Healthy School Lunch Ideas

With school back in session, it's time to think about what our kids are eating while at school. Cafeteria lunches leave much to be desired when it comes to nutrition, variety, and being allergy friendly. Even when lunches are sent from home, it's hard not to get in a rut, sending the same boring sandwich every day. There are so many flavorful, nutritious options - here are some ideas to get you started!

In an effort to create balanced meals, I like to break things down into categories. Then simply choose one or two items from each category, mixing things up for variety throughout the week. Bento boxes are a great way to send sandwich free lunches to school with your child and a quality thermos is a must have to keep foods like soups warm until lunch time. Some classes or cafeterias even have a microwave available making it possible for a child to warm up leftovers from a healthy dinner the night before (but always remember to never microwave food in plastic containers)!

Main course/Protein Ideas

• chicken or tuna salad

• taco salad

• hummus & veggies or tortilla chips (Siete makes grain-free chips)

• "lunchables" (gf crackers, raw cheese, natural lunch meat cut into squares)

• boiled eggs or deviled eggs

• soup or chili in a thermos

• homemade mac & cheese (with brown rice pasta) in a thermos

Veggies

• cucumber slices

• snap peas

• raw green beans

• olives

• carrot sticks (my kids even like to dip carrot sticks in Sunbutter or almond butter)

• sweet peppers

• broccoli

• cherry or grape tomatoes (always cut in half to avoid choking!)

*If your kids aren't fans of plain, raw veggies - add some ranch for dipping

Fruits

• apple slices (also great with some nut or seed butter)

• mandarins (Cuties)

• bananas

• berries

• grapes (always cut in half to avoid choking!)

• dates

• or any other fruit cut up and ready to eat

Nuts & Seeds

• almonds

• cashews

• walnuts

• sunflower seeds

• pumpkin seeds

Snacks or Desserts

• trail-mix (just mix nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and some dark chocolate chips)

• yogurt parfait (unsweetened whole fat or dairy free yogurt, granola, berries, honey if needed)

• Terra root chips

• plantain chips

• Health Warrior pumpkin seed bars

• Larabars

• Kind breakfast bars (these are a little heavy on the sugar but are usually allergy friendly)

Last but not least - make sure to send water to school with your kids! For optimal health, adults and children should be drinking 50% of their body weight in ounces of water every day (ex. if your child is 70 pounds, they should be drinking at least 35 oz of pure water). Juices and sodas can spike blood sugar which negatively affects the brain (and many other aspects of health) leading to memory, attention, and learning issues.

Providing our children with proper nutrition is imperative to their long term health and cognition. Taking the time to pack healthy lunches for our kids is a worthwhile investment for their future!

*this content is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment*