I wanted to share some great ideas for healthy and easy lunches for school before this school year gets started. These are so easy to assemble and delicious that you as a parent might end up packing an extra one for yourself! The main goal for these lunches is to have a balanced meal assembled from minimally processed foods and high quality ingredients. These lunches will promote stable blood sugar for your kids so that they have a more balanced mood throughout the day. It is so important to feed your kids quality food because this is where they are getting all their nutrients to learn and grow. Your child may not like every one of these ideas but give them a try and find out what they like and what they will eat, you may be surprised! Here is a week’s worth of lunches to try. All of these ideas are gluten free and can be modified for dairy-free and paleo diets.
Monday: Lunch meat and cheese roll, baby carrots and nut butter, coconut oil or avocado oil potato chips, berries and organic yogurt
Tuesday: 1 hard-boiled egg, string cheese, hummus with carrots, cucumbers and/or bell pepper slices, apple slices and nut butter, Simple Mills nut crackers
Wednesday: Sliced sausage or hot dog, sweet potato chips, almonds or trail mix, peach slices and baby carrots
Thursday: Lettuce tacos with salsa and organic cheese, apples and nut butter, plantain chips and salsa or guacamole
Friday: Chicken salad with nuts, grapes, onions and celery, hummus and Simple Mills nut crackers, berries and organic yogurt
Here are some great bento lunch box containers that will make packing these kind of lunches super easy:
Here are the brands I recommend and the guidelines for the items when shopping at the grocery store. Try to get organic when you can and remember the shorter the ingredient list is, the better.
- Lunchmeat- I like the brands Applegate and Diestel lunch meat, other okay options are Central Market, Whole Foods, Sprouts and Trader Joes brands. Just make sure to look at the ingredients and get meat without sodium nitrates and monosodium glutamate.
- Sausage/hot dog- Applegate and Aidells are great brands for sausages and hot dogs just make sure they are pre-cooked. If there aren’t these brands available try to get the one with the least ingredients and without sodium nitrates and monosodium glutamate.
- Eggs- Cage-free or free range chicken eggs are the best, also great if you can get them from a local farmers market.
- Cheese- Try to get organic and full fat. The fat is important in stabilizing blood sugar and great for brain growth in children. Bonus points if you can get grass fed cheese!
- Hummus- I recommend Pita Pal or Grandma’s Hummus, if there aren’t these brands available try to get the one with the least ingredients
- Yogurt- Try to get organic and full fat. The fat is important in stabilizing blood sugar and great for brain growth in children. I also suggest almond milk or coconut milk yogurt if your child doesn’t tolerate dairy. I also have a homemade coconut milk recipe here.
- Plantain Chips- I like Inka Chips brand for plantain chips, they offer spicy and sweet versions. You can also find plantain chips in the bulk section of some grocery stores and this is a great option as long as the oil used is palm oil.
- Simple Mills Crackers- These are a great option for paleo crackers with mostly nuts and seeds as their base, they also have many flavors. You can find them online or at Whole Foods and boy are they yummy, you and your kids will love these! They also have baking mixes that are excellent. This is a new brand so you may have to order online until they get into more stores.
- Chips- My favorite brand is Jackson’s Honest, they use coconut oil, non gmo potatoes and real salt. They have a ton of flavors too. I also like Boulder Creek chips especially the avocado oil and coconut oil ones. Now I know sometimes these brands with the better oils can be expensive, so if you are at a regular grocery store try to find chips with canola oil because it is going to be your best option. Terra brand chips, Central Market brand chips and Kettle brand chips are good options at a regular grocery store. Remember less ingredients is better and always make sure there is no monosodium glutamate.
- Gluten free bread, gluten free pretzels and gluten free crackers are okay occasionally but they are more processed and not as nutrient dense as some of these other options.
- Condiments-Tessemae’s has great dressings, like their coconut milk Ranch, that can also be used for dips. Primal Mayo is a fantastic mayo made with avocado oil and cage free eggs. I also love Sir Kensington’s Mustard. All these brands are great options and can be found online and at Whole Foods or Sprouts.
I hope these tips and easy meal plan will help you get off to the right start in making some healthy and balanced lunches for your children. These ideas are not only great for kids but wonderful for just about anyone.
