Healthy Sack Lunches Made Simple (and Stress-Free!)

When school comes back around, nothing gets more repetitive than packing lunches.  It’s the one part of parenting that never, ever, ever ends.  And even kids can only eat so many peanut butter sandwiches before they get sick of them.  

Here’s our formula for packing a healthy lunch every day, while still making things simple and including variety.  Choose one thing from each category, and you are good to go!

1. Whole Grain:  This will get kids full, aid digestion, and form the foundation for their meal.  Here are a few of our favorites.

• Whole wheat bread
• Whole grain crackers or pretzels
• Whole wheat tortilla or tortilla chips
• Brown rice
• Quinoa
• Whole wheat pasta

2. Fruit: This seems to be the one thing every kid will eat and adds flavor, vitamins, and fluids to their diet.  We recommend buying what’s in season, and on sale.

• Apple slices
• Mandarin oranges
• Grapes or berries
• Melon balls or cubes
• Dried fruits like raisins, apricots, prunes (with no added sugar)
• Banana
• Sugar-free applesauce or smoothie

3. Vegetable: This one can be tricky - find something your kids will like, and include a dip or seasoning if it helps.  The more exposure kids have to veggies, the more they will learn to like them!

• Sliced bell peppers
• Baby carrots
• Snap peas
• Mini or sliced cucumbers
• Steamed zucchini cubes or broccoli
• Steamed edamame beans

4. Protein: These will keep your kids full for longer, and give them mental energy.  Don’t skimp on the protein!

• Cheese sticks or cubes
• Sliced lunch meat like turkey or ham
• Beef sticks
• Hard boiled eggs
• Tuna or chicken salad
• Greek yogurt or cottage cheese
• Hummus or peanut butter
• Beans - add to a quesadilla, or try a black bean burger patty

5. Something fun: Kids are way more likely to eat their lunch if there’s something they look forward to!  You know your kids best, so decide what they would like, but it doesn’t have to be sugar.

• Fruit snacks or fruit leather
• Smoothie pouch
• Semi-sweet chocolate chips
• Unsalted popcorn
• Peanut butter crackers
• Dried mangos
• Sugar-free juice box

Last Tips:

• Have a reusable lunch container for each child that is easy to identify and clean.
• Put kids in charge of filling water bottles each evening.
• Prep what you can over the weekend: wash and chop veggies and fruits, remove unnecessary packaging, pre-portion favorite items like dips, cottage cheese, etc..  If you’re really ambitious, you can even prepare sandwiches and throw them in the freezer!
• Be environmentally friendly, but also friendly to yourself.  If using Ziploc bags is going to make or break your stress levels, you do you.  If you want to fill your own smoothie pouches, you go for it!
• Prep lunches for any littles you have at home that aren’t old enough for school yet.  Then you don’t have to worry about prepping the same meal again.  Some littles eat better outside or distracted than sitting at the table - consider having them sit somewhere like the Dreamcatcher Swing to eat lunch when you can.  Active play wins every time!
• If you have a spouse that takes lunch to work, invite them to join you for meal prep time once a week!
• Prep lunches the night before - no reason to add something else to your mornings!

Here’s a graphic to put up in your kitchen for older kids to use when packing their own lunches.  Consider baskets in your pantry or bins in your fridge where you can group food groups together for easy access.  Making lunches is as easy as 1, 2, 3!

And remember: kids will eat what they want and there’s only so much you can control, especially when they are at school.  So as long as you are providing healthy options and your kids are healthy and happy - you’re succeeding!