School Lunch Ideas

By Jeanne Lewis - Jan 05 2010

I'm struggling to come up with healthy (and tasty) ideas that my kids will eat. So many days their lunch bags come back nearly full. What do your kids like to eat? Please share your tips by leaving a comment below.

Here are a few favorites in our family:

  • PBJ and sliced pear
  • Carrot sticks w/ hummus & a banana
  • Salami, crackers and cheese
  • Cheese tortellini and sliced apple

Nanny Care Share available

Comment by Tara Donohue on Aug 26 2010.

My nanny is looking to care for another toddler a few days a week. preferably monday and wednesday but other days are open. currently on Monday and Wednesday she has my 2 year old 9-6. We live in Cole Valley but can travel.

Call or email me
Tara Donohue 415-999-8339 or tdonohue@zephyrsf.com

PB&J

Comment by Lauren Asher on Aug 17 2010.

I thought peanut products were banned from school ?

our lunch repertoire

Comment by Sterling Larrimore on Jan 08 2010.

our lunch repertoire

Owen gets these items in his backpack in the morning, and usually they are gone by the end of the day, so... Decide for yourself :-)

Some repeats, but hopefully some new ideas too...
- brown rice rice cakes, plain (the word "cake" is the key sell here)
- tofu hot dogs, cut into sticks
- guacamole and chips
- hummus and pita
- dolmas (if I don't eat them all)
- broccoli with "the salty sauce" (sesame oil and soy sauce, which seems to work on all vegetable matter)
- ants on log
- ooey-gooey pbj squares/sticks
- figs and dates (we saw a nature show where monkeys were lounging in trees eating these, and he was hooked)
- all fresh berries
- cottage cheese and spinach
- pesto pasta
- salami, salami, salami
- little cow cheese rounds in red wax
- cheese slice people (cookie cutter)
- cinnamon pears, cinnamon anything
- jumjils (trail mix/peanut butter/coconut balls - giving things silly names sometimes works for awhile)

A few more ideas

Comment by Flavia Araujo Trento on Jan 06 2010.

Paulo likes the following (although he may be getting a little bored - I'm not too creative once I find something that works):

- PBJ + sliced apples
- Almond butter + honey on wheat bread + banana
- Grilled cheese on wheat bread
- Any kind of pasta or leftover pizza
- Trader Joe's soy corn dogs with a squeeze of ketchup wrapped in foil (great for picnic day)
- Whole-wheat quesadilla, esp with "orange" cheese (cheddar)
- Homemade trail mix (toasted nuts + raisins or dried cranberries + Chex or other cereal)
- Any kind of sliced fruit or berries
- Leftover frittata, omelet or scrambled eggs (he likes them cold, go figure)

I've found that putting his food in small Tupperware containers in different colors seems to work better than plastic bags or plastic wrap.

broccoli and . . .

Comment by Cailin Nelson on Jan 05 2010.

ava likes macaroni and cheese with broccoli, rice with broccoli, curly noodles with broccoli . . . anybody figured out the theme yet? ; )

picnic days are the hard one for me, as she doesn't seem to be interested in eating anything in the sandwich family. on picnic days, i can sometimes get her to eat

- pancakes or waffles (cooked, but cold, with a tiny drizzle of maple syrup)
- rice cakes with peanut butter
- squeezy yogurt
- dried apricots
- raisins