As school gets into full swing now after the Labor Day weekend, you may be in need of some lunch ideas for those that help pack lunch for your kids. Check out these ideas below!
- Conventional sandwiches—deli turkey, chicken or roast beef, peanut butter (if it’s a peanut safe school) and jelly, cheese, bagel and cream cheese, bagel and peanut butter, vegetarian pita pocket, tuna fish, chicken salad
- Unconventional sandwiches—hummus and pita bread, cheese and crackers, cream cheese and jelly, cream cheese and olives, sunflower butter, soy-nut butter, wrap filled with vegetables and cheese or deli meats, quesadilla, calzone, stromboli, Canadian bacon with lettuce and tomato
- Conventional alternatives to sandwiches—dinner leftovers (meat/chicken/fish/pork, grains, pasta or potatoes, vegetables), cheese and crackers, leftover pizza, soup, stew, takeout leftovers
- Unconventional alternatives to sandwiches—single-serving cereal or cereal from home in storage container (just add milk), scrambled eggs or hard-boiled eggs, yogurt with granola, chili, pancakes or waffles, nuts (if school allows), homemade smoothies, bean salad, homemade muffin, string cheese.
- Fruits—apple, pear, banana, grapes, berries, orange, grapefruit sections, canned fruit in juice, fruit cocktail, grapefruit sections, cherries, pineapple chunks, melon, pomegranate, guava, papaya, tangerines, clementine, fruit salad
- Vegetables to eat raw, steamed, or with dip—cucumber slices, celery, carrots, green beans, snow peas, blanched broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, grape tomatoes, beets, corn, salad, guacamole, bean salad
- Snacks—fruit snacks, sunflower seeds, baked potato chips, pretzels, multigrain crackers, high-fiber granola bar, graham crackers, applesauce, multigrain chips or tortilla, dried fruit, tube yogurt (try freezing), cereal bars, dry cereal, banana chips, dried peas, breadsticks
Always be sure to give them some money to buy their milk to go with their meal as well! Adequate calcium intake in childhood is essential for bone strength later in life!
-Kelsey
(Adapted from http://www.consultant360.com/n411/content/lunch-box-suggestions-children)
