Summer is coming to an end and school is about to start. That of course means it’s time to get back into the school year routine. Part of that routine in many households is packing school lunches. Packed lunches are a great option when your child isn’t too fond of what the school has to offer or you want a little more control over what your child is eating. Read on for school lunch ideas and grab the freebie to help you get organized!
If your child has dietary restrictions or food allergies, packing lunches is a must. Packing a lunch allows you to include healthy foods your child will actually eat and it doesn’t have to cost any more than what you would be paying for lunch at school.
However, packing a lunch every day is a fruitless exercise if your child doesn’t eat it or ends up trading most of it away for junk food. The key then is to find things that your child loves and enjoys eating.
The best place to start is to get your child involved. Depending on the age of your kids, you could even put them in charge of making their own lunches. Not only do you know that they’ll pack something they will eat, being in charge of packing lunch will teach them responsibility.
Start by talking to your kids about what they want in their lunch box. Make a list of options and then head to the store so you have everything you need for the first week of school. Getting the kids as involved as possible will make sure that they end up with lunches they will eat. For older kids that may mean making their own lunches (under your supervision of course).
Younger children can help too. Even your kindergartener can wash grapes and put them into a container, or pick a snack for his lunch box. Get in the habit of making lunches together the night before. Over time you can give the kids more and more responsibility for their lunches. This alone will help make sure they eat what they’ve packed. After all, it’s the lunch they made. Along the way you’re teaching them independence and important life skills.
Of course you want to encourage your kids to pack and eat healthy foods. Insisting on all healthy, organic food options all the time may not be your best strategy though. Strike a balance and make compromises. If your kids pack and eat a healthy wrap or salad for example, let them have some cookies for dessert. Teach them to make good choices, but don’t freak out if they decide to pack some Cheetos or a pack of Oreo cookies. Your goal is to get them to eat fairly healthy and make smart food choices, not restrict all access to junk food, causing them to trade with friends for forbidden Twinkies.
Simple Tips To Get Organized
There is nothing worse than running late in the morning and then desperately trying to figure out something you can put in your children’s lunch boxes. If you find yourself flustered, or end up buying school lunch because packing it seems like too much of a hassle, take a look at the tips below. They will help you get organized so fixing lunches becomes quick and easy. Click HERE to subscribe to my resource library where you will find more detail under each of the headings below.
- Start With A List And Go Shopping
- Prep What You Can As Soon As You Get Home
- Pack Lunches The Night Before
- Clean Lunch Boxes As Soon As The Kids Get Home
Packing Hot Lunches For The First Cool Fall Days
After a long, hot summer, we all look forward to those first crisp fall days. And with it our menus change. Why not change the lunch you pack for your kids as well? Salads, wraps, and cold sandwiches are great late summer options, but when the temperatures start to drop, your little ones will appreciate a hot dish in their lunch box. Click HERE to subscribe to my resource library where you will find more detail under each of the headings below.
- Soup And A Hot Sandwich
- Chili and Stew
- Leftovers Galore
- Get Creative With Bento Lunches
Beyond The Sandwich
When you think about packed school lunches, PB&J or ham and cheese sandwiches come to mind. While sandwiches certainly make for a nice school lunch, they are not your only option. Mix it up by fixing something different for your kids this school year. Click HERE to subscribe to my resource library where you will find more detail under each of the headings below.
- Make It A Wrap
- Who Doesn’t Love Snack Food And Lunchables?
- Healthy Salads For Lunch
Click on the image below to grab this blog post in more detail, as well as some tasty recipes for school lunches.
