A week of healthy school lunch ideas
A big part of having healthy, happy kids who want to be active is also having the right kind of fuel for their growing bodies. And as another back-to-school season approaches, so does making school lunches. As much as I find packing lunches for three kids day after day a bit of a pain at times, I also look at it as an opportunity to fill them up with lots of different healthy foods.
So before your kids back to school this year, get inspired by the creative, delicious lunch ideas below! Feel free to mix and match items from this week-long meal plan to make it your own.
Monday
- Chickpea & avocado salad sandwich
- Nut-free trail mix with dry cereal, raisins, or dried cranberries
- Cucumber coins
- Cheese string
- Mixed berries
Tuesday
- Chicken miso soup
- Pita wedges & tzatziki
- Cucumber sticks and bell pepper slices
- Pepperoni sticks
- Grapes
Wednesday
- Edamame salad (or just edamame on its own as a snack)
- Cheese and crackers
- Pineapple with yogurt dip
- Salami slices
- Pretzels
Thursday
- Best-ever turkey sandwich
- Sugar snap peas with hummus
- A hard-boiled egg
- Unsweetened applesauce
- Graham crackers “Oreos”
Friday
- Homemade mini meatballs (any recipe will do, but we love turkey meatballs especially!)
- Cheese and crackers
- Veggies (tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, or carrots) and hummus
- Plain yogurt with blueberries
- Oatmeal shortbread cookies
Editor’s note: This article was published on Aug. 30, 2012.
My teen is insanely fussy (we’ve tried everything). She won’t eat any of this except for berries, dry cereal and cheese with bagels or English muffins. Ugh!!!
My kids would eat all that during their first break, maybe need to double up on some ideas.
What about vegetarian ideas?
Hi Betty. Monday and Wednesday’s listings are completely vegetarian, and there are vegetarian options for every other day in the week. In fact, the menu is mostly vegetarian. Hope you find it helpful!
My kids will eat most of this. Exposure to whole foods early on is key. I do know kids that wouldn’t eat most of this, but they usually eat kraft dinner, processed food and snacks full of sugar.
I don’t know a youngster that would eat any of these lunch ideas.