Misty, Risa, and Kelli share the things their older kids eat for lunch. We would love to hear what you pack for your kids too!
Risa–Riley has always been in charge of making her own lunches. There were few requirements to those lunches: a sandwich, a drink, a snack item (pretzels, chips, crackers), and a sweet item. Than she would take a piece of fruit as her afternoon snack. This year, I have made a deal with her… as long as she brings home her lunch box, I will make her lunch for her. This is a way for me to ensure her lunches are healthier and a little bit more fun. I bought her a tupperware thingy with two compartments in it. I usually make her a sandwich and cut it into a fun shape, cheese and crackers with meat, or a roll-up. There is always a veggie and fruit, and I will often times toss in a string cheese or a granola bar. On very special occasions, when she least expects it, she gets a love note from Mommy. Those are her favorite.
Kelli–I haven’t had to send lunches for kids at school yet, and since we’ll be homeschooling this year, I won’t be doing so anytime in the near future. However, I thought I’d share a few of our favorite home lunch ideas with you! I’ve learned that my kids will eat almost anything if it looks fun or cute. I also have been cutting their sandwiches into shapes (with regular cookie cutters), which they absolutely love. My kids love pesto, so right now their favorite kind of sandwich is cheese/pesto, chicken/
cheese/pesto, etc., and I usually add cucumbers or spinach as well. For sandwiches, I always use meat I’ve cooked (chicken/steak/pork) and slice it thinly, rather than buying lunch meat from the deli. It is so much yummier, and so much cheaper, too! We also love flatbread pizza for lunch. I top one Flat Out wrap with pasta sauce (I usually keep a jar in the refrigerator), cheese, and whatever toppings I have on hand (a new favorite is zucchini, red peppers, and olive) and bake it for 10 minutes or so. They think this is the best treat! If we’re going to be out and about for the day, I usually pack them dry salami, sliced cheese, and crackers, with veggies on the side.
Misty–Jax is only taking snacks to school right now. It’s easier to buy a super big box of chips or cookies to take, but I would rather not. Instead, we send him with string cheese and apple slices, almonds, sliced cucumbers with cheese, greek yogurt, or hummus with pita bread and baby carrots. He also loves cookie butter sandwiches (cut into stars) . A new favorite snack is turkey pepperoni. He loves it! For lunches at home, I make french bread pizzas out of pizza sauce, cheese, and sliced french bread, salads out of leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken, and quinoa salad with black beans and corn.
Risa, I make very similar lunches for my girls.
Sandwich, or sometimes salad or pasta salad (a favorite), granola bar, fruit, veggie, yogurt, pretzels/chips, string cheese, on occasion fruit snacks or dried fruit, and they choose one of them for a snack. Even with all I pack them they still say they’re hungry! So this year I’m going to stock up on protein rich snacks and sides in hopes it’ll do the trick; I’m certainly not packing them even more food when they’re only 7 and 8!
When we’re at home for the summer we eat a lot of leftovers for lunches. But we also get a lot more creative when we’re at home because we have the option of eating it warm and fresh.
Risa, I make very similar lunches for my girls.
Sandwich, or sometimes salad or pasta salad (a favorite), granola bar, fruit, veggie, yogurt, pretzels/chips, string cheese, on occasion fruit snacks or dried fruit, and they choose one of them for a snack. Even with all I pack them they still say they’re hungry! So this year I’m going to stock up on protein rich snacks and sides in hopes it’ll do the trick; I’m certainly not packing them even more food when they’re only 7 and 8!
When we’re at home for the summer we eat a lot of leftovers for lunches. But we also get a lot more creative when we’re at home because we have the option of eating it warm and fresh.