Healthy and Kid Friendly School Lunch Ideas

School lunch, Ah the most dreaded task for moms everywhere. No matter what they do it is never enough for their kids. Like me, Most of the parents struggle a lot when they have to balance healthy and nutritious choices for their kids. How can parents remain organized enough while they plan ahead for school lunch for their kids? Here are some school lunch ideas for you; these helped me a lot, hoping they are of some use to you as well.

Nutritious School Lunch Ideas for Kids

As we all know Kids demand variety in everything, including their school lunches. So keep your school launch ideas all fresh, fun and healthy enough at the same time. Kids cannot describe that feeling when they open up their lunchboxes at the end of the day and gets delighted to see their favorite lunch item packed in their lunch boxes. This immediately brightens their day. Few Healthy and kids friendly school lunch ideas are mentioned over here. There are tons of ideas out there to make your kid’s lunch box all nut free, gluten free and dairy free.

Tips While Planning Ahead the Lunch Meals for Your Kids

1. Include Variety in Your Kids Lunch Boxes

You should include variety of foods and ideas in your kid’s lunch boxes every day. The most important way to ensure that your kid eats their lunch is that they shouldn’t get bored whenever he sees items in his lunch boxes. You can switch things up on every day or weekly basis. You can pair up different snacks and fruits. Pair up different carbs and proteins. You can even add leftovers like that of pasta salad, muffins or sesame noodles, ideas are never ending.

2. DIY Lunchables

You need to keep interesting items in your kid’s lunch boxes. You can let your child come up with their own DIY pizzas and dips ideas while making their school lunches. If you are giving those vegetables and fruits in their lunches then you can add flavors of hummus, salsa, yogurt or guacamole on them.

3. Get a Lunch Box That Comes with Separate Compartments

Your kid’s lunch boxes should have separate compartments in them. These compartments will let you add balanced and portioned meal items in your kid’s lunch boxes. Placing grains and proteins, veggies and fruits in separate compartments, such distribution will make your kid finish all of his lunch items in a fun manner.

4. Adjusting Portion Sizes All Based on Your Kids Age and Appetite Level

A very important thing to consider is that your lunch portion size should be based on your kid’s age as well as on his appetite level. Nothing should be too heavy for their small tummy. Also Before filling your kid’s lunch boxes, you should make sure that which items need an ice pack and which one needs room temperature requirement.

Easy to Make School Lunches Ideas

Check out these easy to make school lunch ideas for school going kids. These are some of the kid friendly recipes while making a lunch for them every morning.

• Cheese Roll Ups

For this you need Turkey/chicken/ham slices and cheddar cheese slices to make this lunch item for your kids. You should also get raw almonds, raw veggies. Raw veggies can be in form of grape tomatoes, cauliflower and celery. Get apple slices, sun butter, and multigrain crackers to give a final touch to these cheese roll ups.

• Egg Salad Sandwich

It is my whole childhood. I remember how mum used to make it all the time for us. A very healthy lunch idea for school. Make scrambled eggs and then mix them up with Greek yogurt, salt, pepper, Dijon mustard and multigrain bread. Then you can put these sandwiches into bite-sized sort of portions. Your kids are sure to love these.

• DIY Pizza

Get tortillas, pizza sauce or pizza salsa, turkey pepperoni slices, shredded cheese and grape tomatoes to make this DIY pizza. You would also need some raw vegetables like chopped cucumber and grape tomatoes, shredded carrots and zucchini to make it a healthy pizza.

• Egg and Waffle Bento Box

Kids love this breakfast cum lunch meal recipe. You only have to combine waffles and eggs and also fruits so that your kid can have a satisfying, fun meal. You need whole-grain frozen waffles, they should be toasted. Get pure maple syrup and hard-boiled, dried currants, Lemon zest, strawberries, blueberries, slices of cantaloupe.

• Meat and Cheese Cucumber Roll-Ups

You can also give thinly sliced cucumbers and carrots to your kids for their lunch. It will be a low-carb lunch which will be super easy for you to make. Then add cheese and some meat slices into a tortilla. This lunch idea is one of the most satisfying lunch ideas for school. You just have to pile these sandwich fillings right on top of each other. Roll them up and cut them down into sushi form. Make this easy and fun packable lunch for your kids and do add fresh fruits and veggies to make this lunch a complete fun meal for your kids. This idea is one of real nutritious lunch idea for school going kids.

• Banana and Walnuts School Lunch Idea

If you do not have time to make a proper lunch for your kid then you can simply put handful amount of walnuts in his lunch box. Place at least 2 bananas because your kid needs potassium nutrient as well. This lunch idea is a perfect mix when it comes to adding carbohydrates, heart-healthy fats in your kid’s lunch boxes.

Must Have School Lunch Fruits

Your kids’ lunch should have a banana, some grapes, blueberries or other berries, apricot, apple, apple sauce in it. School going kids need constant energy that is why packing such fruits in their lunch boxes will give them constant energy throughout the day. It will help them focus more on their studies and school activities.

Must-Have School Lunch Veggies – Healthy School Lunch Ideas

I know all kids hate vegetables, include it in a fun so your kid would be tempted to eat them and not just throw it away. Your kid’s lunch box should be included with baby carrots in mini cups, place cucumber slices and snap peas. Some addition of salad and avocado slices would be a nice addition.

Winning School Lunch Combinations

• Putting cucumber slices and grapes, yogurt in your kid’s lunch boxes, they are one of the practical winning lunch combinations so far.
• Your kids will love you if you will make a combination of putting chicken slider and salad with ranch along with trail mix in their lunch boxes.
• How about giving your kids some turkey sandwich kabobs and carrots, apricot, pudding for their lunch times.
• Some parents love to add elements like mini bagel, cream cheese and snap peas, some strawberries and string cheese while finalizing the menu for their kid’s lunch boxes. Do try these winning lunch combinations for school going kids.

Ideas about Kids Lunch Thermos

In your kid’s lunch thermos, you can add soup in them. Be it a chicken noodle soup or you can have that famous Mom’s meatball soup in them. Try placing pasta in them sometimes too, it can be chicken Alfredo pasta or you can put spaghetti with shrimp in your kid’s lunch thermos. You can be as much creative as you want. Just try to avoid those foods that come with overwhelming sort of aromas because when they stay enclosed in a lunch box or thermos they smell bad after a while.

So, which of these school lunch ideas are best according to you?