In case you’ve missed some of my almost daily school lunch posts on Facebook and Instagram (or you just want a summary), here’s another installment in my School Lunch Roundup series! Sit down and look at this with your kids so they can pick out what they like (and will eat!).
But First, More Changes to Our Lunch Containers…
Last year I shared why we had to switch to different lunch boxes, and here we are again just a year later rethinking school lunch. My older daughter–believe it or not–started high school this year. (Sniff sniff, time is flying by a little too fast over here!) And after just a couple days as a high schooler, she informed me that “no one” uses a single divided container for their lunch and that “everyone” brings their lunch in little baggies or individual packages.
So, since she knows I am not going to use disposable plastic bags on a daily basis for her school meal, we spent a good deal of time looking at all the options for reusable bags. She didn’t want the corners curved, didn’t want crazy colors, didn’t want them frosted … basically she wanted them to look just like a Ziplock bag, LOL. We finally decided on some by (re)Zip, not a sponsor, we just thought they looked like a good choice! And it turns out that my daughter likes them a lot (yay!). It’s enough to not stand out too much at the lunch table, and it also takes up less room at her very crowded lunch table (or so I hear). They are dishwasher safe and honestly more leakproof than the ones she had me buy last year (that my middle schooler is still using), so I’m happy to comply.
Now, I sometimes still do send my 9th grader the container from last year because there are just certain foods that don’t work well in a bag (like a salad that you eat with a fork, for example). But for the most part, I am trying to send her a “high schooler” version of our 100 Days of Real Food lunches!
Before we dive into what I’ve been packing so far this year here are…
A Few School Lunch Resources
- Our School Lunch Photo Gallery
- Our Recipe Index (list view) or Recipe Search (photo view)
- My cookbooks, all which contain more lunch box ideas as well
- School Lunch Packing Chart (I’ve been using this regularly and loving it!)
You can also find more school lunch resources (among others) in our free member’s area.
School Lunch Roundup 16
- Hummus/cheese/lettuce sandwich on whole-wheat
- Popcorn
- Grapes
- Mini Lunchbox Meatloaves (defrosted from freezer)
- Loaded Chicken Salad over lettuce
- Sugar snap peas
- Apple/PB Sandwich
- Caprese salad (without vinegar)
- Whole-wheat pretzels
- Warm Tomato Bisque (with whole wheat noodles)
- Grilled panini sandwich (with cheese, pesto, tomato, and roasted bell pepper)
- Homemade Chicken Nuggets
- Apples & oranges
- Sandwich made with leftover whole-wheat waffles, ricotta, oranges, mint & honey
- Avocado half (with lime and salt)
- Grapes
- Applesauce
- Apple/PB Sandwiches
- Homemade Whole-Grain Pumpkin Muffin
- Cheese spiral (not organic, but fun/different)
- Orange
- Leftover Cheddar Scallion Whole-Wheat Biscuit
- Homemade Chicken Nuggets (previously made and frozen)
- Sliced bell peppers.
- Quesadillas (made with leftover roasted veggies, cumin, and cheese)
- Guacamole
- Popcorn
- Cantaloupe
- Whole-wheat crackers with cheese and pepperoni
- Leftover White Bean Salad
- Carrots with hummus
- Blueberries & purple bell pepper slices
- A previously made/frozen grilled panini (with cheese, tomato, pesto & roasted bell peppers)
- Orange
- An individual bag of popcorn
- Whole-wheat bagel pizzas
- Cucumbers
- Hummus
- Oranges and apples
- Whole-wheat bagel with cream cheese and microgreens
- Mini popcorn cakes
- Oranges and kiwi
- Breakfast Burrito (previously made and frozen)
- Chips (a treat) & guac
- Orange
- Grapes
- Hummus/cheese/lettuce sandwich
- Loaded Chicken Salad
- Strawberries
- Cherry tomatoes
- Popcorn
- Whole-wheat bagel with pimento cheese & radishes
- Figs
- Purple carrots
- Oatmeal Cookie Energy Bites (from On a Budget cookbook)
See any new things you’d like to try in these pictures? I’d love to hear in the comments!
