In my last post, I provided you with 5 tips for a better school lunch.  Here, I am putting my plan into practice.

I use this container daily for lunch. 

Most of the time, each section contains a specific food group.  I try to include a fruit, vegetable, and main (which has a protein and a carbohydrate, and typically a healthy fat).    Our school does heat lunches for the children, so if I need something heated, I usually put it in a small glass container, but I don’t use this option too frequently.  

 

Here are some of my favorite school lunch ideas.

Main Entree

This usually includes a protein and carbohydrate source (sometimes veggies too) and a healthy fat.  Occasionally this will resemble more of a meal, or sometimes I include the protein and carb separately.  Here are some ideas for each.

All in one:

• Turkey and cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread or english muffin

• Cheese quesadilla with beans

• Sunflower butter and jelly on whole wheat bread (our school is nut free, any sort of nut butter would work here depending on restrictions of your school)

• Vegetable stirfry with sausage, chicken or beans

• Egg and cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread

• Any leftovers from the night before! (like this curry

• “Fried rice” with peas and egg

• Quinoa salad with chopped vegetables

• Pasta salad with frozen peas and carrots

• Chili (like this lentil chili)

• Healthy muffins (like these and these)

• Veggie frittata

• Veggie meatballs

 

Separate the protein and carb:

Protein	Carbohydrate
Beans (chick peas, black beans, kidney beans) Grilled or baked tofu (or premade) Chicken strips Turkey slices Chicken salad Other lunch meat Scrambled egg Hard boiled egg String cheese or a slice of cheese Chopped and sliced sausage Yogurt Cottage cheese Fish like salmon, tilapia or tuna	Slice of whole wheat bread Cous-cous Quiona Rice Hamburger bun Tortilla Naan Crackers Pea crisps Roasted slices of sweet potato or russet potato Muffins English muffin Pasta Ravioli

 

Vegetables

I try to include at least one vegetable at lunch time. A tip: make a list of the vegetables your child typically eats, and try to include these at lunch time.  Our two staples are tomatoes and cucumber (thank you Trader Joes!).  However, I vary when I can and try to sometimes include something new.  Keep in mind there are many ways to provide vegetables: fresh, cooked or frozen.

Fresh and chopped: 

• Tomato

• Cucumber

• Bell pepper

• Carrot

• Celery

• Carrot

• Snap peas

 

Roasted or steamed with spices and some oil or butter:

• Carrot

• Broccoli

• Cauliflower

• Aspargus

• Zucchini

• Beets

• Kale chips

Frozen:

• Peas

• Corn

• Edamame

 

Fruit

My daughter tends to eat her fruit daily.  I love providing her with frozen fruit: lots of options (does not depend on seasonality), it helps keep some of the other foods cold and is thawed by lunchtime.

Fresh and chopped or whole:

• Apple

• Pear

• Berries (strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries)

• Grapes

• Oranges

• Watermelon

Frozen:

• Blueberries

• Strawberries

• Mango

• Pineapple

 

Healthy Fat

A healthy fat might be something separate from the rest of the meal (like avocado), or something that’s part of the prepared meal.  Including a healthy fat is great to help for filling and nourishing power on little tummies. 

• Avocado slices

• Oil from veggiesDressing or dip from veggies

• Cheese

• Nut butter

• Yogurt