Back to School: School Lunch Ideas
We are in the second week of back to school and I thought it would be helpful to share with you some ideas for creating and packing school lunches. Most of us don’t have the time to invent something new and creative every day, but I’ll share my tips of a pro chef to helping you create lunches that are healthy and keep your kids happy.
School Lunch Ideas: Choose 1-2 Bases for the week
Your school lunch creativity doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel. The first priority in school lunch planning is to make something that your kids will enjoy and gives them nutrients and energy for their school day. You can plan for one or two bases a week and then incorporate your kid's favorite proteins and vegetables into that. As a base consider rice, sandwich bread, mixed greens, or wraps. Plan around what your kid enjoys. My son is really into wraps right now so I just have to change up what I fill them with to keep lunch a little interesting. I’ve done wraps filled with BBQ chicken, lettuce, and cheddar cheese (the running favorite); lightly spread the wrap with sour cream and filled with taco seasoned sautéed ground beef, lettuce, avocado and cheddar. If you’re using rice as a base, you could top it with grilled salmon and sautéed spinach one day and make a fried rice using leftover vegetables and protein from the night before the next. Simple doesn’t have to be the same thing over and over but having a good base to work with helps to take some of the planning out and give you more time to focus on how to add variety.
School Lunch Ideas: Go for a Midweek Surprise
So Monday and Tuesday your kid was loving the wraps. Don’t let the law of diminishing returns steal the overall success of your school lunch planning where ease turns to a boring rut. Come Wednesday pack something unexpected. Planning one day a week to do something different gives you the freedom to stick with tried and true 4 out of the 5 school days. Below are some of my son’s favorites and some new suggestions that I’ll be incorporating too:
School Lunch Ideas: How to Incorporate Healthy Foods
It’s important that the meals and snacks you pack are balanced and healthy. I really try to avoid processed foods as much as possible and stick to natural eating. That can be more complicated than we as parents like. I would love to slice up some carrots and cucumber with a side dip and send my kid on his way. As it is, he’s not yet a fan of crudités so I have to find other ways to get in the vegetables. In my case, my son loves greens so I always have a rich variety of mixed greens at the ready to put into wraps or sandwiches. My son also loves fried rice so that’s a great opportunity to load up on broccoli, peas, and carrots. Whatever it is, find the vegetables and dishes that your kid naturally likes and incorporate that into your school lunch plan. Finally, always pack some natural fruits. It gives fiber and vitamins that keep your kids energy and focus levels up. Avoid fruit roll ups and those corn syrup laden “fruit” substitutes. Prep some cherries or grapes, apples, or pineapple, whatever your kid likes, at the beginning of the week and divide into deli containers. Easy to grab and great for your kid.