty and appetizing to them. Have fun with how you pack your kiddos lunches, add color, different textures of food and remember that it normally take eight tries of something before you should stop serving your kiddo something they might not like. Christi from love from the oven has some great new ways on packing up those lunches that could get your kiddos attention.

And if any of you have older kids that might need more food than the ones I shared here. I love the ideas from Family Fresh meals here. The food portions can be scaled down according to your kids appetite but yet its meals that will fill their hungry bellies up! Older kids will sometimes enjoy leftovers and salad much more than the younger kids.

50-healthy-work-lunch-ideas-

 

I try to make one type of muffin the kids like every week. The mass amount of muffin will be enough as a snack, breakfast or even dessert for their lunch box that week. If your kids are too young to make such decision put the muffin name in a hat and draw it! easy enough. Here are some of my favorite muffin recipes.

Easy blueberry muffins, peanut butter chocolate chip muffins, cheese and vegetable muffins, banana nut muffins, healthy muffins you can make with nut free butter.

Cookies and brownies can also be made at home and packed as treats in their lunches. Be sure you make something they like and use smaller scoops for cookies and cut in smaller square for the brownies. Remember these are treats not meal replacements 😉

Blondies, brownies and cookie recipe galore.

What good are homemade lunches without cool lunch bags/boxes. Let them choose their own make sure the containers you have fit in those lunch boxes they pick. There are so many options out there from bento boxes to stackable but in the end make sure it’s something practical for you and your kiddos. Do a trial run with the container you think you want to be sure your kid can open and shut it without any problems. one of the worse things that can happen is a lunch bag filled with uneaten food that spilled all over the bag because they could not close it good. Buy a small thermos for soup and hot leftovers for the winter. Flexible ice pack can be great to keep cold food cold. I like to check out costco, target, ross and tjmaxx for lunch boxes and containers. Please whatever you do do not get glass container for your little ones. Accident can and will happen and the last thing the lunch helpers want to do is clean up glass shards everywhere. Oh, and pack a re-usable fork and spoon too just in case the line for those are too long at the cafeteria.

One sure way for the kids to eat their home lunches is to have them help you decide and pack their meals. Just like anything else our kids like being involve, being a part of the final decision. Make it fun but also when they help decide that way you are not the bad guy when they come home with uneaten lunch and you ask? I mean they can’t say they didn’t like it, after all they help choose what went in there. I hope I have helped you plan out a few decent meals for your kiddos for school.  Make it a great day!

 

XoXo,

Roe

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