Kids' Lunch Ideas

This is how we roll here when it comes to kids' lunches...

Sandwiches

-Peanut butter and jelly*
-Peanut butter, banana, and honey (I’ve also used a hot dog bun for this.)
-Turkey
-Turkey and hummus
-Turkey wrapped around a breadstick (Trader Joe’s boxed breadsticks)
-Hummus and veggies
-Egg salad
-Chicken salad
-Tuna
-Ham
-Salami
-BLT (made with turkey bacon but some turkey bacon has been inedible), served cold

*I actually use Trader Joe’s sunflower seed butter. Kids can’t tell the difference.

There isn’t a nut ban at school but that’s a swap I can easily make.

Trader Joe’s sunflower seed butter. Your kid won’t know the difference.

Other Stuff

-Yogurt (I do non-fat Greek yogurt with honey and a sprinkle of granola or non-fat strawberry with aforementioned granola sprinkle)
-Hummus and selection of veggies (carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers) and pita or crackers
-Cheese and crackers
-Cold leftover omelet
-Hard-boiled egg
-Pasta salad
-Skewers of fresh mozzarella balls and tomato chunks
-Teriyaki tofu (sold in a package at Trader Joe’s and I just cut up)
-Leftover sushi (soy sauce on side)

Unusual concoctions

-Whole garbanzo beans, chopped up orange, mint (if you have), olive oil
-“Cracker dip” (mashed garbanzo beans, lemon juice, olive oil, salt) and serve with crackers*
-Sushi using rice and a protein (salmon, chicken, tofu) or kappa maki with cucumber. Wrap with seaweed sheets they carry at the store (Nob Hill has). Cut one in half and roll it up, sealing the end with a little water. Do not cut or it’ll fall apart. Include soy sauce.
-Quinoa salad with fresh mozzarella, tomato, and basil (Julia loves this. We make it together for her lunch when we have more time. It’s her annual first school lunch)

*I like Ak Mak crackers because they’re 100% whole wheat.

Easy sushi made with rice and a leftover protein

Quinoa salad with fresh mozzarella, tomato, and basil

It may look like Ok-Mok (which is what we call it), but it’s really Ak-Mak.

Thermos

-Potstickers (can put soy sauce in small separate container or use a to-go packet)
-Shu mai (Trader Joe’s with soy sauce)
-Fried rice
-Canned black beans and brown rice mixed together*
-Leftover pasta (ravioli, gnocchi, mac n cheese)
-Hot dog (bun outside of thermos)
-Hot leftover egg (bread to make a sandwich outside of thermos)

*When using canned beans, I recommend rinsing them first because there’s a lot of

added salt.

Trader Joe’s potstickers. Their shu mai is also a winner for kids’ lunches.

Containers

Yumbox (Keeps each compartment sealed so nothing travels to another compartment.

Also has a small compartment for a dipping sauce.) Comes in lots of colors/variations.

Yumbox comes in lots of different colors and has a variation that holds an entire sandwich.

Lock N Lock (4 compartments. Doesn’t leak or travel to other compartments.) Sometimes

I remove two compartments and put in something like a sandwich instead.

Without the removable compartments, Lock N Lock can also double as tupperware for home use.

James eats a lot (he downs 1 ¼ sandwiches - sometimes more - while Julia eats less than a ½  sandwich), and his lunch doesn’t usually fit in either container any more. For him I stick his sandwich in a plastic bag and use a divided snack container for a veggie and fruit. I could buy the Yumbox that fits a whole sandwich but even that might be too small.

Best Lunch Idea Site

Kudos to the One Hungry Mama website and Facebook page. It has great kids’ lunch

ideas (including the sushi one) and some good dinner recipes as well.

Epilogue

And then if you’re not tired enough after making lunch, include a lunch box joke. (Actually

I like doing this. It breaks the monotony of making lunches.)

The first lunch box joke I ever gave the kids on the first day of first grade.