The Life Cycle of a (Packed) School Lunch

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 like come lunchtime – especially after they’ve been tossed all around while in their 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 yesterday I (risked looking like a lunatic and) 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 these 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.

For more school lunch ideas check out my most recent School Lunch Roundup post.