A Month of School Lunches

A week until school starts!

 

 

I was reminded because I just got Emerson's lunch box in the mail.

 

 

And some refill containers because I'll have TWO lunches to pack each morning. Two! (How is that possible???)

 

Even just thinking about all those dishes every night gives me anxiety. One thing I'm not stressing about at alllll though is what to pack for lunch. Already worked out that kinks with that last year.  Complete with recipe cards that are printed and filed, which detail exactly what I need (makes grocery shopping so much easier) and prep/cook time. A godsend for busy mornings.

 

Click on the links below to find the lunches and the recipe cards. :)

 

week one here.

 

week two here.

 

week three here.

 

week four here.

 

Just a note, I bought the bags, boxes, containers, everything from laptop lunches. (It's a question I get nearly everyday.) I recommend them 100%. Narls has had his boxes since kindergarten, so for two years now, and they are still in excellent condition. We've never had a leak or a spill. I just cannot say enough good things about these products.

Raspberry Recipes

 

Totally used up all our raspberries already.

 

Made a healthier raspberry muffin with almond flour and very minimal natural sweeter. And they're delicious! Also made a berry crisp with a normal amount of sugar. See, I'm not a total sugar hater :) 

 

 

 

 

Dinner Winner Indeed

 

How awesome are these plates?

 

My kids happily ate their dinner.  HAPPILY. Which is amazing because tilapia and asparagus always get at least two complaints per child.

 

I can't recommend them enough.

Week 4 of Healthy School Lunches (with recipes!)

 

Well I did it.

 

I made my kids (mainly my first grader) twenty school lunches - four week's worth - that had a ton of variety and are nutritious and delicious.

 

I made a recipe card for each lunch, printed them out, and have them stored in my recipe box. When I do my weekly meal plan & grocery list, I pull out that week's lunch recipes and I know immediately what I need to buy and how long it'll take me to assemble the lunch.

 

Absolutely no guess work and no stress. Two things that make my busy mornings that much less busy.

 

This is the fourth week of homemade lunches. If you're curious, you can see week one here, week two here, and week three here.

 

Monday 

a peanut butter & jelly sandwich made a bit more fun with a puzzle-shaped sandwich cutter, honeydew melon chunks, orange pepper slices, and a cereal bar

 

Tuesday

a healthier version of the pizza lunchable made with whole wheat pizza rounds, pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella cheese, and nitrate-free pepperoni, served with diced kiwi fruit, and a homemade mini banana muffin

 

Wednesday

an easy pasta salad made with bowtie noodles, Italian dressing, and some shredded cheddar cheese, served with orange wedges, celery & peanut butter, and a small slice of homemade banana bread

(Tip: I used the same batter to make a loaf of bread and some mini muffins, which is great for variety but easy because you're only doing one prep. Freeze some of the muffins and individual slices of  bread for future lunches.)

Thursday

homemade whole wheat pancakes & with some maple syrup, a mix of organic pretzels & cheddar bunny crackers, and some diced apples

 

Friday

a homemade healthified pizza pocket, a homemade frozen yogurt pop, cottage cheese, and a mix of raisins & pistachio nuts

 

I know this week looks like I did a lot of baking with the pizza pocket and the bread and the pancakes, and I manage that by spending a couple hours a week, usually on a Sunday, making & freezing a recipe or two. In our freezer at any given time, you'll find pancakes, waffles, french toast, egg & cheese bakes, taquitos, pizza pockets, some type of bread and/or muffins - all homemade.

 

I even recently made homemade poptarts with fresh fruit and barely any sugar which are sitting in the freezer for special morning treats.  It sounds much harder and time consuming than it really is, trust me. And the more you do it, the easier it becomes. 

 

And the payoff - healthier homemade food that's actually cheaper to make than it is to buy and is ready at a moment's notice - is worth the investment.

 

Here are the recipe cards for the fourth week of school lunches:



Week 3 of Healthy School Lunches (with recipes!)

Another week down, and only a week left to go until the month o' lunches is complete.
You can see week 1 here,
and week 2 here.

This third rotation included:

Monday

turkey & cheese rollup kabobs (or something), veggie chips, sugar snap pea pods, and blueberries & pineapple

 



Tuesday

a homemade peanut butter &  jelly uncrustable (I made a half dozen and froze the rest), diced banana, yogurt with granola, and broccoli & cauliflower florets with veggie dip

 



Wednesday

homemade french toast, veggie sticks, and red & green grapes

 



Thursday

diy tacos made with whole wheat tortillas, ground turkey browned with green pepper & seasoning, mexican cheese and salsa, with frozen veggies (which will thaw by lunch time), and apple slices spread with peanut butter

 



Friday

turkey & cheddar sub sandwich, cauliflower & dip, raspberries, and homemade s'mores, made with chocolate chips, mini marshmallows and graham cracker pieces.

 

The s'mores isn't the most nutritious snack, but it's Friday and my son earned something sweet. Everything in moderation. Plus, when you make it yourself, you're able to control the portion size and sugar intake.

 

Here are the recipe cards.

 

xo

Week 2 of Healthy School Lunches (with recipes!)

 

I've gone two weeks of my son being in first grade without a single tardy and with armed with healthy homemade lunches. This is huge for me. I'm leaps and bounds over last year.

 

One thing that really have helped me on the lunch front? Freezing stuff. No words on how easy it is to grab some frozen peppers or broccoli or whatever, add it to the lunch box, and have it thaw nice and crisp in time for lunch. Plus so much less waste. Also,  freezing greek yogurt in fun molds has totally stepped up the lunch ante for Narls.

 

 

Last week I shared our first week of homemade lunches, and now here is this week's. 

 

Monday:

dried apples & mangos, green grapes, granola bar, veggie tortilla pizza, strawberry greek yogurt

 



Tuesday:

red pepper, turkey dog & mozz/cheddar cheese kabobs, pretzels, cantaloupe

 



Wednesday:

a homemade whole wheat waffle with pure maple syrup, watermelon chunks, and vanilla animal cookies

 



Thursday:

frozen yogurt lightning bolts, turkey & cheese sandwich on whole wheat, broccoli & dip, cutie orange slices, and honey cheerios

 



Friday:

nacho day (after my boy was devastated to miss his school's hot lunch nacho day): multigrain tortilla chips with queso cheese dip and organic salsa, chocolate rice crisps, and strawberries.

 

Here are the recipe cards. Download the image to get the full size suitable for printing.

 





Week 1 of Healthy School Lunches (with recipes!)

Did I mention the freakout I had the day before school started? It was over school lunches, because totally ridic and trivial things are always at the basis of all my fits.  Thankfully my husband and one of my dearest friends, Bonnie, were here to witness it and talk me down from the ledge.   

 

Together we created a system, because honestly, plans and systems sooth my soul. They helped me come up a bunch of different school lunches I can pack for Narls (and Em on dance days), which I then used photoshop to create recipe cards for, detailing exactly what ingredients are needed and how much time I'd need to set aside for preparation. 

 

My goal is to have 20 varying, healthy lunches, so I'll have four weeks to cycle through and rotate. No guesswork. No additional planning. Seriously, I heart anything that makes my life easier.

 

If you're interested, here is our first week of different, healthy lunches that my kiddos took with them. The lunchboxes are from laptop lunches and I love love them. I bought them last year and they're still in excellent condition despite being used almost daily.

A note on the food I use, because I don't want to sound all obnoxious & preachy by specifically pointing out ~organic wheat crackers~ and ~all natural sugar-free appleseauce~ , I do try to buy organic, natural, no-sugar-added and/or whole wheat versions of everything. We haven't completely eliminated every processed food from our diet, but on a whole, we eat primarily clean and have been for almost two years (go us!). 

 

Monday:

banana slices, green peppers, applesauce (mixed with a sprinkle of cinnamon), pb&j, thin crackers, & cheddar cheese slices

 

Tuesday:

a healthier diy "lunchable" consisting of deli-cut thick-sliced turkey pieces, colby jack cheese chunks, thin crackers, a cutie orange, blueberries, & baby carrots with homemade ranch dip

 

Wednesday:

apple slices with caramel for dipping, veggie chips, a cheese quesadilla, & cucumber chunks

 

Thursday:

a spinach chicken caesar salad with caesar dressing, grapes, apple cinnamon rice crisps, veggie straws, & celery with peanut butter and raisins

 

Friday:

rotini pasta with pasta sauce, cheese bunnies, pineapple and strawberries, & fig bars

 

Here are the recipe cards I made. I print them off at Office Max for less than $1/sheet (using their strongest cardstock-ish paper) and 3 4x6-in recipe cards fit on one sheet.  Download the recipe to get its full size. Also, if you spot a typo please let me know; I check and double check but still miss a ton.

 

Enjoy! And I'd love to hear what your kiddos' favorite lunches are :)