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Ok, here’s the deal…
Packing lunch for my kids can be extremely boring. I mean, how many days in a row can a dude eat turkey roll-ups? This year, I finally committed to making lunch time fun, for all of us! Especially before I blink and I have two teens who won’t let me write cute lunchbox notes or cut their fruit with shaped cookie cutters.
I bit the bullet and began searching for lunchboxes. I didn’t want to spend a fortune, and after reading reviews I discovered that the Bentgo Kids boxes seemed to be not only easy to use but also durable. (remember: BOYS)
I ended up ordering them from Amazon (yay for Prime shipping!), and we’ve been using them since the first week of school.. so about three weeks now. At first, the kids were so excited that they wanted to pack their OWN lunches. I know, I know. Now that the new-ness has worn off, Momma’s packing lunches and getting more and more creative, it’s become fun for me and them!
Side note: I’ve been sharing their lunches on my Instagram account, which you’re following right? If you answered “No.” I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that, just go here and do it already!
I decided to share a few of our lunch time creations with you.. and I plan to put together more in the future. But since it’s still September, I don’t want to overwhelm you. Use these few lunches as inspiration to get started packing, so by the time I pull out the jack-o-lantern clementines in Mid-October you’re not sitting back, rolling your eyes, and calling me an over-acheiver. wink wink.
Here are three tips I like to follow…
- Keep it simple. I don’t over-do anything. My kids don’t need a big extravagant lunch. Simple food is always best.
- Nothing new, ever. I will never introduce a new food at lunchtime. Save that for dinner when we can talk about why we love it or don’t love it!
- Let them be kids! Yeah, I feed them nuggets. I choose healthier options of kid food, because they’re kids. And that’s what their friends get to eat so why make them feel like they’re different? I’m not packing them sushi.
Also, I want to share another little something with you. I let my kids purchase school lunch sometimes. <GASP>
You see, in my mind, letting them buy school lunch once or twice a week is a great way to teach them how to make smart choices. (Tweet it out!) We go over the lunch menu for school, talk about what’s being served, what they’d like to buy and why it might be a good or bad idea. My youngest one almost always brings a cold lunch, he isn’t a fan of the school lunches. But the 9 year old? He would buy every day if it were up to him. I don’t believe in forcing something on my kids, because if I did, they would end up bingeing on school lunches when they hit middle school. My hope is that by then they’re old enough and educated enough to know what smart choices to make.
Without further a-do, here are a few of our lunches…
This one includes a wrap made with Applegate organic chicken nuggets, lettuce and tomatoes from the garden. I cut cantaloupe up with a leaf shaped cookie cutter (yay for creative progress) and also packed a Vermont Smoke REAL stick (no artificial junk) and Woodstock organic chocolate covered raisins.
This guy is having the same leaf shaped melon and raisins, but he’s got plain Applegate organic nuggets, cucumbers from the garden and a Stonyfield squeezeable yogurt!
Another wrap! This one has sliced turkey breast, lettuce and organic shredded cheddar cheese. The same cucumbers yogurt and raisins as above, but I also included a peeled mandarin this time.
Last but not least, we’re having shaved roast beef roll-ups, sliced watermelon, baby dill pickles and the same raisins as above.
As you can see, easy peasy!
Are you a lunch packer, or are you now motivated to pack? Share with me your favorites below! And I’d love if you shared this with someone who could use a little lunch inspiration!
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