We’re about a month into the school year – are you already out of school lunch ideas? Never fear, I’ve got winning school lunch ideas for you!
As a kindergarten mom, I’m a rookie at school lunches. Prior to my oldest starting kindergarten, my children went to a preschool that provided breakfast, lunch, and snack. I was spoiled.
Before my son even started kindergarten, I was dreading packing his lunch every day. You probably don’t want to hear this, but it kind of lived up to my dread. Packing a lunch for school every day is a chore. And although I’ve gotten into a rhythm for the act of packing the lunch every day, I still struggle with what to actually put in the lunchbox. I want to mix it up, but I want my son to actually eat what I send. And I don’t want to expend too much effort or brain power on figuring out what to pack. It’s a balancing act for sure!
But after several weeks of trial and error, I have a few tried and true school lunch ideas. I know they will get eaten and won’t take too much time and effort to pack. I found it to be very helpful to see what other people are packing for their kids to eat at lunch. I’m hoping you will find it helpful to see my week of winning school lunch ideas. All of these were eaten in their entirety – that makes them a win in my book!
One Week of Winning School Lunch Ideas
Day 1 – Bagel & cream cheese
Don’t be afraid to look to meals other than lunch to gain inspiration for your school lunch ideas! The first day of this week of school lunches, my son requested a meal that’s traditionally eaten at breakfast – a bagel and cream cheese. But just because we are used to eating bagels at breakfast time doesn’t mean we should count this meal out as a school lunch idea. It’s filling and is a good source of fat, protein, and carbohydrates. When you throw a fruit and a vegetable on the side (my rule for every school lunch), it’s a pretty balanced meal.
Tips
My son is in kindergarten, so a full-size bagel with cream cheese would probably be too much food for him. I solved this problem by opting for a mini bagel, one of my favorite items for kids at ALDI. You could also send a half of a full-size bagel for about the same serving.
If your kid likes the idea of a bagel and cream cheese for lunch, but gets bored with a plain bagel and plain cream cheese, don’t be afraid to mix it up! Go wild with bagel varieties – my kids love blueberry bagels, cinnamon bagels, sesame bagels, and everything bagels. You can also mix up the cream cheese flavor too. For a sweet twist, opt for strawberry or one with honey. If your kid favors more savory flavors, pick a veggie or garlic cream cheese.
On the side
Like I mentioned above, my rule for all school lunch ideas is that they include both a vegetable and a fruit. This day, I packed cucumbers and ranch for the veggie and strawberries for the fruit.
Day 2 – Stromboli
You can dip into dinner too when you’re coming up with school lunch ideas for your kids. On the second day of this week, I packed my son some leftover stromboli that I made with his sister over the weekend. If you don’t have leftover stromboli lying around (I don’t very often), substitute whatever leftovers you do have in your fridge that aren’t half bad when eaten cold. Anything pizza-adjacent works as a fill-in for my son’s stromboli lunch.
Tips
Again, it’s important to hit the right portion size when you’re packing lunches. I sent my 5-year-old with one pretty hefty slice of stromboli that was filled to the brim with cheese and pepperoni.
Don’t be afraid to ask your kid at dinnertime whether they think they’d like to take some leftovers cold for lunch the next day. My son is very clear about telling me which dinner foods he will eat cold for lunch and which he won’t when I ask.
On the side
Of course, I sent a fruit and a vegetable in my son’s lunch on stromboli day. I had tomatoes from the garden handy and some blueberries that needed to be eaten, so that’s what went in the lunchbox to satisfy the fruit and veggie rule this day.
Stromboli needs a good pizza sauce for dipping, so I wasn’t about to shortchange my son of that deliciousness when I packed stromboli for his lunch. I simply decanted a bit of pizza sauce into a small container and packed it right in his lunchbox.
I don’t always pack a treat in my son’s school lunch, but I opted to throw one in on stromboli day. Stromboli puts me in a good mood, what can I say? I had made a batch of banana chocolate chip cookies over the weekend, so I surprised him with one in his lunchbox. He was thrilled!
Day 3 – Ham & cheese pinwheels
My kids are both big ham fans. That means I lean into ham heavily when it comes to school lunch ideas. It’s very versatile, so my son hasn’t gotten bored of ham yet. On the third day of school this week, it was time for ham. I chose to use ham in ham and cheese pinwheels, which my son scarfs down every time they’re in his lunchbox. I simply take a flour tortilla, smear on some butter, pile on ham and cheese, roll it up, and then slice. It takes about two minutes to make, so I save this lunch for a day that I’m struggling to find time to do anything. You need a few of these crazy easy school lunch ideas in your arsenal!
Tips
My kid likes butter on his ham and cheese pinwheels (and sandwiches), but you can use whatever condiment your kid prefers. Try a favorite mustard (yellow, honey), mayonnaise, or even a thin layer of fig jam for a different flavor.
You can also mix up the wrapping vessel. I always have regular flour tortillas handy, but you can also use a spinach or tomato wrap for a little colorful twist!
Of course, you can pile the same ingredients in the pinwheels between two slices of bread and make a ham sandwich instead. We alternate between the two!
On the side
Today’s vegetable and fruit were carrots with ranch and green grapes. I usually ask my son which veggie and fruit he wants in his lunch the next day. This greatly improves the odds of the healthy stuff being eaten!
When I’m eating a sandwich (or wrap or pinwheels), I always want a crunchy thing to go alongside. We like pretzels for a bit of crunch in my house, so I often pack pretzels for a crunchy snack in my son’s lunch.
Day 4 – Peanut butter & banana sandwich
It’s important to note that my son’s school doesn’t restrict kids from bringing certain foods for lunch, so peanut butter is fair game. Although my son loves a PB&J as much as the next kid, he’s been really into peanut butter and banana sandwiches lately. I’m not a banana fan, but I’ll make whatever he will eat.
Tips
If your kids aren’t banana fans like me, opt for the classic jelly. Any jelly variety is delicious. My favorite is strawberry.
On the side
Today’s fruit was an apple (sliced, tossed with a squeeze of lemon juice) and the veggie was sliced cucumber.
When my son is sick of pretzels as his crunchy side to sandwiches, I often send some Pirate’s Booty in his lunch. Why is this stuff so delicious?
Day 5 – Homemade lunchable
When I was growing up, I brought straight-up Lunchables to school for lunch. As an adult, I’ve realized that I can make my son a homemade lunchable that is better for him and tastes so much better. I slice up some cheese, add some ham or turkey or pepperoni, and provide a stack of crackers and call it a school lunch idea. This one is another easy peasy option.
Tips
A homemade lunchable is ultimately customizable. Ritz crackers, seeded crackers, whatever other crackers you like. You can also mix up the cheese. Cheddar, Swiss, and Monterey Jack are my son’s favorites.
On the side
My son loves cherry or grape tomatoes, so we pack them a lot in his lunch. The fruit this day was a mandarin orange, which I peeled for my son. It’s important to note that I do this to save time, not because he can’t peel an orange. He has a limited amount of time to eat, and I want to make sure he maximizes that time by eating.
Another treat day today – this time with a muffin! I used the last zucchini from my garden to whip up a batch of delicious zucchini muffins and added one to that day’s lunch. A great ending to a great week of lunches!
Other posts
Need more help with school-related things? You might find these posts to be helpful:
I hope that sharing one week of winning school lunch ideas has helped give you inspiration to pack your kids’ school lunches. Please share your kids’ favorite school lunch ideas down below or over on Instagram @sarainseason and let me know if you’d like more school lunch inspiration.