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After years of sharing the school lunches I pack for my kids on Facebook, I decided to combine all the pictures together below in one easy-to-reference place for inspiration.
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!), which I think is a great idea.
If you find it helpful as well, please consider bookmarking this page, sharing it using the social buttons, or leaving a comment with star rating (at the bottom of the page) to help others find this guide. 🙂
Check out these Easy Lunch Ideas and these High Protein Lunch Ideas too!
Table of Contents
360+ Healthy School Lunch Ideas
Narrow results with the drop down filter or search box. Note some of these lunch ideas incorporate real food leftovers, which can be a real time saver. Most recipes can be found here on the blog via the included links, but a few are from my best-selling cookbooks.
- Homemade White Bean Dip (from #100dayscookbook ) with blue tortilla chips
- Apple sandwiches
- Oatmeal Cookie Energy Bites (from #100daysonabudget cookbook)
School Lunch Ideas Packing Chart
See my School Lunch Packing Chart post for more details and how to get your free printable copy (a reusable version is also included in my Meal Planner Workbook). Basically you have your kids fill out the chart with all the ingredients they'd like in their lunches for the week, and then take the chart with you on your grocery run so you know what to buy. You'll have all the fixings on hand, plus buy-in from your kids!
School Lunch Ideas "Recipe"
This is similar to the packing chart in that you can get inspiration and buy-in from kids for new lunch combinations.
School Lunch Ideas
Ingredients
Main
- Sandwich (☐Whole wheat bread ☐Whole wheat pita ☐PB & J ☐PB & honey ☐Cheese ☐Hummus ☐Organic ham ☐Organic turkey ☐Lettuce ☐Sliced pickle ☐Sliced cucumber ☐Mustard ☐Mayo )
- Bagel and cream cheese (☐With cucumber slices)
- Cheese and crackers
- Cheese quesadilla (Cold)
- Deviled eggs
- Egg salad
- Grilled cheese (Cold)
- Oatmeal (☐Hot ☐Cold)
- Pasta salad
- Smoothie
- Waffle and cream cheese sandwich
- Whole wheat pita pizza
- Whole wheat pita triangles and hummus
- Other (Write in:_________________________ )
Fruits and Veggies
- Apple (Red)
- Apple (Green)
- Applesauce
- Avocado half
- Bananan half (☐With peanut butter or other nut butter)
- Bell peppers (Sliced)
- Blueberries
- Broccoli (Raw or cooked)
- Cantaloupe
- Carrots
- Celery (☐With peanut or other nut butter ☐With raisins)
- Cherries*
- Cherry tomatoes
- Cucumber
- Dried fruit (Raisins, apricots, apple, or other)
- Frozen peas
- Grapefruit
- Grapes*
- Honeydew melon
- Kiwi
- Mango*
- Olives
- Oranges (☐Big ☐Small)
- Papaya*
- Peach*
- Pear
- Pickles
- Pineapple
- Plum*
- Pomegranate seeds (Fresh or frozen)
- Radish slices
- Raspberries
- Star fruit*
- Strawberries*
- Sugar snap peas
- Watermelon*
- Other (Write in:_________________________ )
Grain or Snack
- Brown Rice Cakes (☐With peanut or other nut butter ☐With raisins)
- Cheese cubes/slices
- Chickpeas
- Crackers
- Dip (☐White bean ☐Other, write in:____________________)
- Edamame
- Granola chunks
- Hard-boiled egg
- Muffin
- Popcorn
- Powerballs (homemade)
- Snack bar
- String cheese
- Trail mix
- Whole wheat noodles
- Whole wheat pretzels
- Yogurt
Instructions
- Choose an ingredient from each category to create new lunch combinations (I recommend doing this with your kids).
- Jot your ideas down as you go for a quick school lunch meal plan.
Notes
School Lunch Meal Plans
Get our uber-popular packed lunch meal plans! Our Real Lunches, Real Easy ebooks are each a complete system that tells you what to buy, what to prep, and what to pack (including colorful pictures) so you're not stressing out at the last minute. Grab one version, or all four, and even have your kiddos help pack their new wholesome, hearty, real food lunches. See samples of each week and learn more here.
More School Lunch Resources
To learn more about the lunches I pack, here are some helpful 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 in some lunches.
- Why we don’t track protein or worry about getting “enough.”
- My cookbooks all contain more lunch box ideas as well.
- You can also find more school lunch resources (among others) in our free member’s area.
School Lunch Ideas FAQ
I've get a lot of comments/questions/etc. when I share my kids' lunches on Facebook, so I’d like to address a few of the more common questions below. Read more in the full FAQ.
I’ve written a post that includes everything you could ever want to know about the colorful “freezie pop molds” that I use frequently to add smoothies to their lunches.
Many of the school lunch supplies we use, including the divided lunchbox containers, thermos cups, and freezie pop molds, are detailed in the My Favorite School Lunch Supplies post and my Amazon Favorites page. The lunchbox containers fit nicely (with a drink cup) in both Lands End and Old Navy cloth rectangular lunch boxes.
Some readers ask if these lunches provide enough food for my children, and while I am probably not spot-on with portion size 100% of the time, the short answer is “yes.” First of all, “real food” is a lot more filling than highly processed food (especially the refined grain stuff like white flour). Secondly, portion sizes are getting out of control in America and have unfortunately skewed the public’s view of what is appropriate. Thirdly, my children were 7 and almost 5 when I started photographing their lunches. Lastly, both my children eat after-school snacks. Okay, got that off my chest. :)
A few occasionally ask if these lunches have enough protein. First of all, part of eating a “real food” diet means you no longer have to count calories, fat grams, protein, carbs, etc. You simply eat a variety of whole foods (including lots of veggies) without “overeating” and the rest will just fall into place. It’s kind of nice not to have to worry about that stuff anymore. But, if you aren’t quite ready to forget about your daily protein intake please know there are MANY sources high in protein aside from just meat products such as yogurt, eggs, cheese, cream cheese, nuts (including peanut butter), seeds (including sunflower butter), and beans. When we switched to a "real food" diet we purposely reduced our meat consumption.
My daughters used to go to a peanut/tree nut-free school, so I often used sunflower butter and cream cheese as an alternative to peanut butter. You can filter the lunches above or visit my Nut-Free Lunch Ideas post for more ideas.
What Do Packed Lunches Look Like by Lunchtime?
I've gotten quite a few questions asking what these carefully prepared lunches actually look like come lunchtime—especially after they've been tossed all around while in my kids' backpacks and since "liquidy" foods like yogurt or applesauce are involved. Let's face it, no child keeps their lunch bag or box in one perfect position all day, and that is certainly something I would never expect of my own children.
So when I was having lunch with my daughter at school (and risking looking like a lunatic), I took a bunch of pictures for you! :)
So that's all there is to it! And since I know some will be wondering :) ....
- Those are Ziploc brand divided lunch containers - super cheap, lightweight, BPA-free, and available online. I have no relationship with Ziploc whatsoever. We just really like these lunch boxes.
- I got the muffin cups here. Here are the Thermos cup, the flexible ice blanket, and the fun character ice pack.
- I bought the fun toothpicks at Party City, although I've found cute ones at several different places including Martha Stewart Crafts, and cute Meri Meri Toot Sweet Cupcake Picks.
- The lunch bag is by Lands End and we have the matching backpack that goes with it. This is the brand my older daughter has been using for almost 3 years now and it is still holding up great.
I hope these lunch ideas have been helpful. Please feel free to share your “real food” school lunch ideas in the comments below…
Tracy Stone says
Thank you for the ideas! Will loves his spinach and carrots, but they do get old. I have to do a better job of getting his lunch packed at night; otherwise, he's too happy to be a "buyer". Guess I need to check out facebook more...Sent a smoothie last week and he loved it! I need to get more freezie pop molds.
Mollie says
I just started reading your blog and I LOVE IT! I try to feed my kids good food and packing lunches is the hardest. Plus they are offered so much junk at school it makes me cringe. So thank you for doing this! Also, I think you pack more than enough food for your kids!! I can't believe anyone would say otherwise.
Catherine Weltman says
Thanks so much for all your hard work. Your information is so helpful and is making a difference for so many people. I am working up the courage to do the 10 Day Pledge. I've made changes with my eating habits but there are still a couple things I'm not ready to give up yet!!
Amy B. says
These are so awesome. Thanks so much for the new inspiration! I am already getting burned out and we still have a month and a half left of our first year of preschool! haha and YES on the portion sizes. Sometimes I feel like it's "not enough" so I add something else, or extras of what's already in there and it always comes back home!
MissMOE says
Thanks for addressing the issue of protein! That is one of my biggest irks--having people ask if we have enough protein in our diets. Yes, we eat real food--nuts, whole grains, eggs, and sometimes dairy---we are fine!
Jenngines says
Hi. Love all your ideas... Where of you get the smoothie pop containers?
Thanks
Jenn
100 Days of Real Food says
All of our school lunch supplies are on this page: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/my-kitchen-essentials/#kids
katy says
WOW! I wish you made my lunches everyday, those all looked and sounded delicious!
Anne says
What great ideas - I want to eat these lunches myself! Thank you
Jenn says
Just curious - how do you keep the apples from turning brown?
Marishannon says
Lemon and apple juice work well. So does soaking them in salt water.
100 Days of Real Food says
Any type of citrus like a little squeeze of lemon.
Lisa says
I'm surprised anyone has questioned whether your kids are getting enough to eat. That looks like plenty of food for a child's lunch! I'm not nearly so creative with our lunches and probably don't give my kids enough variety so I REALLY appreciate all these great ideas!
Netta says
We have these exact same containers and just because it's easier, we all eat the same lunches. So I pack mine (even though I am here at home), hubby's, and the boys' all at night before I go to bed. There is plenty of food in what you are packing for your kids....if it's enough to fill a grownup, it's enough for a kid. And REAL food is sooooo much more filling...you really don't need as much as conventional food. We use those little one cup Glad containers for everyone's afternoon snack. Even hubby is satisfied with these amounts of food....and boy did he used to be able to pack it away. You can't really "pig out" too much on REAL food...your body simply won't let you.
Kelly says
This is awesome! I'm always looking for new ideas for my preschoolers' lunches. Thank you so much for posting this here for those of us not on facebook. Speaking of that, is there a way to get your weekly meal plans if we're not on facebook? Thanks again!
Kristin says
Perfect timing! My oldest starts kindergarten next year. I love the pictures and can't wait to show them to my daughter. I also love the lunch container. It provides the convenience of the bento style, without out the worry of individual containers being lost. I also think the portion size is perfect. I'd be amazed if my daughter could finish that much food in 15 minutes!
Robin (RsIslandCrafts) says
Your kid's lunches look delicious! I have a dozen or so of those containers. I like to freeze dinner leftovers in them so I have "TV Dinners" for those nights where we need a quick meal or for an easy lunch.
We only have one child left in school (13) and I can't seem to get him to take a lunch to school anymore. I know I will be using some of your ideas for the Summer though. He loves to have a "buffet" for lunch and I'm sure I can find a few good things that he would love to eat.
I've been showing my kids how much better the food tastes and how much better they feel when they eat "real" food. When they crave something like chicken nuggets, we make them at home. There's no sense spending the money and putting all those chemicals in our bodies when the real stuff tastes so much better.
I was wondering if you used lemon or something on the apple slices. Mine seem to turn brown before I'm even finished peeling them. I know I wouldn't want to eat them at lunch time.
100 Days of Real Food says
Good idea with the "TV Dinners!" And yes lemon works on the apples...I don't always use it though.
kasifrass says
I wish you had been MY mom! These look so yummy and creative! Way better than the chocolate milk and peanut butter sandwiches I got growing up. haha Great job!
Marcia @Frugal Healthy Simple says
LOVE these photos! I love seeing what other people pack their kids for lunch. I like the divided containers - I use Laptop Lunch Boxes for my son.
I will have to try those freezie pops. I have different kinds of pop molds. Those look much easier to use.
On the frozen peas and corn: my kid loves frozen peas just frozen, but by the time lunch comes around, they have defrosted and he eats them cold.
Michelle Meehan says
I bought the Ziploc containers (less than $3 for a pack of 2 at Target)...then liked them so much I bought 2 more packs, just so we'll always have them :-). I love coming up with new lunches for my kids, and I've even started taking pictures and putting them on my Instagram feed. Got 2 sets of the freezer pop molds, too, and I use them every day for my daughter's lunch. Being newly inspired to pack creative lunches is better for all of us! Thanks for the inspirations!
Molly says
Thanks for sharing - I love looking for new (healthy) ideas for my son's lunch box. I think your portions are spot on. And I love how you don't just pack a boring sandwich everyday! ;)
Michelle says
Lisa - Saw your comment about portion sizes. Our portion sizes are very similar and my kids are same age as your's, same schedule (morning snack, etc).
I love your site:-) I was raised primarily on "real food" (didn't taste an Oreo til college) and it's how I prefer to raise my kids. I love your ideas! Thank you!!
Alison says
I agree, I have 2 boys about the same age, both competitive swimmers (i.e., big eaters) and their lunches look similar. I don't mind them having plenty of healthy snacks in the afternoon.
Thank you Lisa for the inspiration, it is so easy for me to get in a rut!
Kate says
I don't see a recipe for the smoothies with kale in them. Is it your regular PB&J smoothie? I would love to try it with kale. Thank you!
100 Days of Real Food says
Yes, lately I've just been adding kale (or spinach) to any old smoothie...just a big handful.
Jennifer says
Thank you SOOOOO much for posting this!! It really inspires me to do even better with my daughter and hubby... and myself. :) I can't wait to switch up some of our lunches. I need to get some bento boxes though :/ and those smoothie pops!
MyPeaceOfFood says
Hi Lisa! Just curious if you've looked into any of the bevy of recent books (Kindle and hard cover) that have come out on how "French kids" eat. I am on my second book already — can't put them down — and although they allow for a daily gouter (or snack) that often includes something sugary and chocolate seems to be its own food group (arguably better than goldfish crackers), their philosophies behind eating as a most pleasurable and social occasion have really inspired me. I'm envisioning summer breakfasts outside on the deck, have already started baking more with my son (from your site and Carrie's) and would recommend the books by Druckerman and Le Billon even if only as some added inspiration. Your kids already seem like super healthy eaters, I just remember the one Frenchy post you did and thought this takes the idea even further. A votre sante!
100 Days of Real Food says
I have not read those books, but like you mentioned I've always been intrigued by their food philosophy. Thanks for sharing!!
Dania says
Can't wait to try your recipes, not only for my kids but I will be packing a lunch like these for myself. Thanks so much for all you do on your blog. I know how much work it is.
Susan says
I'm not a "real foods" person but do read your blog for motivation. I loved your lunch ideas. Where did you get the bento boxes? I've recently decided to stop buying canned/bottled drinks for my son's lunch. I purchased PBA free bottles for water and other drinks. It's definitely cheaper than buying individual gatorade bottles. How do you keep your bananas and apples from getting brown? I've been sending mainly grapes and oranges for lunch because they are easy to eat.
100 Days of Real Food says
Here's the link to all our lunch supplies including the containers: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/my-kitchen-essentials/#kids
And to keep fruit from browning a little citrus juice (like lemon) helps.
Julie says
Do you have a recipe for the wheat bagels? I've searched you site but I can't seem to find it!
Michelle says
I would like to know it as well :) thanks!
100 Days of Real Food says
Oh for those I actually used this bread recipe: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/05/25/recipe-whole-wheat-cinnamon-raisin-bread-for-bread-machine/
I let my machine do all the kneading then I formed the dough into 9 bagels, let them rise, boiled them and then baked them. They weren't perfect, but the kids liked them. I hope to get some more practice soon!
Kristin says
Love these lunches, who said these are jsut for kids??? Im going to make MY lunches ike this. I also think these are completely adequate for your kids volume wise. My 11 & 13 year old wouild eat the same amounts of food, too so I think they are getting plenty of food and well balanced, too. Thanks again!!
Kacey says
Thanks for sharing! I send one of these to daycare with my 10.5 month old every day and I'm always looking for new real food options to include:
http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Sears-Nibble-Yellow-Months/dp/B002V92XRQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1334856620&sr=1-1
Allison says
Oh this is cool! I hadn't ever seen this before :)
Allison says
Thanks for the ideas :)
My son is only 13 months so a lot of this has to wait, but I do pack him a lunch everyday to go to the sitter with. Hmmmmm, maybe I should do some posts on what to pack for a 13 month old? :)
Mike says
Allison, my son just turned a year and we'll be sending food with him soon. I'd love to hear what kind a things you pack for your son.
Sharyce says
I have recently stumbled upon your site, and I love it! Thanks for all the inspiration!
Julie says
Thank you for this! I still have a little over a year before I have to worry about it but I'm definitely going to file this info away (I have it bookmarked) and the containers and ice pop makers are in my Amazon cart. I do need to look up some of your recipes (tortillas/muffins/etc). I did have one question - Kettle chips? Were they a treat or do they actually pass?!?!?
100 Days of Real Food says
Kettle chips were more of a treat because they are made with refined oil. We "break the rules" occasionally...which I think is good for your mental health! :)
Athena says
I use the same lunchbox containers. I absolutely LOVE them. I've also been experimenting with bento techniques to make all the real food mor exciting for my 11 year old. The link to the lunches I love to make is here:
http://lifesabundantadventures.blogspot.com/search/label/Healthy%20School%20Lunches
I have to be honest. Sometimes white rice makes it into the lunch and the occassional white dinner roll (leftover from easter dinner at grandma's) but I feel good about the lunches I make. Especially compared to what my son tells me of the other lunches the kids bring which consist mainly of "cheez-its, fruit snacks, and soda" according to my 11 year old.
Mike says
Very awesome. I'll be needing to pack my boy's lunch starting next school year. Looking forward to using your ideas and coming up with some new ones too. Thanks so much!!
Tiffany says
These are great! Thank you for all the great recipes and ideas. You are inspiring us to eat REAL food. Thank you!
Tina says
Thanks for all the great lunch ideas! I have a 12 year old, an 8 year old, and a 1 1/2 year old, so the ideas really help out this frazzled mommy:) My kids have been so excited with the variety and creativity in their lunches lately, that they tell me how great it was as soon as they get home from school. After school snacks have also gotten an overhaul around here. The kids can't wait to see what I have ready for them when they get home. That's a really good feeling!
Megan says
Love the pizza "lunchables." So cute! :)
Stephanie says
I love your ideas! I just started a job where I'm going to be taking my lunch to work with me 3 days a week, and I'm going to use some of these ideas for myself! :) I know I've seen you mention that you can get burned out making these lunches every day, but it is so worth it (as I know you know). We, the readers, really appreciate all the work you put in! I'm sure your girls do too (or they will when they're older, if they don't yet!) :)
Steph says
Wow I probably shouldn't have read this before lunch! Looks yummy!
Jo @ In Corners of My Mind says
Thank you so much for this post. My husband and I have been eating clean for just over a year now, but we have some very picky little eaters in this house and your lunch ideas and this blog altogether is a wonderful resource I have just stumbled upon but will now be a regular.
Thanks again,Happy Thursday!
Jessica says
Not gonna lie, totally going to make my own lunches like these! Thanks for sharing!
Lindsey says
Thanks! this is neat. Do they eat the frozen peas etc. frozen?
Somber says
I was wondering the same thing too Lindsey
100 Days of Real Food says
Yes, they eat the peas frozen at home, but they are usually thawed by lunch time when I send them to school.