How To Make Healthy School Lunches SIMPLE!

I was having a conversation with a friend this last week who is sending her son to school with lunches for the first time! She was struggling with ideas of WHAT he would eat that wasn’t just pre-packaged junk.

And while the boys are no longer in public school, we did come across some of our FAVORITE things and menu ideas that I wanted to share with you mamas.

So, here are some of my tips for packing healthy, filling lunches for school age children (all items are linked)


1. Invest in a good storage/cooler system. 
A lot of the foods I sent for the boys need to be kept cool for a few hours, so having a good insulated lunch bag with an adequate cooler is important. They need to also be sturdy, as we both know they can be hard on their stuff! We have tried them from many places, but here are some of my favorites:

2.  Keep it Clean
We all know there is no telling what that lunch box touches at school throughout the day!  Make sure your counter surface and the lunch bag are cleaned every day with soap and water. We also use Melaleuca’s Soluguard for a more natural cleaner since these areas come close or touch our food!

3.  Prepare the Night Before
Weekday mornings at our house were always quite hectic. We still have to prepare lunches for our homeschool group on Mondays.  So, I make sure to prepare as much the night before as I can.  I bag veggies or fruit, fill containers with ranch, set apart lunch meat or cheese that will be pack and have it all in one place in the refrigerator so I can just grab it in the morning and go.

4.  Include a Treat
My kids love sweets just like the next person.  I always include a sweet treat of OUR choosing!  We pick them out together.  Mostly, I stick with organic and low processed sugars, but there are days they get Oreos or something we don’t normally eat.  This is one our favorites! I can feel good about the ingredients of this snack bar! Most of the “healthy” ones are actually filled with sugar and junk.

5. If they eat it at home, they will eat it at school.
Lunches don’t have to be PB & J or turkey sandwiches everyday.  My kids love soups, breakfast foods, etc.  So get creative.  Henry will eat boiled eggs all day long if I let him, so I will definitely take advantage of that!  These muffins are great ideas to bake ahead of time and pair with an egg or fruit.
Whatever I cook for dinner will usually go into a Thermos and keep well until lunchtime. Some things we always put in thermos were chili, taco meat, pulled pork, spaghetti and meatballs, and almost any protein! Throw in some fresh veggies & you have a filling and healthy lunch!

There are great soup containers available that will keep food warm for hours.  

More Healthy Menu Ideas {click here}