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When I was a teacher, our lunch situation was, I think, rather unique. The children ate in the rooms, and the classroom teacher was the one in charge. I don’t think many teachers actually spend lunchtimes with their students; so many are in lunchrooms or have lunch aides of some sort. It was actually quite a treat to (a) see my kids interact with each other more spontaneously, (b) observe what kind of food and how much they ate, and (c) get a chance to read books to them and/or chat with them while they ate. Unlike much of my staff, I truly enjoyed the opportunity to be with my students at lunch.
(Photo by Amanky)
I remember my in-head comments about kids’ lunches: “too much white bread,” “everything on the desk is in a package,” “single dad uses whole grain bread – way to go!” There was a wide range of lunches as far as nutrition goes, from Lunchables to carefully packed, all healthy/from-scratch meals.
I was kind of excited to receive a reader request for a “healthy school lunches” post, because I already had the idea on my post drafts list. I think it’s of the utmost importance that children have a healthy lunch, and it is definitely a real challenge to think of portable, nourishing foods that don’t have to be heated and that kids will enjoy.
Note: I am running a Back-to-School Bonanza the second week of September, 2010, with tons of amazing green lunch packing giveaway prizes! Be on the lookout! You may want to grab the free email subscription or reader feed so you don’t miss it.
How to Help Kids Participate in Lunch Packing
As I see it, there are two philosophies in packing kids’ lunches:
- Let kids help so that they have some agency, some choice in the process. That will encourage them to eat what has been packed, and Mom is more informed about what they like.
- Pack kids’ lunches yourself. Then you are in charge not only of what is packed, but portion sizes. Sometimes this is important, but I would tend toward the first philosophy unless you have a strong reason to go with number 2.
Many parents find great success in making a list of foods with the child(ren), organizing it by category (main dish, vegetables, fruits, snacks, fun foods, etc) and allowing the child(ren) to choose an item from each list for the day’s lunch. If this is too complicated for you (for example, the more kids you have, the less they probably get to choose because you must streamline the packing process!), may I highly recommend this policy:
Whatever goes to school, comes back home, unless you have eaten it.
I always told my students to take home whatever they didn’t eat, “So that moms and dads know what you like, what you don’t like, and how hungry you were today.“ (Broken record teacher line right there, were you feelin’ it?) I explained that taking home the half sandwich you didn’t like because it had mustard on it and you hate mustard is a very effective way of communicating, almost like writing a note. Sometimes I even told kids to write notes about dislikes and put them into the lunchboxes! Do explain this concept to your kids; it’s a great way to stay in control even when you’re out of control because you’re not there. 
Photo by KawaiiKewpie
If you’ve been struck with “lunch-packing block” in the past (you know, like writers’ block, except you can’t think of anything creative to pack instead), it is my fervent hope that you will find some new ideas on these lists that get you packin’ once again.
Healthy, Packable Foods for School Lunches
(and others who eat away from home)
- Of course, anything from my Healthy Snacks to Go eBook (shameless plug)
- Cut veggies with dip
- Veggie ideas: cherry tomatoes, carrots, pea pods, cucumbers, cauliflower or broccoli spears, celery, fresh green beans, colored peppers,
- Dip ideas: hummus, homemade yogurt dip or yogurt cheese dip, ranch dressing, even ketchup if it’ll get them to eat their veggies!
- Apples and natural peanut butter (kids love to dip!)
UPDATE: please remember that peanut allergies are very, very serious. The peanut allergen goes airborne, so many who suffer from a peanut allergy cannot even be in the same room as a peanut product. There is a list of substitutes and peanut-free ideas in the comments. If someone in your child’s classroom has an allergy, be sure to protect their health by abstaining from peanuts at school. - Frozen peas
- Homemade yogurt (with frozen fruit and/or granola in it)
We eat yogurt every day with lunch, and it is packable! That’s one reason I love my glass storage containers in the 1-cup size. - Fresh fruit, whole or cut depending on the child
- Bananas, oranges, apples, pears, plums, melon, grapes, cherries, strawberries, peaches, nectarines…try to stick with what is more or less in season and watch the Dirty Dozen list.
- Dried fruit
- Homemade whole grain muffins/quick breads
- Hard-boiled egg with salt and pepper (cut in half is easier to handle)
- Sandwiches (on 100% whole grain bread or homemade):
- Natural peanut butter and raw honey
- PB and jelly (I made honey-sweetened freezer jam this year; just be sure to watch the ingredients for high-fructose corn syrup if you buy it)
- PB and banana
- PB and pickle
- Leftover roast chicken or turkey
- Egg salad, chicken salad, or tuna salad (even try canned salmon like tuna if the kids like it)
Be sure not to serve tuna more than once a week or so because of chemical build-up. - Cream cheese and jelly
- PB and cream cheese
- Son’s new favorite: cream cheese with strawberry slices and raw honey (peaches are good too!)
- I actually use yogurt cheese instead of cream cheese in all of the above sandwiches
- BLT (low- or no-nitrite bacon is best, regular stuff is a compromise food)
- Bean spreads (search for recipes that used mashed beans as a sandwich spread – a great way to get protein in without breaking the bank or dealing with lunchmeat nitrites/nitrates)
- Try making a wrap to switch it up, but watch the tortilla ingredients for trans fats. I make my own homemade tortillas.
- Cold burrito or refried beans with guacamole or salsa on a tortilla. (I used to think cold refried beans were gross, but then I realized that people don’t even question eating cold refried beans in so many tex-mex dips with tortilla chips.)
- Cheese and whole grain crackers or homemade wheat thin crackers
- Cottage cheese with various mix-ins
- Homemade “lunchables” – a reader idea from Llama Momma – stack crackers, cheese slices, and meat slices for the child to assemble with apple slices and cream cheese dip.
- Leftovers that can handle the “thermos” treatment:
- Homemade soups
- Homemade mac-n-cheese
- Many casseroles
- Spaghetti and other pasta dishes
- Stir fry with brown rice
- Of course, heat on the stove before packing in the thermos. Not that I would use the microwave anyway, but mic’d food just doesn’t hold the heat long enough, no matter what.
- Potato salad
- Cold grain salads (GNOWFGLINS has an example; I tried making one with whole spelt and balsamic vinaigrette that was delicious – it’s in both the Healthy Snacks to Go eBook AND the Family Camping Handbook)
- Cold bean salad (same idea as above – you know me and beans!)
- Leftover homemade whole wheat pizza
- Homemade granola bars
- Homemade applesauce or storebought natural (no sugar) applesauce. Add cinnamon for your kids to sweeten it up a little without adding a sweetener. My kids also like cinnamon-applesauce stirred into their yogurt.
Working Moms’ Acceptable Shortcuts (or, Compromise Foods for “Sometimes” Lunches)
- Natural applesauce single cups
- Goldfish crackers, only the “Made with Whole Grain” version (they’re very good!) UPDATE: I now know that those Goldfish have MSGs…so…make your own call on that.
- Pretzels, as long as there isn’t HFCS or trans fats in the ingredients
- Boxed cereal and milk
- Canned fruit cups (? Maybe ?)
- Store granola bars…but be wise about reading ingredients
- Plain yogurt with fruit in it or organic yogurt cups
- Pita bread and hummus
- Lunchmeat, as an occasional thing unless you get nitrate-free meats
- string cheese and real cheese slices (pre-sliced)
- There have to be more items for this list…help me out, busy mommies!
Unacceptable items (or, This Counts as Dessert if you Pack It!)
- Potato chips
- Lunchables
- HFCS-laden yogurt cups and Gogurts (sorry, I know kids love these, but they’re not worth it!)
- “Fruit Snacks” (this stuff is candy!!!)
- Fruit Roll-ups and similar (see above)
- Little Debbie anything
- Pudding cups (is there any “real food” in pudding cups?)
- Jello cups (ditto)
- Processed cheese slices or cheese and cracker packages
- Processed beef jerky
- Storebought cookies
- Pop-tarts
- Pastries, crescent rolls, biscuits from a can (trans fat alert!!)
- I’ve been away from school lunches long enough that I’ve forgotten some of the atrocities passed off as “food” that don’t fit into any food groups. What else should be banned from healthy school lunches?
Remember the Goal
The purpose of lunch is to provide the person with brain food and energy for the rest of the day. Learning happens all day long at school, and it’s so important that kids don’t have a “brain drain” between the hours of 1-3:00 because their lunch didn’t provide them the fuel they needed. Many kids also need energy for after-school sports or playtime. It’s okay to constantly remind your kids that good food makes you feel good, think better and get stronger. Someday they’ll thank you for it, and for now, you’ve been charged with your family’s nutrition. What a blessing and a responsibility!
Check out Nubius Organics for your eco-friendly lunch boxes, water bottles, and reusable bags.
Other lunch-packing installments: “green” lunch packing (reducing and reusing disposable items) and a great idea for an incentive to get your kids to unpack their own lunches at the end of the day, and some tips for packing well to help the child’s lunchtime run smoothly.
Other super posts about healthy lunch packing:
- Kelly the Kitchen Kop’s healthy school lunch alternatives – some serious foundational information
- Crunchy Domestic Goddess’s green lunches – lots of granola bar recipes and ideas for lunch containers
- Mindful Momma lists lots of “instead of” ideas, PLUS she references one of our favorite children’s books (Bread and Jam for Frances) that I was going to use in this post…but I’ll let her do it.
- I found these last two through Organic Mania’s Green Mom’s Carnival: Back to School Edition
- Life as MOM’s Ultimate Recipe Swap: Lunch Packing Edition
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If you missed the last Monday Mission, click here.
Kitchen Stewardship is dedicated to balancing God’s gifts of time, health, earth and money. If you feel called to such a mission, read more at Mission, Method, and Mary and Martha Moments.
Other posts that may interest you as you head Back to School:
- Does Your School Use Antibacterial Soap and Sanitizer?
- Plastic Safety – Know Your Numbers
- Hand Sanitizers in the Home
- Plastic Bag Debacle – We Use Too Many!
This post is part of Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed With Grace, Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam, Tightwad Tuesdays at Being Frugal, Kitchen Tip Tuesday at Tammy’s Recipes, Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop, Finding Freedom Fridays at Cents to get Debt Free, and Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family and Food on Fridays at Ann Kroeker and Momtrends Friday Feasts.
Disclaimer: I am an affiliate of Nubius Organics, but I would recommend the products they sell no matter what!
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thanks for the great tips! we don’t have a family yet – but pack lunches daily for the hubby and I, and these are even great tips for us.
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Wonderful lunch ideas! We head back tomorrow, and I’m planning to sit down with my boys today and make the list you suggest. And you’re so right — getting them involved means they actually EAT what you pack!
We were at the pool yesterday, and a mom was moaning that she dreaded packing lunches, and needed to pick up some snickers bars for “protein.” I am not making this up.
Which reminds me — another lunch my boys like is a “snacky” lunch. Dried fruit, nuts, some grapes and a slice of banana bread make a fun, nourishing lunch! (And this would be super easy to pack the night before.)
Go moms! We can do this!
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Katie Reply:
August 18th, 2009 at 11:58 am
My eyes got HUGE as I re-read the “Snickers for protein” bit. Heart palpitations. Oh, dear. The world we live in. More people need to read Kitchen Stewardship!
Glad the ideas are helpful to you!
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GREAT tips and ideas. Thank you for sharing all your knowledge and thoughts on the subject. I am sure this post took you a lot of time to compose. Grace job.
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Love these ideas. I just decided that each year a couple weeks before school starts (yikes, that’s NOW), we need to sit down with your list, my list, and others to ask the kids what their ideas are and what they’d like to take in their lunches. Then we can shop and be ready to go that first week of school.
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These lunch ideas are great – even for homeschoolers!
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All these ideas are great and would work well for taking to work as well as to school! Thanks for sharing these with us!
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Thank you for this list! I have been talking to my daughter’s daycare about their menu and they are asking for better suggestions for what they are currently serving. I am going to print this out and pass it along.
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Katie Reply:
August 19th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
Super! I’m thrilled that you can make good use of it! Come on back next week for part two…
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I always have trouble thinking of lunch ideas. No reason we can’t have these lunches at home! Thanks!
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Wow! This post is PACKED full of amazing ideas. Bookmarking this page, thank you.
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Thanks so much for a great list, I will be using many of these!
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THANK YOU for all of the great information. I appreciate you stopping by my blog and am glad you directed me to yours.
I will bookmark this so I can reference it next week when I have to start packing my son’s lunches.
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Food on Fridays: State Fair Food « // Aug 21, 2009 at 12:19 pm
[...] but if anyone around here hasn’t seen it, I’d like to enter it in Food on Fridays: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/08/18/packing-a-lunch-healthy-food-to-go/ Next week I’ll share tips to packing a “green” lunch and getting kids to be [...]
School Lunches | Musings of a Housewife // Aug 27, 2009 at 10:06 am
[...] Packing a Lunch: Healthy Food To Go — Kitchen Stewardship Packing a Healthy Lunch Your Kids Will Eat — Dandelion Dayz School Lunches – Healthy Alternatives — Kelly the Kitchen Kop [...]
I am so grateful for this post on packing lunches.
My teen enjoys healthy food and really appreciates when something interesting and different shows up for lunch.
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Thank you for the wonderful tips on creating healthy lunches for our children. It can be so easy to get stuck in a rut when packing a lunch.
We recently moved to Barcelona from California. On my blog, I wrote a post about the typical school lunches at my children’s kindergarten and the public elementary school. Packed lunches always involve a thermos with several courses inside – salads, entree, fruit or yogurt for dessert. Even mini bottles of olive oil! Bought lunches at school are very healthy, fresh-made – stuff you would serve for dinner.
Looking forward to next week’s post!
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We’re homeschoolers, but I still find myself drawing a blank at lunchtime – especially if we’re out of bread. So thank you for all the great ideas!
Do you have links to recipes for bean-based sandwich spreads? This is something I would like to start doing, but I’m a dunce when it comes to flavoring things, so I need some recipes to get me started.
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I was a teacher with lunch in my classroom, too, and many of the same thoughts ran through my head at lunchtime! One of my students constantly had digestive issues (read: he was always constipated and always had gas!) but he NEVER, not once in the whole school year, had any whole wheat anything or even any fresh fruit/vegetable. The closest thing he ever got to fruit was yogurt-covered raisins. CHOCOLATE yogurt covered raisins. His mom complained that he was “picky”.
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My favorite lunch nibbly snack is Mini Quiches.
I use 6 eggs, heavy cream, 1/2 cup plain flour, (lightly beaten with electric beater), 1 cup grated cheese, 1 onion & carrot- grated, some green vegetables, some red capsicum- chopped.
Mix lightly in a bowl, then spoon into greased muffin trays/patty pans, & bake 20 mins.
Great for breakfast on the go, or a filling lunch with tomato sauce & salad. YUMMY!
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Katie Reply:
September 28th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Wow! I’m salivating…can you eat those cold, too? They sound easy, yummy and healthy! A great combination… Welcome! Katie
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Anita, what’s “red capsicum”?
I love this recipe – you had me at “eggs and cream”!
Kelly the Kitchen Kop´s last blog ..Monday Morning Mix-Up 9/28/09
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Hi Katie,
Thanks for the welcome! I really like your blog!
Hi Kelly,
I’ve been reading yours for a while, too- it’s great.
Red capsicum are Red Peppers in the US (I’m an Aussie). They add nice bright color to the quiches.You can add whatever leftover meat/vegies you’ve got. And you can substitute the cream for quark/kefir cheese or something else similar.
Yes, they can be eaten cold, or better at room temperature. That quantity recipe made 24 mini quiches & 6 medium size!
Anita.
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Great, thank you Anita!
Kelly the Kitchen Kop´s last blog ..Monday Morning Mix-Up 9/28/09
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Found you through Tip Junkie. I’m always looking for ideas for my husband’s lunches.
Young Wife´s last blog ..Happy Homemaker Monday
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Great tips. I pack 4 lunches a day and get so tired of it. But it seems to be a healthier option than letting them buy. There are so many bad foods out there that go into school lunches, that the list would be very long.
Jennifer´s last blog ..The benefits of evergreen trees
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Healthy Packed Lunches for Work or School | Passionate Homemaking // May 28, 2010 at 4:52 pm
[...] Packing A Lunch: Healthy Food to Go by Kitchen Stewardship School Lunches: Healthy Alternatives by Kitchen Kop Healthy Lunch, Happy Child by Mindful Momma [...]
Excellent tips! I pack two lunches a day and in a few weeks it will change to four!!
Crystal & Co´s last blog ..iLuke- The Movie Maker
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Thanks for the tips, however at my son’s school we are not allowed to bring ANYTHING with Peanuts in it or Honey as there are kids who are very much allergic to it, so most of the sandwich ideas are out for us…. any other suggestions?
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Katie Reply:
August 11th, 2010 at 7:41 am
Monica,
Katie
Almond butter, or even “sun butter” made of sunflower seeds are two quick, easy 1:1 substitutions for peanut butter in any sandwich. You can even make your own to be frugal if you have a good food processor or powerful blender. My son loves his cream cheese and jelly (which is actually yogurt cheese). I’ve never heard of people being allergic to honey such that you couldn’t bring it, although I know the peanut butter allergies area VERY serious thing because they are anaphylactic and the peanut allergen can get airborne. Egg salad is another easy one, or any leftover roasted meat. Cold pizza, even cold refried beans and guacamole in a wrap are yummy.
Hope that gives some inspiration!
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Oh – great tips! I’ll be doing school lunches for the first time in a few weeks. Good thing we eat a lot of these kinds of things already!
jeanne @ inspiring ideas´s last blog ..Back To School – Backpack Notes
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I totally agree that allowing your kids to help with packing their lunch makes a world of difference in how much they eat at school. As the parent of a food allergy child, I just want to throw out a reminder that while natural peanut butter is a fabulous source of protein, some schools don’t allow it for the safety of the nut-allergic children. That basically leaves us with half of the options on your list, but my son doesn’t seem to mind!
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Katie Reply:
August 11th, 2010 at 8:00 am
Tracy,
Katie
Another gal just wondered about non-peanut options, too, and I was pleasantly surprised by how many ideas I could share with her (right above). It is definitely an important note, and one I should have mentioned in the post since I taught two little guys with peanut allergies.
Thanks for the reminder for all of us!
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Found you through Tip Junkie. Thanks for all of the great suggestions. When I was teaching, I once had a student bring donuts and chocolate milk for lunch. That was it, nothing else! Inspired by “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution,” I talked with my kindergarten son about all the sugar in chocolate milk and the reason why he shouldn’t drink it (at least not everyday). Surprisingly, he took my challenge to only drink white milk for a week and HE noticed a difference in his energy in the afternoon. Now he asks me all the time if something is “healthy enough” to eat. So, definitely talk with your kids about their food choices!
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Katie Reply:
August 11th, 2010 at 7:56 am
Marissa,
I’m so glad you stopped by to share this story and hope to see more of you! 
Katie
I am SO impressed that your little guy noticed his energy change. Truly amazing that he is so aware of his health – bottle that up!
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What GREAT information!! Some of it I knew but a bunch I hadn’t even thought of. I always try to make my kids’ lunches somewhat nutritious. Now I know my kids won’t eat veggies at school so I make them eat more at dinner. But that doesn’t mean I’ll substitute with junk food. I’m amazed at some of the stuff these kids are bringing to school. My daughter would comment about how her friend always had chips & candy bars in her lunch every day…in first grade!! And we wonder why kids can’t concentrate in school.
I will definitely be using many of your suggestions!!!
Michelle W´s last blog ..a good day
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My daughters preschool has each student bring a morning snack for the classroom (on rotation) and I see a lot of parents bring in gogurts and other prepackaged disguised junk. I hope to be able to forward this great reminder to all the families. Thank you
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My preschooler came home every day last year an emotional wreck because he had crazy junk for snack. This summer we really talked about why we eat healthy things, and so as a kindergartener this year he says things like”Mommy, my friends just eat not healthy stuff from the store!”. Ha! That’s a start, I guess. Katie, we need a healthy lunchbox pudding recipe. Kozy Shack makes a good one but I hate the individual packages and it is hard to find in my area.
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I like your list of ideas – very informative, easy and healthy. I’ve been working on a back to school list of lunch and snacks and would be happy to share it with you http://cuceesprouts.com/2010/08/healthy-back-to-school-snacks-and-lunches/
Cucee Sprouts´s last blog ..Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad
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