HEALTHY LUNCH BOX IDEAS

It’s that time of year again!!!  Time to prepare for alllll the school lunches you’ll be fixing up for the littles!

But if we must do it, why not have fun with it?  This doesn’t mean you have to spend hours in the kitchen the night or morning before school.  That is why putting a little thought into it ahead of time will assure that you have what you need, and you can rotate fun ideas all school-year long so that no one gets bored, and mama doesn’t get burned out either!  Ready for some ideas?!

Here are some tools to gather to make the simplest of lunches more appealing to the kiddo in your life too!

– Fun cookie cutters
– Wood skewers
– Silicone muffin cups
– Mini condiment containers with lid
– Lunch box (think Bento box) with separate wells for food

+ Little Dippers: 
Take a condiment container and add some organic ranch dressing (or your kid’s fav!).  Make cheese quesadillas and cut into strips or triangles with a pizza cutter. Throw in some carrot sticks (I like to cut them even thinner than they come so there are easier for little kids to munch on and enjoy!) Add some sliced strawberries and blueberries, and another little container with yogurt for a yummy fruit dip!

+ For the meat lover: (given you have a way to keep the lunch cool.)
Make turkey/ham/chicken roll-ups!  I simply lay a piece of cheese on top of a piece of meat and roll it up together.  I also like to throw in some pepperonis! Add some yummy pita chips, cut up veggies, with a little container of hummus, and some grapes!  This is one of my kids FAV lunches!

+ Mini Pizzas:
Your kids will LOVE this!  Take an English muffin, cut in half, top with sauce, cheese, pepperoni (and whatever healthy toppings your kiddos will eat!). Fix a mini chopped salad on the side (you can buy the easy ones prepackaged!). Add some organic cookies, energy balls, etc. 

How about some fun little extras so you can build your own lunch???

Here are some of my go-to’s!

+ fruit skewers.  Fruit, on a wooden skewer….cute, easy, and of course FUN for the kids! We laughed because the first time I made these suddenly all the fruit was eaten up tin a day! Even though we have bowls of fruit around our home always- something about it being on the stick made it extra fun & appealing- a huge hit! 

+ cut any sandwich in a cute shape, like a heart, star, flower…whatever cookie cutter you have! This is soooo simple but yet goes such a long way in their little hearts! 

+ cut watermelon and cantaloupe into little shapes with mini cookie cutters.

+ a little container of yogurt with a dollop of strawberry jam in the center.  Add some graham crackers and fruit for dipping.

+ energy balls:  combine rolled oats, honey, chocolate chips, and nut butter in a bowl.  Roll into balls and refrigerate to help harden a little. Adjust amounts of ingredients as needed for them to hold shape.  These are great additions to any lunch!

+ hard boiled eggs.  Simple, fun, easy, and full of protein to get them through the day!

+ treats like yogurt covered raisins, chocolate covered sunflower seeds, and fruit leather. 

+ cream cheese in a little container with veggies and crackers for dipping!

❤️ Have you ever made bug art with fruit and veggies?! 

This could even be fun for you do with with your kiddos one evening!  Or you could make them for a surprise and totally be super mom for a day! We got this idea HERE– so cute right?! 

I hope you feel inspired and excited to have some fun with lunch!  And make some extra for yourself while you are at it! Mama needs to eat well too!!!