Here’s another installment in my School Lunch Roundup series! I’ve been sharing my kids’ lunches on Facebook and Instagram so far this school year, but not everyone sees everything. So here they are all in one spot (along with a few extras). 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 Index by Name or Recipe Search by Photo
- My first cookbook and upcoming cookbook – both have more lunch box ideas and recipes
So, without further ado, here you go!
Real Food School Lunch Ideas
- Triple-decker whole-wheat waffle sandwich (from my freezer stash) with cream cheese, cinnamon, and raisins
- Small cheddar wheel
- Apples
- Sugar snap peas
- Hard-boiled egg
- Pita bread with melted cheese
- Tomato dipping sauce
- Oranges
- Spinach salad with Parmesan cheese and avocado oil
- Slow cooker black bean soup (that I made overnight while we were sleeping – recipe will be in my new Fast & Fabulous cookbook)
- Sour cream
- Grated cheese
- Guacamole
- Bell peppers
- Blue tortilla chips (a treat since they are deep-fried)
- Tangy whole-wheat pasta salad with greens (recipe will be in my new Fast & Fabulous cookbook)
- Organic ham (Applegate brand) and cheese roll ups
- Apples
- Plain yogurt mixed with a little pure maple syrup and topped with frozen pomegranate seeds
- Homemade tomato bisque (previously made and defrosted) with whole-wheat noodles mixed in
- Colored carrots
- Homemade whole-grain cornbread (also previously made and defrosted)
- Spinach salad topped with a hard-boiled egg, Parmesan, and a simple olive oil and lemon dressing
- Whole-wheat pasta salad (with bits of leftover flank steak from dinner, tomatoes, olive oil, salt, and Parmesan)
- Bell pepper assortment (from the farmers’ market)
- Rippled red potato chips (Jackson’s Honest brand)
- Cheddar cheese
- Hummus for dipping
- Peanut butter and honey sandwich (yes, it’s allowed at our school)
- Grapes
- Caprese salad (with red and yellow tomatoes and peaches – yum!)
- Leftover roasted potatoes (served cold)
- Warm slow cooker potato soup (from my first cookbook)
- Cheese & sour cream to go on top of the soup
- Creamy kale Caesar salad
- Apples
- Small chunk of whole-grain bread
- Lunchbox quiches (from my first cookbook)
- Simple green salad
- Apple/pecan bread
- Plain yogurt mixed with a little pure maple syrup, dried fruit, and pumpkin seeds
- Frozen green smoothie pops (partially defrosted by lunchtime)
- Apples
- Popcorn
- Plain yogurt mixed with a little pure maple syrup and frozen pomegranate seeds
- Homemade whole-wheat madeleines
- Leftover Sloppy Joes
- Whole-wheat bun
- Simple salad
- Leftover whole-wheat waffles (cut into strips)
- Plain yogurt mixed with a little pure maple syrup and blueberries (for dipping the waffle strips)
- Egg salad (recipe will be in my new Fast & Fabulous cookbook)
- Melon
Please share your favorite real food school lunch ideas in the comments!
I’m not sure how bread, waffles, pita breads, tortilla chips, homemade cookies, or macaroni can be considered “unprocessed”. White flour, wheat flour, and all of this junk IS extremely processed and I would not consider it “real food”, even if it is homemade. Good luck!
Wow, get over yourself. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but you definitely don’t have to be so rude about it!
I need gluten free dairy free wheat free egg free clean eating recipes. Can you help me?
Hi there. I think these will help as you can pick and choose what meets your criteria: https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/school-lunches/.
I manage the lunch program for a small private school. I love getting inspiration from your ideas! Last year one of my additions was a bento box bar – I set up the salad bar with a variety of choices, turkey cubes, cheese cubes, fruits and veggies, hummus, pretzels – it is one of our more popular items! Kids love the choice and control! Thanks for your ideas!
I always love these. Thanks for sharing them!! =]
With all of the travel involved, how do you get your girls’ lunches to stay put (not tip over)?
Hi. While the kids do take care to not throw their bags around, sometimes things get a little jumbled around. We pack things in a way that they don’t get mixed up. :)
Hey there- have you been able to find any of those sectioned containers lately by ziploc? I know they stopped carrying them and I miss them! Thanks!
Alas, they were discontinued. I wrote Ziplok and learned are no plans to bring the containers back. Thankfully, I stocked up when I learned the containers were discontinued. However, some people like “EasyLunchBoxes” see Amazon. I never considered them because reviewers said they are not completely leak proof. I have since learned people get around that by putting yogurt, applesauce or other liquids in separate condiment containers inside the lunch box. Not sure if their brand condiment containers work well, though.
I know this is an old post,and that the Ziploc containers are back now (yay), but I just wanted to chime in. I didn’t like the Easy Lunchboxes. I found that the lids didn’t stay on well, and they broke really easily. I bought these (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EF2AALW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1) last year, and they’ve held up great, even with a third grade boy who was not careful with his lunch box, lol. I’m using them again this year. I do love the Easy Lunchboxes “mini dipper” containers. They’re perfect for little snacks, dressing, anything you don’t want to leak, or you want to keep separate.
Butting in…I bought these for my kids and they work great!
https://www.amazon.com/California-Home-Goods-Compartment-Multi-Colored/dp/B01535KBSC
Lisa, I love your school lunch round ups!!! You need to do a cookbook on just school lunches!!!! As I was scrolling through today I realized that it so adorable watching your girls grow via school lunch round up posts. I was just thinking today how the portions have grown a little bit. The meals feel a little more “grown up”. I have been reading your blog for a long time and I just love everything I have learned from you and with you and I thank you for sharing your family’s food with us.
Do the the lunchbox quiches come out of the silicon molds easily/cleanly? I make mini breakfast quiche from another website (eggs, milk, cheese, veggies) in a standard metal cupcake tin. The quiche are difficult to get out and even harder to clean out of the pan. I dread having to make another batch, because it is so difficult to clean the pan.
Hi there. The silicone molds are very easy to clean.
Do the molds need to be buttered first?
Hi. I do not typically butter them. If you want them to come out completely clean, you could give it a go.
Very easy, and lots of variety (no food boredom from the kiddies) thanks for sharing !
My 5 year old began Kindergarten this year and has allergies to ALL dyes, diary and all things processed. I mainly send her withva salad but I know that must get old. Do you have anything that we could try to shake things up a bit?
By processed, do you mean store bought processed food? I cook most everything from scratch, so we avoid food dyes completely, as well as preservatives, etc. To avoid dairy, you could substitute coconut oil for butter and almond or coconut milk for dairy milk in recipies, omit cheese, etc. If you mean food processing in general, try fruit kabobs, trail mix with dried fruit, nuts and seeds or hard boiled eggs. Lisa also has many pervious school lunch posts with other ideas, easily made dairy free.
I love reading these posts. I always get inspiration and motivation from your ideas and pictures!
There are some really great ideas here! My daughter just started taking her lunch to school this year and I’m quickly running out of ideas. Thanks!
Hi Lisa
I love all your school lunch round ups. Gives me lots of ideas to work around school restrictions ie no nuts and this year no eggs?! I also shared your website on my blog a couple times this last week regarding lunches. Thanks for all you do!