School Lunches

We have all been there...absolutely stumped on what to pack for lunch! I must admit I don't really enjoy making school lunches, but since it's a fact of life I've put together a bunch of resources right here to help you overcome the packed lunch slump.

School Lunch Resources:

Real Food School Lunches on 100 Days of Real Food

School Lunch Gallery

School Lunch Packing Chart

school lunch caprese salad

School Lunch Roundup Series

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85 Snack Ideas for Kids (and Adults)!

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Skip the potato chips, fruit snacks, graham crackers, and candy. If you’re in a rut here are some quick, great real food any-time or after-school snack ideas for inspiration that kids will love (and adults, too!). Sticking with simple ingredients keeps snack time easy and fun. Keep these tips in mind: Combine some of the …

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School Lunch Roundup!

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I’ve been sharing my kids’ school lunches on facebook quite frequently this year, and in an effort to put all those pictures in one easy-to-reference place they have all been reposted below (2018 update: There are so many of these updates now that I’ve put them together on a School Lunch Roundup Series page). Also, …

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Real Food Tips: 10 Recipes to Freeze For School Lunches (which makes packing a breeze!)

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If you want to send your child off to school with wholesome, "real food" lunches this year, planning ahead is key! I know it's tempting to just grab and go with those little prepackaged bags of cheese crackers and tubes of flavored yogurt, but giving your child nutritious foods throughout the school day can help them stay alert and do their best. Now if…

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Real Food Tips: 10 Ways to Switch Up Your Kid’s Lunch

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This is the first post in my new “100 Days of Real Food Tips” series. Enjoy! Think Beyond the Sandwich Bread… Pinwheels (pictured) Rolled up whole-wheat tortillas filled with: Cream cheese*, thin cucumber slices, and dill Goat cheese* and roasted red bell peppers (sold as pimentos) Peanut butter* and banana slices Sunflower butter* and all-fruit …

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Get my School Lunch Packing Chart

The idea is you print (and even laminate) the chart as an easy way to ask your kids what items they’d like in their lunches the upcoming week. Click to download your printable PDF copy.

What I personally like the least about packing school lunches is figuring out what to pack each day (using your brain can be hard at the end of a long day, haha). If all the decisions are already made for me and I have the ingredients on hand, I don’t dread the process nearly as much! So, you can see why I am so excited about this new chart. :)

DIY: Homemade Healthy Lunchables (that look just like store bought)

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The number one way to know what's really in your food - and how highly processed it is - is to read the ingredients. There are some products that you just know are total junk food without even seeing what's inside like Doritos, Coca-Cola, and pretty much any Little Debbie Snack. Then there are others that I don't think are so obvious (to the…

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School Lunch Roundup IV (Also great for picnics, camps, road trips, and the pool!)

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The school year is coming to a close, but I didn't want it to end without sharing one more summary of the school lunches I've been packing and posting on my Facebook page this year (almost daily!). And as summer is upon us I want to make it clear that these lunch ideas could go far beyond just the school cafeteria. I find myself…

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Nut-Free School Lunch Roundup

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These days so many schools have nut-free tables or classrooms, and some are even entirely nut free! I know when I was first required to pack nut-free lunches for my daughters, I was pretty worried about this uncharted territory. I really had to focus on every. little. thing. I was packing to make sure there was no cross contamination or broken rules. I eventually…

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Real Food Tips: 21 Ways to Plan Ahead for School Lunches

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Last week’s “real food” school lunch tips were so popular I thought I’d stay on that bandwagon for at least one more week. Whether you want to spend one Sunday afternoon cooking up a storm or make a double-batch of something new every few days…planning ahead is key when it comes to making “real food” …

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School Lunch Roundup III

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Here's yet another "round up" of my kids' school lunches that I routinely share on Facebook. In case you are new here these links might help set the stage for you: School Lunch Roundup I and School Lunch Roundup II. Our favorite school lunch supplies including the divided Ziplock container. Everything you could ever want to know about the pictured, brightly-colored smoothie/freezie pop molds.…

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How to Make and Freeze Homemade “Uncrustables” (plus 3 uses for the crust!)

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Let's face it - even if your kids don't mind the "crust" of the bread...eating a sandwich without the crust is sometimes just a little more fun. My kids do currently eat the crust at our house so homemade "Uncrustables" are not something I plan on doing every day, but will I do it on occasion just to switch things up? Absolutely. One complaint…

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School Lunch Roundup V

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Here is a another summary post of the lunches I've been packing for my daughters (and sharing almost daily on Facebook)! To learn more about the lunches I pack here are some links... Our favorite school lunch supplies including the commonly pictured plastic Ziploc divided containers (each compartment is leak-proof). Everything you could ever want to know about those colorful smoothie pop molds used…

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Real Food Tips: Using Freezie Pop Molds

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I seem to get a lot of questions and feedback from readers about the reusable freezie pop molds that we use (and recommend). First of all, I have absolutely no relationship with the company whatsoever…I simply found these molds online and have been a very satisfied customer. In fact, we own two sets now and …

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Real Food Tips: 12 Ways to Deal with a Picky Eater

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Winning over your picky eater is no easy task, but (in most cases) it can be done! Following is a list of tactics to hopefully convince your child that “real food” is good stuff. Also, don’t forget that it can take time for one’s palette to adjust to new tastes so if you experience some …

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Real Food Tips: School Lunch FAQs (the answers to all your questions!)

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When I post my daughters' "real food" school lunch pictures on Facebook it often provokes a lot of questions. So here - all in one place - are some answers for ya! Now let's just hope we can get all those with the questions to actually read this post :) If I left out any of the more common ones please let me know…

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School Lunch Dilemmas Solved: Advice from Momables!

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Today I am excited to share some great school lunch packing tips from my friend Laura Fuentes with MOMables! We all know that we should be packing our kids a variety of colorful, wholesome, healthy foods they will love, but sometimes that is just easier said than done. And that's exactly why Laura, mom of three kids ages 7-years-old and younger, came up with…

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School Lunch Roundup II

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Our first “School Lunch Roundup” post quickly became one of the most popular pages on the blog so I thought I’d put together another one for you (2018 update: there are so many of these now that I’ve put together a School Lunch Roundup Series page where you can see them all)! For those who …

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How to Make an Apple Sandwich

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In case you’ve seen these apple sandwiches around, but have no idea how to make them…this is for you! First, you’ll need… Required Supplies: An apple (of course!) Some nut or seed butter like peanut butter, almond butter, or sunflower seed butter Large knife, small table knife, and cutting board Small round cookie cutter (I got …

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Video: How I Set Up for School Lunch (and Breakfast)!

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I am excited to share with you our very first professionally made video, or "vlog" as some call it! There was just no better way to show you how we do set up for school lunch around here to ensure school mornings go as smoothly as possible. So enjoy (and be sure to check out the video notes just below). P.S. You'll get a…

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Lunches for Kids with Momables (including recipes!)

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Just yesterday we were talking about how the end of the school year doesn't necessarily mean the end of packing lunches! Summer brings so many opportunities to tote along a "real food" picnic, and today I have the perfect resource to help you with just that. In case you haven't heard there is a site called MOMables that specializes in kid lunch meal plans.…

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The Life Cycle of a (Packed) School Lunch

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Almost every day on Facebook I share the school lunches that I pack for my daughters and almost every day there are a lot of questions about these lunches. Everything from "Where did you get that container?" to "Can I get that recipe?" to "Where's the protein?" But lately I've been noticing quite a few questions asking what these carefully prepared lunches actually look…

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Lunch Ideas (for All Ages) with LunchBots!

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If you want to eat better in the New Year, packing yourself wholesome lunches from home can be a great place to start. I recently discovered and started using LunchBots stainless steel containers for some of my daughters’ lunches, which is why I am excited they’re sponsoring* this post today. Here are a few different ways to consider using their products: Lunches for Adults…

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Real Food School Lunches

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I would be lying if I said coming up with a variety of healthy, real food, peanut-free, tree nut-free, portable lunch options wasn’t a challenge. I understand that the school is trying to protect children with severe peanut/tree nut allergies, but I have to admit that I often feel their little rules conflict with what …

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