Tips for Packing Easy and Balanced Lunches for Your Child’s Day at School
Every parent wants school lunches that are easy. But ease doesn’t always come with balance. So, when packing food for school, try these methods to help your kid get the essential nutrients they need each day.
Pick from these Categories (or let your kids pick)
Picking foods from each of these categories will help your kid get nutrients from multiple food groups while keeping lunch interesting and inviting. Our guide goes in depth with each category with ideas and prep tips, but here’s a quick list:
- Veggies
- Fruits
- Grains and pastas
- Proteins (vegetarian or not)
- Crunchies
- Baked goods
- Packaged foods
- Sweets
Letting them get involved in the process by picking from options you’ve pre-selected can help with picky eaters. If they aren’t a big veggie fan, giving them the choice between carrot sticks, cucumber sticks, and celery sticks and see if that helps them be more receptive to the one they choose.
Also, getting multi-compartment lunchboxes like we mentioned above will make packing all these foods super easy!
Add familiar foods along with one or two new things
Pairing loved foods with new foods you’re not sure if your kid will like is a great way to increase the variety of foods your kid eats. For example, you can pair a new veggie with a sauce they love. Some kids will eat just about anything if ketchup is on it.
It’s not about hiding anything from them, it’s just about increasing the likelihood of them actually trying a new (or even not-loved) food. If your kid is all about white rice, throw a new ingredient into fried rice and they’ll be much more likely to enjoy it than if you served it on its own..
In our Awesome Guide to School Lunches, we have a whole section on how to choose and pack lunches for picky eaters, so be sure to check that out.
Pack leftovers whenever possible (if your child will eat them)
Packing dinner leftovers is one of the quickest and easiest lunch ideas for kids. Leftovers from a home-cooked dinner are also a great option because they are more likely to have a balance of food groups (especially veggies!) than a plain slice of pizza at the cafeteria.
But, since kids of course won’t enjoy every dinner that you make for them, only pack meals that they did like and are therefore more likely to eat a second time. The last thing you want is your child to skip lunch because it’s leftovers they struggled with the first time around.
Here are some full meals that keep well and travel well to school:
- Burritos
- Casseroles
- Curries
- Dumplings
- Fried rice
- Enchiladas
- Pasta
- Pizza
- Risotto
- Salads (pack dressing separately)
- Sandwiches
- Soups and stews
- Stir-fries
If you’re short on time or having an extra busy week, all of these meals can be bought pre-made from the grocery store. Keeping a few in your freezer always comes in handy when you need an emergency backup option.
Get hundreds of ideas and recipes in our free guide
Now it’s time to download our complete guide and say goodbye to late-night school lunch panic. Our free guide includes a printable weekly school lunch planner, lunchbox packing tips, mix-and-match combos, and super simple recipes for energy balls, chicken, chickpea salads, chia pudding, and simple frittatas.
