In my opinion, the true secret to making great school lunches is making sure to pack items that are both kid and mom approved. I have my own criteria for lunchbox food and my sons have theirs. That’s why I always check their lunches for items that come home uneaten more than a few days in a row and ask for my boys’ input regularly. Looking for kid-approved ideas for your child’s meals? Here are four foods my boys are always happy to find when they open up their lunchbox!
1) Real Cheese
So much more delicious than processed cheese slices and great either on a sandwich or as a snack, my boys love finding different types of cheese in their lunch. As soon as I started adding it to their sandwiches with the deli meat, they started eating more of their main course. And many varieties are available already sliced and ready to serve to help save me time in the morning!
2) Mini Mandarin Oranges
Easy to peel, easy to eat and delicious…who doesn’t love a mandarin orange! This tasty fruit is inexpensive when purchased by the bag and is something that I know will always be gone when my boys get home from school. While there are lots of other fruits to choose from when packing a lunchbox, this is the one I come back to over and over since the oranges travel so well and both boys love them!
3) Motts Fruitsations +Veggie Fruit Snacks
With just eighty calories per package and made with fruit and vegetable juice from concentrate, it’s the taste of these chewy snacks that my boys love best. Zackary says he loves them because they’re juicy and taste like his favourite kinds of fruit. Benjamin loves the fun shapes and being able to have a few during his snack break and the rest after his lunch. And both love the sweet taste and great texture!
4) Homemade Snacks
Both my boys have a weakness for homemade snacks, but finding time to cook up fun food for their lunches isn’t always easy. So about once a month, I’ll make a big batch of cookies, muffins or squares and then freeze them for the lunchbox. The boys are always excited when they find that homemade snack at mealtime!
Contrary to popular belief, I haven’t really found variety to be a necessary part of packing popular school lunches. My boys don’t mind having the same food over and over again…as long as it’s food that they love! And with their input on which snacks are their favourite, I can rest easy knowing they’re eating enough to get the energy they need for a busy school day!
My little guys love the Fruitsensation snacks!
All good snacks, love cheese the best, we only buy the real cheese
Your above lunch looks exactly how I packed my girls lunches when they were in school, and it’s so much easier cutting your own cheese and making snacks!!
oh my gosh this is amazing :) makes me feel good. my oldest daughter started school this year. she is autistic and very picky so sticks with the same foods. she only goes for half days so i pack snacks which is what you mentioned above except instead of homemade goodies i put in keilbasa, grapes and apples :)
Thanks for the tips,sometimes it can be hard choosing snacks the kids will actually eat.
This is a nice variety of snack choices. Love the ideas!
Thanks for the tips it is so hard to get snacks that are healthy that our kids will eat!!
we love cheese as a snack we live very close to a cheese factory so always stocked up
I no longer buy processed cheese. Real cheese is the best. Great selection of snacks.
Real cheese is SO much better than the horrid processed sliced stuff. Once you get a taste for the real thing, you never go back.