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What to Pack for Kids Lunch: 55 Healthy Ideas
Knowing what to pack for kids lunch, day after day, can be challenging. Sometimes, as parents, we need school lunch ideas that include healthy food, and are easy to pull together. Thanks to my friends on Facebook, and years of experience packing lunches for my girls, I was able to pull together this list of healthy lunch idea’s for y’all.
Packing healthy lunches doesn’t have to be difficult. In fact, getting your younger children and older kids involved in packing their own lunch box can be fun!
When you give your kids options to select snacks for their own lunches, top tips suggest starting with an organized system. For example, you can keep nutritious lunch snacks in labeled fridge or pantry organizers.
The labeled organizers will allow the kids to visually choose snacks that make up balanced meals. For example, one container may be full of fresh fruits. Whereas, other containers may have vegetables, snack bars, and on-the-go snacks.
Healthy Lunch Box Snack Ideas
First, let’s talk about the sides or fun snacks. If we’re being honest, the kids usually go for these first, anyhow. Here, you will find a variety of foods, that are healthy and easy to fit into a child’s lunch box.
The first couple snacks below, from Brainiac, are some of my daughters favorites. Sher loves these in her lunches, and carries them in her backpack when we go on our hikes. Thankfully, they have been so kind to offer you a special promo code. If you try out their snack, be sure to enter code LITTLEBRAINS to save 15%.
- Brainiac Chocolate Chip Brain Bars
- Brainiac Apple Cinnamon Brain Bars
- Nuture Life Mighty Bites
- Cheddar cheese cubes and crackers
- String cheese
- Slices of pita bread to dip in hummus
- Oatmeal cookies
- Yogurt – Choose from regular, greek yogurt, or non-dairy products.
- Granola bars
- Gogurts
- Protein chocolate bars
- Yogurt covered raisins
- Peanut butter and crackers
- Trail mix
- Popcorn
- Granola with acai
- Pretzels
- Pickles
Fruit and Vegetable Ideas for Kids’ Lunch Boxes
Of course, it’s always best when our kids eat healthy – even during the school day. School lunches aren’t exactly the ideal representation of health, but they do try to meet all food groups.
Here are some popular fruits and vegetables for your kids lunches.
- Cowboy Caviar with organic crackers
- Organic applesauce pouches or applesauce cups
- Apple slices
- Carrot sticks with ranch
- Nurture Life Cheese and Veggie Box
- Baby carrots with hummus
- Brainiac Strawberry Applesauce Pouches (Use code LITTLEBRAINS to save 15%)
- Mini peppers with dip
- Oranges
- Kiwi
- Banana slices with peanut butter or almond butter
- Cucumbers and ranch
- Grapes
- Pineapple
- Watermelon
- Cantaloupe
- Fresh cut strawberries
- Dried fruit with chocolate chips
- Cottage cheese and fresh fruit
- Diced avocados with cherry tomatoes and a drizzle of flavored olive oil.
- Green or red pepper slices with hummus or ranch
- Blueberries with whipped cream
- Celery sticks with peanut butter and dark chocolate chips
- Corn Salsa with organic nachos
- Broccoli with ranch
Main Dish Ideas for Kids Lunch
- Meat and cheese kabobs
- Veggie sandwich or wrap
- Peanut butter and jelly
- Pasta salad
- Mac and cheese in a thermos
- Plant based chicken nuggets
- Chicken patty (regularly or plant based)
- Pizza slice
- Soup
- Rice and beans
- Homemade chipotle style bowl in a thermos
- Sweet potato or black bean quesadillas
- Lean meat slices and cheese in a spinach wrap
Packing lunch boxes, whether for school lunches, a field trip, or a hiking adventure, is a great way to introduce new foods. Even though you may think it’s impossible to feed picky eaters, after days of having a limited selection, they are likely to try something new.
I hope you’ve gained new ideas for your kids’ lunches. If you find yourself asking “What to pack for kids lunch” again, just come back and take note of these healthy options. If you need lunch ideas for your own lunch, check out these 35 High Protein Lunch Ideas for Work.
Before you go, here are a few posts you’ll enjoy:
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