Lunchbox ideas and planning tips for awesome school lunches!

The “back to school” season has arrived and I’m going to share some lunchbox ideas and tips to help prepare for the new school year. Like most things, planning ahead will help things run much smoother when it comes to lunchbox ideas. Here’s a few tips I’ve come up with to help things to help with that! I also have a free printable for you with all these tips for reference at a later time.

LUNCHBOX IDEAS & PLANNING TIPS

1) The first thing to think about is maybe creating a schedule ahead of time to help take some of the thinking out of your planning such as having “theme days”. This will create variety and consistency and help planning lunchbox ideas run smoother. Choose the types of lunches that best fit your style and create something like this:

Theme days:

• M- sandwich
• Tu- finger foods
• W- leftovers- pasta salad
• Th- roll-ups
• F-dips, pre-packed snacks, protein, cheese & crackers

Another idea is to throw in a week of “color themed” lunches…. just for fun!

One different color each day of the week- get creative!

Red, Yellow, Green, Brown, Orange

2) Plan ahead!

These little tips will make things easier and go that much quicker. Ideas include:

• -make ahead and freeze fresh rolls, muffins, tortilla rolls, mini bagels {pull out in morning and add to lunch. It will be thawed by lunch}
• -Have boiled eggs pre-cooked, peeled and ready to add to lunches.
• -Stock up on small containers w/lids for applesauce, salads, dips, etc.{include warm and cool containers for preserving those options}
• -Leftovers: keep in mind when planning meals what would do well in a leftover lunch
• -pre-package crackers, and other finger snacks upon purchasing them so they are ready to go when needed

3) Make it fun with a few accessories!

This doesn’t have to be complicated if you have tried ideas ahead of time and are planned ahead with your lunchbox ideas. 

• -sandwich, cheese & fruit shapes  {cookie cutters or specialty cutters}
• -funny faces {raisons, chocolate chips, tomatoes , grapes, cheese shapes, olives, candy eyes, etc.}
• -a “color” theme as mentioned above pick one or two colors {may work well with holiday colors}
• -add holiday surprises to the lunches
• -use a theme from one of their favorite movies or hobbies as a lunch

4) Add some variety to lunchtime!

Break away from the ordinary sandwich and piece of fruit. Some lunchbox ideas might include:

Roll-ups

• -tortillas, cheese, meats, and or veggies
• -lunch meat & cheese
• -thin breads
• -cheese & veggie

Tiny bites

• -cheeses
• -chopped veggies
• -grape tomatoes, sliced or baby carrots
• -grapes & berries
• -add a roll or muffin to balance it out

Dips {some are sold in small packets)

• -serve with crackers, pretzels, veggies & fruit
• -peanut butter
• -ranch
• -plain or flavored cream cheese
• -hummus
• -pair with sliced meats, pepperoni
• -add an element of “fun” {ants on a log, shaped cheeses or fruits}

I hope some of these lunchbox ideas will inspire you and help in planning school lunches and a smooth transition for back to school. 🙂

Here’s a printable copy of all the ideas and tips for reference——>> DOWNLOAD

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave