I have my kids pack their lunches with my supervision. They chose the fruit or veggies and then let me know how I can help them with the main dish–most of the time they can easily prep the night before.

Food:

I made a few lunches and timed what my kids could eat in 20 minutes. That is the amount of time they get at school. My goal was to pack nutritious food without waste.

All kids have a water bottle. That’s it. I love the thermos water bottle with the straw that pops up. I only used them with water. If I add ice in the morning it will still be there in the afternoon! I do not send the kids to school with milk or juice.

Fruit and Veggies:

carrots

cut up cucumbers

peppers

brocoli

whatever raw veggies I know they will eat

apples–cut up and sometimes I split one apple over a couple of kids

bananas cut in half–I will also split a banana over a few kids as well

grapes

strawberries

blueberries

I don’t use fruit cups, pudding cups, jello cups.

Main Dish:

Peanut butter sandwich is our standby–the year we were in the peanut free room is the year we started to homeschool–it was just another hurdle on the long list of things . . .

hot dogs wrapped in foil

chicken nuggets–homemade with out breading–served with dipping sauce

tortillas as a wrap–I’ve used peanut butter, nutella, lettuce and cheese

ham and cheese roll ups

bagel with cream cheese

hamburger buns rather than bread–that way there are no crusts–I also like Hawaiian rolls for this same reason

Taco Salad

Chef’s Salad

Chicken salad sandwich

Tuna sandwich

Olivia sandwich–melted cheese with relish and ketchup

Cheese and crackers

Leftovers:

Pancakes sandwich with a slice of leftover bacon in the middle–one kid would get this each week

French toast bake

Quiche

Chili

Chicken Noodle Soup

spaghetti with meatballs

Tortileni with butter

Ravioli

My goal was to have a protein item and a fruit or vegetable. I try to make it as simple as possible and avoid processed foods. I may serve crackers with soup or chicken salad but as a general rule I do not give my kids “crunchy” snacks at school. Kids will eat the bag of Doritos and throw the rest of the lunch out. On the off-chance that I do give them chips I will split a bag among a few kids so I know they will only get a few bites and move to the healthy stuff.