It’s been a while since I’ve added to my NUT-FREE School Lunch Roundup series, so here you go! Whether your child has an allergy or goes to an allergy-friendly school, there are still lots of real food options to pack. Some of these pictures include our two favorite nut-free spreads – sunflower seed butter and cream cheese – and others avoid the typical sandwich all together. I know some readers love to sit down and look at these pics with their kids so they can point out what they want (and, more importantly, what they’ll actually eat!). So I hope these ideas help.
If you’re new here, be sure to check out these resources as well:
- School Lunch Photo Gallery
- Lunch Box Review
- Recipe Search
- My first cookbook and upcoming cookbook – both have more lunch box ideas and recipes
Sponsor Shoutout: Rock the Lunchbox
If you’re looking for more school lunch inspiration, then check out all the great pics on our partner’s website, Rock the Lunchbox. Pulled together by some of our favorite brands (including Applegate, Annie’s, and Honest Kids – all pictured below), Rock the Lunchbox is a fabulous place to both get ideas and submit your own ideas to possibly appear in their photo gallery. Their efforts will help enable FoodCorps to achieve their goals of providing hands-on nutrition education in schools, offering kids opportunities to try new, wholesome foods in the cafeteria, and creating a culture of healthy eating in nearly 650 schools across the country. What a great cause we can really get behind! :)
Nut-Free School Lunch Ideas
- Whole-wheat crackers
- Munster cheese and organic salami (Applegate brand)
- Cucumbers
- Apples
- Leftover pasta salad
- Leftover quiche with bacon pieces on top
- Few pieces of greens
- Whole-wheat biscuit (it’s heart-shaped – can you tell?)
- Plain yogurt mixed with a little pure maple syrup and frozen pomegranate seeds
- Blueberries
- Homemade tomato bisque (defrosted from the freezer) with whole-wheat noodles in it
- Corn muffin (also defrosted, the recipe will be in my upcoming “Fast & Fabulous” cookbook)
- Two small apple and sunflower seed butter sandwiches
- Cheese slices
- Whole grain crackers
- Leftover taco meat (for making a salad)
- Spinach and shredded cheese
- Sour cream
- Leftover broccoli/cheese/rice cakes (a recipe experiment)
- Leftover slow cooker steak chili (recipe in my new “Fast & Fabulous” cookbook)
- Sour cream and cheese to go on top of the chili
- Homemade cornbread muffin (recipe in my new cookbook)
- Grapes
- Honest Kids juice pouch
- Sunflower seed butter and honey sandwich
- Cheese stick
- Sugar snap peas (from the farmer’s market)
- Apples
- Popcorn/cracker mix
- Annie’s mac & cheese (whole-wheat and organic) with peas mixed in
- Grapes
- Apple and sunflower seed butter sandwich
- Whole-wheat pitas with melted cheese
- Tomato dipping sauce
- Strawberries
- Popcorn (here’s my popcorn trick)
- Sunflower seed butter and jelly sandwiches
- Green apples
- Homemade bean dip (recipe is in my first cookbook)
- Tortilla chips (special treat!)
- Whole-wheat pitas (from Trader Joe’s)
- Hummus for dipping
- Brie cheese
- Salad with avocado oil
- Rainbow carrots
- Triple decker whole-wheat waffle and cream cheese sandwich
- Bell pepper and carrot mix
- Oranges
- Overnight oats (our favorite overnight oats recipe will be in my new “Fast & Fabulous” cookbook!)
- Slow cooker chili
- Sour cream and cheese to go on top of the chili
- Cornbread muffin
- Spinach salad
Real Food for Halloween Parties! (+ Pumpkin Energy Balls)
These are really helpful suggestions – my eldest daughter has a peanut allergy, and her primary school went nut free when she arrived several years ago, which I was very grateful for! So helpful to have tasty alternatives, as I want her to get the message that “there’s always an alternative” rather than focusing only on the food she can’t eat.
Getting really excited about your new cookbook. Real food that is quick and healthy….wooohooo.
That’ll save me a ton of time. i hope the kids will like it.
Do these lunches include snacks or do you send those seperately?
I do send separate morning snacks. And they also eat a snack when they get home.
How do you keep apples from browning?
Once you slice the apples, if you dip them in lemon juice, they won’t brown!
I just choose varieties that don’t brown easily (i.e. honeycrisp or gala instead of red delicious).