Lunch #1: Pinwheels, Apple, Cherry Tomatoes, and Trailmix

• Ingredients:
  • 1 large whole wheat tortilla
  • nitrate-free deli meat of choice
  • 2-3 oz laughing bell cheese
  • 1/4 of a yellow bell pepper diced
  • 1-2 leaves of lettuce
  • 1 small apple
  • 1/2- 1 cup of cherry tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup Trailmix (great options in the bulk section of making your own).

  Lunch Prep Instructions:

  1. Mix Laughing Bell cheese and diced bell pepper and spread over the tortilla
  2. Lay in deli meat. If your kids will go for it add in some lettuce too (getting in more veggies where you can). Roll it up and cut into pinwheels or cut in half for a roll-up and lay into your lunch container.
  3. Place cherry tomatoes into the container and add a small apple
  4. Trail Mix, I also pre-portion into small snack baggies or containers so the kids can grab these from the fridge and put them in the lunch bags themselves. The more we get kids involved in their own nutrition at a young age the better.

Lunch #2: Cheese Quesadilla, Salsa, Snap Peas, Melon Balls, and No-Bake Energy Balls. 

Ingredients:

• 2 large whole-grain tortillas
• 3 oz cheddar cheese
• 1/8 cup salsa
• 1 cup snap peas 
• 1 cup melon of choice cubed or balled
• 2-3 no-bake energy balls, try my basic chocolate energy ball recipe here.  

Lunch Prep Instructions:

1. I place 1 tortilla in a non-stick skillet over low medium heat, fill with cheese and cover with the other tortilla. I let it heat up for about 3-5 minutes and then using a spatula flip and cook on the other side for an additional 2 minutes.
2. Once the cheese has melted, I place it onto a cutting board and cut it into 4 equal pieces and put into a to-go container with a small container of salsa for dipping.
3. I pre-portion out the snap peas and melon into to-go containers or bags on Sunday (I get the kids to help!) and then they are easy to toss into the lunch box for the week.
4. I meal prep the energy balls on the weekend and keep them in the freezer for 2 weeks worth of lunches. I take 2-3 out of the freezer and place them in a bag or to-go container so by lunch they are ready to eat.

Lunch #3: Protein Kabobs, Red Pepper Slices with Tzatziki, Pear, Fruit Leather. 

Ingredients:

• 3-4 oz cooked chicken, cubed
• 1/4- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
• 3-4 oz cubed cheese
• 2-4 kabob sticks
• 1/2 red pepper cored and cut into strips
• 1/4 cup tzatziki sauce (bought or homemade)
• 1 small pear
• 1-2 fruit leathers (these are not all equal! make your own with my easy recipe here or buy one that is organic and uses real fruit. Sugar should not be in the top 5 ingredients).

Lunch Prep Instructions:

1. In a pattern, I place chicken, cheese, and tomatoes on a kabab stick. You can turn them into sandwich kabobs by adding cucumber slices and bread too. I usually lay them on a bed of lettuce in a lunchbox container. 2-3 kabobs based on the age of the child.
2. Slice red peppers and store in the fridge in a container or pre-portion dip and veggies into snack bags with dip containers so even the littlest of fingers can help pack their lunch.
3. Add in a pear and your fruit leathers for a balanced lunch box.

Lunch #4: Chicken Salad Pita, Fruit Salad, Cucumber Sticks, Granola bar. 

Ingredients:

• 3-4 oz of cooked cubed chicken
• 1 tbsp of avocado mayonnaise
• 1 tsp mustard
• 1 celery, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 whole-grain pita or wrap
• 1/2 cup of fruit salad (check out my recipe here!)
• 1 cup of cucumber sticks
• 1 Granola Bar, buy a good quality one or save money and make your own, check out my Healthy Homemade Granola Bar recipe here). 

Lunch Prep Instructions:

1. I mix the chicken, mayo, mustard, celery salt and pepper in a bowl. Fill the pita or wrap and place in a sandwich bag or lunch container.
2. I like to mix the fruit salad up on Sunday for the week ahead. This way I can scoop a serving into a smaller lunch container and pack it into the lunch kit.
3. Add a little container of cucumber sticks for some extra veggies and a granola bar for a sweet treat.

Lunch #5: Hard Boiled Eggs, Carrots + Hummus, Grapes, Pretzels or Popcorn  

Ingredients:

• 2 hard-boiled eggs
• 1/4-1/2 cup of hummus
• 1/2 cup of mini carrots
• 1/2 cup- 1 cup of grapes
• 1 cup of popcorn or (I love this brand)  or organic Spelt pretzels.

Lunch Prep Instructions:

1. When time and money is tight I love this lunch. I put on a pot of eggs and boil for 6-8 minutes. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for the week.
2. I add carrots, hummus, and 2 eggs into a divided bento lunch container.
3. Add in a bag of popcorn and a medium apple and you have a simple but balanced lunch.

Lunch #6: Almond Butter + Jelly (or PB +J) Roll-ups, Orange Slices, Cucumber Slices, No-Bake Energy Balls

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp almond butter or your favorite nut butter
• 1 tbsp jam (buy a low-sugar jam or make your own chia jam in minutes! here is my 3 ingredient no-cook jam recipe). 
• 1 whole wheat tortilla
• 1 medium orange, cut into wedges
• 1/4-1/2 cup Cucumber Slices
• 2-3 No-Bake Energy Balls (try my Trail Mix Energy Ball energy balls recipe in my camping post here, kids love it).

Lunch Prep Instructions:

1. Spread out nut butter, jam, and roll up the wrap. You can cut it in half or cut them smaller so they are like pinwheels for little fingers.
2. Add orange wedges and cucumber slices as recess snacks they can take with them on the playground.
3. Add 2-3 trail mix energy balls into a little container for some healthy fats, good fiber, and a little sweet treat.

Lunch #7: Seedy Crackers + Cheddar Cheese Cubes, Strawberries, Snap Peas, Protein Muffins

Ingredients:

• 10 seedy/whole-grain crackers
• 3 oz cheddar cheese cut into cubes
• 1/2 cup  strawberries
• 1/2-1 cup sugar snap peas
• 1 muffin (buy a good quality high fiber muffin or try my easy protein muffin recipe in the camping blog post here under snacks

Lunch Prep Instructions:

1. In a bento box, I place grapes, cheese, & crackers
2. I like to place the peas in a separate snack bag of container for a portable snack at recess, as well as adding in a little muffin

Lunch #8: Classic Sandwich, Mini Cucumbers, Seed Mix, Applesauce

Ingredients:

• 1 whole-grain bun or 2 slices of seedy bread
• 2-3 slices of meat of choice (I like to grab a roasted deli chicken for this)
• 1 tsp mayo
• 1 tsp mustard
• 4 cucumber or avocado slices
• 1-2 romaine leaves
• 2-3 mini cucumbers
• 1/4 cup Seed Mix
• 1/2 cup of apple sauce (careful of the sugar content in some, making your own is super easy. Try my no-sugar-added slow-cooker apple sauce recipe here, 3 flavor combinations! It freezes and stores great.

Lunch Prep Instructions:

Lunch #9: Veggie Wraps with Hummus
Edamame or Snap Peas, Berries of choice, Ants-on-a-log

Ingredients:

• 1 large whole grain tortilla
• 2 tbsp hummus
• Mixed Veggies your kids will eat (ideas: cucumber, bell peppers, sprouts/microgreens, lettuce, mushrooms, zucchini, roasted red peppers, etc).
• 1/2-1 cup edamame or snap peas
• 1/2-1 cup berries of choice (i.e. blackberries, blueberries, strawberries).
• Ants-on -a log (I have 6 versions of this which also include nut-free versions for school, check out the fun recipe here).Lunch Prep Instructions:

Lunch #10: Pasta Salad, Pear, Brocolli with Ranch, Yogurt with Granola. 

1) Fruit & Veggie Ideas

• Oranges
• Apples
• Strawberries
• Pear
• Grapes
• Sliced peaches
• Blueberries
• Raspberries
• Mangoes
• Melon cubed
• Pineapple

2) Fresh Veggies

• Carrots with Hummus
• Cucumbers Slices
• Cucumber Sticks with Tzatziki
• Grape Tomatoes
• Edamame Pods
• Snap Peas
• Celery with nut or seed butter
• Broccoli and Ranch
• Bell Peppers Sliced
• Radishes

3) Main Lunch Ideas

• Pita Bread + Hummus
• Whole Grain or Seedy Crackers + Cheese
• Protein Roll-ups
  Almond Butter + Jam Roll-ups (Use seed butter for Nut-free schools)
• Cheese Quesadilla
• Hard-Boiled Eggs
• Pasta Salad
• Protein Kabobs
• Classic Sandwich
• Veggie +Hummus Wrap
• Chicken Salad Pita (Tuna salad or chickpea salad works great in pitas too)

4) A Treat

• Applesauce
• No-Bake Energy Balls
• Ants-on-a-log
• Fruit leathers
• Trail Mix
• Granola Bars
• Pretzels
• Popcorn
• Chips + Guacamole
• Muffins

BUY & PACK SNACK IDEAS:

Additionally, some fun snacks and treats I like to buy/ pack too but not mentioned above include:

• Organic Popcorn
• Veggie Sticks
• Kale Chips
• Chickpea Snack Bags  (you can make them too, here is my recipe)
• Apple Chips & Dip (you can make them too, here is my recipe).
• Low-Sugar Fruit Leather (or make them, recipe here)
• Nitrate-free Beef Jerky (usually snag from the farmers market)
• No-Bake Energy Balls (I have a handful of some great energy ball recipes on my snack page here)
• Buy a container of Hummus or Tzakiti with pre-cut veggies
• Your Goldfish Cracker replacement! Love Ducks. Just as cute and yummy but without the MSG, dyes, and additives.
• Lara or Rx bars
• Real fruit and vegetable puree’s with less sugar and real food!
• If you need a gummy then try a slightly better version than the traditional Motts and go Annies.

Pick your favorites, mix, and match, make adaptations to meet your kid’s needs. Most of all have fun and enjoy!  I hope these recipes and ideas help make packing lunches stress-free for you. I love to hear from you, leave a comment below.

In great health,

Jo