Saturday, August 6, 2011

Sack Lunch Ideas

The beginning of the school year is quickly approaching.  I can't believe that Erin will be in first grade and stay there for a full day.  I am excited, nervous and sad all for this upcoming milestone.  One thing I am most nervous for is lunch.  School lunch does not particularly impress me and while they have some healthier options I also know kids rarely choose those options.  So I have decided to make a lunch for her to take.  This is where I get nervous.   What can I put in a lunch box besides a sandwich because how many sandwiches can one kid eat before they refuse to eat any more?
 So I have done a little research and come up with a few ideas.  But I would also love to hear from you.
Here is what I have:
A wrap: just like a sandwich but in a tortilla instead.  One wrap my girls already love is spread cream cheese on a tortilla, cover it with spinach (sometimes I add sprouts and julienned carrots too) and add a few slices on lunch meat.  They love it and when I use low fat cream cheese I don't fell bad about it.
Dip day: Put hummus or peanut butter in a small container.  Add a variety of veggies and crackers to dip into the hummus/pb. 
Pasta salad: You could put it in a pita to make it utensil free too.
Make your own lunchable: get a good healthy cracker and use a mini cookie cutter to cut out some pieces of meat and cheese for kids to build their own.
Question: Do thermoses actually work at keeping things like soup warm and will my kids actually eat soup at school?
For a side dish I saw an idea where you can take you own home made or healthy yogurt and use a food saver to contain it in a tube shape.  Then you can make your own go-gurts that aren't packed with junk.

So anyways that is what I have come up with.  Any other tips/ideas you have would be most welcomed.

6 comments:

Janae said...

I just got some supplies to make Bento Box lunches. Here is a great website http://lunchinabox.net/

I made a list of things that Paisley will eat (she is a fairly picky eater) and plan on stuffing her Bento box with those foods. I am going to a test run tomorrow. Hopefully its a big hit.

Andrea said...

I packed my own lunch when I was in school and I ate a sandwich everday from elementary through high school. I never got sick of eating sandwiches. I find I am a pickier eater as an adult than I was as a kid.

Bonnie said...

I like these pizza skewers I came across the other day.
http://bakedbree.com/pizza-skewers-with-garlic-butter-dipping-sauce#axzz1TQf8aAwR
Brianna's been having fun making bento box lunches lately, too. I'd say go light on any lunch meats but heavy on the veggies.

Britt said...

I made lunches almost every day last year but my son loves sandwiches. He'd eat them for lunch and dinner if I let him. We switched up the sandwich so he never had the same sandwich twice in one week and I gave him a different fruit/veggie every day and whatever sweet snack he wanted.

Bonnie said...

Hey Lizzy, I've found several fun lunch ideas. My worry is that you'll stress yourself out trying to make everything nutritious and cute! Most of the time, nutritious is enough...right? But, like you, I am drawn to cute!
http://kitchenfunwithmy3sons.blogspot.com/2011/08/turtle-burger.html

Bonnie said...

Oh, and
http://pamspartyplanning.blogspot.com/2011/08/making-lunch-fun.html