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Healthy Lunch Ideas in “The Healthy Lunch Box” eBook

August 20, 2013 (UPDATED: August 27, 2019) by Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship 16 Comments

If the only thing more frightening to you than “lunch packing” is “school hot lunch…”

If you feel like you pack the same old thing day in and day out…

If you’re bread-free and not sure what to do about it…

Or if you feel like you’re in a sandwich rut, ditch the ‘wich – The Healthy Lunch Box to the rescue!

The Healthy Lunch Box cover

Easy, healthy foods for lunch can seem elusive when it’s 7:30 a.m. and you’re begging the refrigerator for something, ANYthing to send with your kids to school.

You know you don’t want to rely on school lunch to nourish your kids, but managing a real food packed lunch every day can be mind-boggling, if not refrigerator-boggling. For families who don’t use much bread, whether Paleo, gluten-free, or just “Uh oh, we’re out of bread,” a sandwich-free lunch gets even trickier.

The Healthy Lunch Box: Sandwich-free Secrets to Packing a Real Food Lunch is loaded with strategies to streamline your packing process, stock your pantry with emergency backups for your backups, and send healthy, delicious food in the lunch box, no matter how old your eater is.Celadon Road sandwich wrap

And there’s not a sandwich in sight.

Whether you need to pack a healthy lunch for work, school, or lunch on the go anywhere, the portable ideas in The Healthy Lunch Box will inspire you to avoid packaged and processed foods and go with the real thing every day.

Buy it Here!

You automatically get the premium package when you buy at Kitchen Stewardship, with a full-color 124-page PDF enhanced with lunchtime photos, the files for your Kindle or Nook, and 8 more bonus printables totaling over 20 additional pages. This is an eBook only; nothing will come in the mail.

The Healthy Lunch Box (eBook Premium Package)

Sandwich-free Secrets to Packing a Real Food Lunch
(124 pages + TEN bonuses, including Kindle + Nook)

The Healthy Lunch Box on i Pad

$9.95

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With 45 lunchtime-friendly recipes, over 100 links for more, and a massive “What Should I Pack” list, you’ll never run out of ideas again.

If you can’t see the buy button, click here.
Amazon.UK Kindle book

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Start Thinking Outside the Box… Right Now

BPA-free.

Preservative-free.

Bread-free.

The Healthy Lunch Box does it all.

If you want to pack a lunch that’s good for your family and good for the earth, too, you’re in the right place. The mission of Kitchen Stewardship is to balance care for our health, the earth, our budgets and our time, and those threads carry over into The Healthy Lunch Box with sections like

  • Waste-Free Lunches
  • The Allergy Friendly Lunch Box
  • Think Like Ma Ingalls

What’s in The Healthy Lunch Box?

5 tips for packing real food lunches

This eBook didn’t start out to be a recipe book, although there are 45 recipes and links to over 100 more. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have time and energy to be making special meals just to send with my kids for lunch.

The strategy behind The Healthy Lunch Box is all about integrating lunch packing into your regular life, where you’re probably already cooking at least once (if not two or three times) every day.

From children to adults, school kids to homeschooling families, everyone needs to eat lunch — even if you’re only going to have 10 minutes to eat it (the average time a school student realistically has at the table).

So let’s make it as painless as possible without relying on packaged convenience foods – or sandwiches.

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$9.95

Here’s a little preview

Here’s a little preview of some of the pages inside The Healthy Lunch Box so you can get just a little of that “I’m sitting in a bookstore browsing for something interesting” feeling. Close your eyes and imagine the smell of real pages… (for now, The Healthy Lunch Box is just an eBook, the “green” way to go. Plans are for it to be available in print someday.)


If you can’t see the preview above, click HERE to view it in a separate window.

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$9.95

What People are Saying

This one from a reader just warms my heart:

“My son is in 5th grade, and my daughter is in 1st. For years I’ve been wanting to send healthy, whole-food lunches with him, and now both of them, but imagined it to be this giant production. I started reading your new ebook over the weekend, and today my kids have homemade crackers, meat and cheese, fruit and almonds (use the code STEWARDSHIP for 10% off at that site!). And I did all of that while making it to my full-time job outside of the home on time. Tonight, I’ve planned meatloaf muffins to have leftovers in their lunches for tomorrow. Thank you for reminding me that it doesn’t have to be complicated.”

And on food allergies:

“Thank you, thank you, for your empathetic pages/comments on food allergies and packing lunch for school in your recent e-book. Our oldest has severe allergies to peanuts/tree nuts, and I don’t often (ever?) read that much support from someone who doesn’t deal with life-threatening allergies on a day-to-day basis.

It’s been a rough, ‘I really hate food allergies’ kind of week for me around here, and it really touched me to read what you had to say. Thank you.” –Susan

Not just for packed lunches:

“I homeschool so thankfully I don’t have to pack lunches on a regular basis, but this has given me so many ideas I can use every day!!” (via Amazon)

What’s the Premium Package?

When you purchase The Healthy Lunch Box here at Kitchen Stewardship, you automatically get the entire Premium Package:

PDF Downloadable eBook, The Healthy Lunch Box (124 pages)

The Healthy Lunch Box on i Pad

Kindle & Nook files

EIGHT Printables, including:

healthy lunch ideas

1. “Quick Start Guide” for The Healthy Lunch Box: One page, top 10 tips from the book, for those of you who love to open a box and turn on the appliance without reading a 100-page manual. Pack better lunches NOW.

packed healthy lunch

2. “10 Ways to Help Kids Eat More Veggies” by Katie Kimball: No tricks! Powerful and effective strategies to incorporate more vegetables not only onto your children’s plates, but also into their bellies. GNOWFGLINS Freebie 500px

3. “Main Dish Salads” eBooklet: 10 meal-worthy salads courtesy of GNOWFGLINS

emeals free lunch love notes images 4. Printable Lunch Notes: Two pages of super cute notes to include in your kid’s lunch boxes (courtesy of eMeals)

Lunch Meal Planning Template 500pxMeal Planning Resources from The Nourishing Home:

  • 5. A template for planning a week’s worth of meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner).
  • 6. A template for planning JUST lunches for one month.
  • 7. A one-week meal plan, featuring back-to-school style meals (for breakfasts, lunches, and dinners) already planned and ready for you to download and prepare!Teach Kids to Pack Their Own Lunches 500px

8. “Teach Kids to Pack Their Own Lunches”: Printable with top 10 tips (courtesy of ECOlunchboxes)

PLUS with every purchase, you’ll also receive:

  1. A 50% off coupon for The Healthy Breakfast Book: Cereal-free Secrets to Starting the Day with Real Food, the companion book to The Healthy Lunch Box.
  2. Valuable coupons for Crock On!, eMeals, and ECOlunchboxes
  3. Info on how to get a free frozen treat eBook
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$9.95

One Thing You Won’t Find

I’m a planner, but I also like being in charge. That means I don’t like using other people’s plans, so I don’t include actual lunch time menu plans in The momables180Healthy Lunch Box.

I’m realizing, slowly but surely, that the entire world does NOT think exactly like me (gasp!). I’ve partnered with MOMables so that, if you would like to try out a pre-fab, real food meal plan for lunch, you can.

Click on “first time here” right HERE and look for the “grab a sample plan” with grocery list, prep list, and recipes from Laura, who is also a KS reader (I love that part!) and contributed two recipes to the book as well.
MOMables 468x60-ad

Ever misplace a file or lose an eBook? Use this super-easy, one quick tip to find your purchased Kitchen Stewardship eBooks in a minute or less!

What About Allergies?

The Healthy Lunch Box is very adaptable and fairly allergy-friendly. The official breakdown is:

  • Gluten-free: 34 recipes (77%)
  • Grain-free: 24 recipes (55%)
  • Dairy-free: 27 recipes (61%)
  • Egg-free: 25 recipes (57%)
  • Nut-free: 35 recipes (80%)
  • Vegetarian: 34 recipes (72%)
  • Vegan: 15 recipes (35%)

Note: Only about 15 of the recipes in the book are also found for free online, and most of those are updated and enhanced with new options. It’s important to me to make any paid product worth it for my readers, but many of my favorite recipes are already shared for free – so it’s a balance.

Satisfaction Guaranteed

If you are unhappy with The Healthy Lunch Box for any reason, including allergies that prevent you from making too many recipes, I will provide a full refund, no questions asked.

My Other Books

You can see all KS eBooks HERE, including:

  • Better Than a Box
  • Smart Sweets
  • Healthy Snacks to Go
  • The Everything Beans Book
  • The Family Camping Handbook

If you’re a blogger and interested in the affiliate program, click here.

Proud to boast the cover design of Blake Rudis.

Disclosure: I am an affiliate of eMeals, Crock On, MOMables, ECOlunchboxes and GNOWFGLINS and will receive a commission if you make a purchase there.

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About Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship

Katie Kimball, CSME is a trusted educator and author of 8 real food cookbooks. She is passionate about researching natural remedies and making healthy cooking easier for busy families. She’s been featured on media outlets like ABC, NBC and First for Women magazine as well as contributing regularly on the FOX Network.

See more of Katie Kimball, CSME in the Media.

Over the last 10 years, Katie has spoken prolifically at conferences, online summits and podcasts and become a trusted authority and advocate for children’s health.

Busy moms look to this certified educator for honest, in-depth natural product reviews and thorough research. She often partners with health experts and medical practitioners to deliver the most current information to the Kitchen Stewardship community.

In 2016 she created the #1 bestselling online kids cooking course, Kids Cook Real Food, helping thousands of families around the world learn to cook.

Certified Stress Mastery Educator BadgeA mom of 4 kids from Michigan, she is a Certified Stress Mastery Educator and member of the American Institute of Stress.

See all blog posts by Katie Kimball.

16 Bites of Conversation So Far

  1. Sofia says

    March 2, 2016 at 7:59 pm

    Hi.
    Is there any way to get your book through kindle unlimited? It would be of great help. Thanks so much.
    Sofía-

    Reply
    • Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship says

      March 3, 2016 at 5:53 pm

      Hi Sofia,
      I’m not sure that’s something I can control – however it is currently listed on Amazon is how it is, sorry! 🙂 Katie

      Reply
  2. Stacy says

    August 14, 2014 at 3:33 pm

    I just want to be sure before I buy this… I don’t have an eReader of any kind. I can download this to my computer, right?

    Reply
    • Helen @ Kitchen Stewardship says

      August 14, 2014 at 4:43 pm

      Stacy,

      Thanks for asking! Yes, the Premium Package includes a PDF version of the book and the bonus items are all PDF as well. You’ll just ignore the nook and Kindle versions 🙂 But you shouldn’t have any trouble!

      Reply
  3. Karen says

    August 23, 2013 at 4:32 pm

    OK – very excited about this ebook! I hate that my kids eat some of the terrible lunches provided by the school program (really, they are very awful – I am so disappointed in them – it shouldn’t be that hard to provide a good lunch). Purchased it right here this morning, but haven’t received any link to download yet – still have the Paypal receipt, but no download instructions, and it’s been several hours. I can’t wait any longer!

    Reply
    • Helen @ Kitchen Stewardship says

      August 23, 2013 at 10:49 pm

      Karen, I’ll handle this for you via email – watch for it to come from me!

      Reply
  4. Karen says

    August 22, 2013 at 2:13 am

    Funny that the previous commenter wrote about Trilight products, because I’m about to order some more of their ViraMune. It’s like a miracle formula for my kids. But anyway, I came here to express my appreciation to Katie for writing this new ebook that I really, really needed! I literally just started packing kid lunches this week for the first time ever and it’s something I really want to put some thought into. My daughter said one of her classmates brought a PB and sprinkles (no jelly) sandwich to school today!

    Reply
  5. Jill says

    August 21, 2013 at 4:11 pm

    This is unrelated to this post, but as school is just around the corner, I’m already thinking ahead for the winter and the sickness that comes with it.

    I want to make my own vics rub of sorts, and was wondering, is eucalyptus safe for kids – both to breathe in the air/steam, or to put in a rub to put on them? What about for a 15 month old? And pregnant women?

    Have you tried the wild cherry coffaway cough syrup from Trilight Health? Or does the Lympha rub handle coughs too? I plan to use it at night so my kids can sleep.

    Thanks so much!

    Reply
    • Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship says

      August 21, 2013 at 8:31 pm

      Jill,
      I’m far, far from an expert on oils, but I’ve used them without a thought in all those circumstances. Might check a Google search to corroborate though.

      We have both Trilight products, and I prefer Lympha rub (a drop on the back of the throat) for coughs because I feel like it’s uber effective. However, I like having the cherry on hand for coughs that aren’t as bad b/c my kids actually enjoy taking it, and they usually do sleep afterward. For the bad coughs that really really keep you awake, the “magic drop” is awesome.

      🙂 Katie

      Reply
      • Jill says

        August 21, 2013 at 8:51 pm

        Thank you so much for the help! This will be our first time using Trilight products.

        Reply
  6. Laura says

    August 21, 2013 at 3:18 pm

    I just ordered/paid and there was no link on the “receipt” page to download the book, nor have I received an email with a confirmation or links to download! Help! I still have the receipt PayPal page open and I double-checked that my email address was spelled correctly – it is.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      August 21, 2013 at 3:20 pm

      HA! Right after I sent this, I received the email. I am surprised it took about 10 minutes though. I usually receive the email immediately. Thank you!

      Reply
      • Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship says

        August 21, 2013 at 8:26 pm

        Glad it came! The Internet is mysterious sometimes… 😉 Katie

        Reply
  7. R G says

    August 21, 2013 at 2:03 pm

    Hmmm…Interesting.

    Reply
  8. Jennifer says

    August 21, 2013 at 5:51 am

    Thank you so much! Very excited to give a read!

    Reply
    • Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship says

      August 21, 2013 at 3:30 pm

      Thanks, Jennifer! Hope you enjoy it! 🙂 Katie

      Reply

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Please remember that I’m just a gal who reads a lot and spends way too much time in her kitchen. I’m not a doctor, nurse, scientist, or even a real chef, and certainly the FDA hasn't evaluated anything on this blog. Any products mentioned are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Please talk to your health professional (or at least your spouse) before doing anything you might think is questionable. Trust your own judgment…I can’t be liable for problems that occur from bad decisions you make based on content found here.

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