These healthy school lunch ideas for kids will make your life as a parent infinitely easier! Plus, there will be no need to rush getting the kid’s (or even your own) lunch ready the morning of ever again.
Note: this post has been updated with new images and ideas. I love this post and continue to make ahead of my kid’s cold lunches to save time and money!
Coming up with exciting school lunch ideas week after week for a whole school year can be exhausting. Plus, kids can sometimes get sick of eating the same thing for lunch every single day.
That’s why I’ve come up with a big ole’ list of fun & healthy school lunch ideas, and I’m sharing them with you today! This list should save you so much time and give your kids a healthy variety of lunches they will love.
But first, let’s talk about my system. Because….well…..it rocks.
Idea: Kids Pack Their Own Lunches
Yep! Every morning, my kids grab their lunch box and fill it with items I’ve prepped for them. I have three small bins filled with individually sized portions of lunch foods – one I keep in the fridge, one in the freezer, and one in the pantry.
How it works is one day a week, I spend a few hours bagging up several small portions of fruits, veggies, sandwiches, and crackers. Then add them into the bins. And voila! Pre-made lunches for the week! All the kids have to do is grab what they want out of the bins each day.
I have been making ahead my kid’s lunches using these bins forever now, and it is the best thing for busy moms! This method has totally saved me.
But even with this system, you need some creative ideas each week on what to add to the bins! So here’s my big list of ideas.
Back To School Kids Lunch Ideas:
Combo #1
Turkey & Colby Jack Cheese Sandwich
Mandarin Orange
Carrots
Chips
Combo #2
Cheese Quesadilla
Strawberries
Celery Sticks + Peanut Butter
Combo #3
Chicken & Rice Burrito
Pineapple
Red Bell Peppers, sliced
Combo #4
Quick Pasta Salad
Granola Bar
Yogurt
Blueberries
Combo #5
Veggie Hummus Wraps
Sugar Snap Peas
Orange Slices
Combo #6
Croissant BLT sandwich
Carrots + Ranch
Apples
Chips
Combo #7
Bagel & Cream Cheese
Sliced Smoked Turkey
Raspberries
Granola Bar
Combo #8
Hummus + Pita Bread
String Cheese
Fruit Leather
Cucumber Slices
Combo #9
Crackers, Meat & Cheese
Olives
Carrots
Hummus
Grapes
Combo #10
Pizza Pinwheel Bites
Edamame
Mandarin Orange
Frozen Yogurt Tubes
Combo #11
Homemade Hot Pockets
Green Peppers
Watermelon
Fruit Snack
Combo #12
Sesame Noodle Salad
Yogurt
Cantaloupe
Combo #13
Almond Butter (or Peanut Butter) & Jam Sandwich
String Cheese
Popcorn
Applesauce
Combo #14
Ham & Swiss Croissants
Sugar Snap Peas
Apple Slices
Combo #15
Hard Boiled Eggs
Cubed or Diced Cheese
Whole Grain Crackers
Celery & carrots with ranch
Combo #16
Tuna on Pita Bread
Carrots + Ranch
Banana
Granola Bar
Combo #17
Deli Meat & Cheese Kabobs
Crackers
Pears
Yogurt
Combo #18
Tortilla Chips & Salsa (or Guacamole)
Orange Bell Peppers
Sugar Snap Peas
Kiwi (Peeled and Sliced)
Combo #19
Nutella & Banana Roll-up
Pretzels
Broccoli & Ranch Dip
Fruit Leather
Combo #20
Homemade Muffin
Pre-Cooked Bacon Slices
Yogurt
Raspberries
Carrots + Ranch
How Do I Make Meal Prep Lunches For The Whole Week?
The process for making your lunches for the week is actually much easier than it sounds. It can all easily be done in just a small portion of your day. Here’s a breakdown of the process:
- Once a week, I chop and bag up all the fresh fruit, vegetables, crackers, and other lunch items.
- Then I add them to 3 different cold or dry lunch buckets to store in my fridge, freezer, and pantry.
- The kids can quickly grab the items to throw in their lunches themselves in the morning or evening before.
It’s as easy as that! You and your kids get a delicious and healthy cold lunch and a ton of stress taken out of your daily life. Win, win!
The Make Ahead Lunch Bins System
The trick to making easy make-ahead lunches for the week is all in the simple organization. All you need to do is to separate all of your prepped items into three different lunch bins:
Bin #1: The Pantry Bin
The dry goods lunch bin is a simple plastic tote bin I keep in my pantry. It’s filled with individual bags of dry lunch items such as bagged pretzels, crackers, homemade granola bars, trail mix, treats, and more. Here is a list of ideas and dry lunch items we have done:
- Store-bought or homemade crackers
- Pretzels
- Pre-packaged fruit cups or applesauce
- Dried fruit
- Homemade granola or trail mix
- Homemade granola bars
- Popcorn
- Nuts (if your school doesn’t ban them for allergies)
- Fruit snacks or fruit leather
- Beef jerky
- Chips
- Graham crackers
- Homemade cookies or brownie bites (bake a big batch and individually bag them up)
- Special treats, candy, or snack cakes (usually for a holiday)
Bin #2: The Refrigerator Bin
The cold refrigerator lunch bin is where you store any of your lunch items that need to be refrigerated. Once a week, I take the time to separate out fruits and veggies, like grapes, chopped oranges, chopped apples (soaked in pineapple juice or Fruit Fresh, so they keep longer), and chopped carrots or celery sticks. Here are some more cold lunch idea items you can keep in the refrigerator bin:
- String cheese, cubed or squares of cheese, or mini Babybel cheese
- Yogurt smoothies or other yogurt cups
- Carrots (I found little cups with lids at Cash N Carry that I add ranch dip to)
- Sliced apples (soak for 10 minutes in pineapple juice or Fruit Fresh, so they don’t go brown)
- Homemade pasta salad
- Sliced oranges
- Mandarin oranges (whole)
- Strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries
- Green peppers (sliced thinly)
- Celery sticks
- Sugar snap peas
- Grapes, cherries, cantaloupe, or other seasonal fruit cut up
- Green salads
- Mini cups of hummus
- Mini cinnamon streusel, blueberry, lemon poppyseed, or even savory muffins
Bin #3: The Freezer Bin
The freezer lunch bin is primarily filled with sandwiches. I know that a frozen sandwich may sound strange, but it’s honestly the perfect way to prepare sandwiches for the week!
They last a lot longer when you freeze them, and they thaw throughout the day, making for a perfectly cold sandwich by the time lunch comes around.
The process is pretty straightforward. You take a sandwich bun or roll, add the meat and cheese only, and then wrap and freeze them individually.
Outside of the basic meat and cheese sandwich, here are some additional make-ahead lunch ideas that you can freeze:
- Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
- Quesadillas
- Frozen homemade yogurt tubes
- Wraps with meat, cheese, pesto, and/or cream cheese
- Homemade hot pockets
Tips for Freezing Sandwiches:
- If you’re going to add condiments before freezing, add them between the cheese and the meat. That way, you keep the condiment from penetrating the bread and making it soggy and gross when it thaws.
- You can also get some individual condiment packages and throw them in your lunch bag the morning of.
- Do NOT add lettuce, pickles, peppers, or any other vegetable to the sandwich before freezing it. Frozen veggies always come out slimy and less than appetizing. If you’ve got to have some veggies on your sandwich, you could always make up individual bags of sandwich fixings and add them to the cold refrigerator lunch bin.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Much Should I Make?
To figure out how many to bag up for the week, I count the number of days for cold lunch that week and how many children. Here is my own personal math:
- 4 kids x 5 days = 20
- 20 bags of various chopped vegetables
- 20 bags of various chopped fruit
- 20 bags of chips/crackers
- 20 string cheese (or even treats if I’m feeling extra nice that week)
- 20 sandwiches, quesadillas, or other main dish options
Once everything is prepared, I can let the kids do the rest! They can just grab all the separate bags and throw them in their lunch bags for the day while I take care of other tasks that need to be done in the morning.
How Many Days Ahead Can You Meal Prep Kids Lunches?
I typically just meal prep on the weekends for the upcoming week. Frozen things like sandwiches should keep for about five days, where refrigerated items should last 5-7 days. Just make sure that items like veggies and fruits are properly stored in air-tight bags or containers, and they should keep for the duration of the week.
Where Can I Get The Bins & Reusable Bags?
I purchased the large-sized BINO brand bins on Amazon.com here, and I totally LOVE them. They fit perfectly in my fridge, freezer, and pantry. Plus, they look great too!
As for the letters on the bins, I used my vinyl cutting machine at home. But if you don’t have one, you could easily order some 2-inch vinyl letters from Amazon.
If you’re looking for some quality reusable snack & sandwich-sized bags, I love these ones here I ordered off Amazon as they wash up really well with some dish soap and water. If you want bigger reusable bags, such as gallon-sized freezer-safe ones, check out my review post for the 5 best reusable bags ever.
These cold lunch ideas are much healthier than getting fast food or attempting a healthy lunch that you threw together for your kids 5 minutes before they get on the bus. Meal prepping your lunches for the week allows you to make sure that you and your kids get a healthy, balanced lunch, which makes for a healthier and happier you!
Kids School Lunch Ideas Printable Option:
Awesome School Lunch Ideas (Kids Will Love!)
Ingredients
LUNCH MAIN IDEAS
- Turkey & Colby Jack Cheese Sandwich
- Cheese Quesadilla
- Chicken & Rice Burrito
- Quick Pasta Salad
- Veggie Hummus Wraps
- Croissant BLT sandwich
- Bagel & Cream Cheese
- Hummus + Pita Bread
- Crackers, Meat & Cheese
- Pepperoni Pizza Bites
- Homemade Hot Pockets
- Sesame Noodle Salad
- Almond Butter (or Peanut Butter) & Jam Sandwich
- Ham & Swiss Croissants
- Hard Boiled Eggs
- Tuna on Pita Bread
- Deli Meat & Cheese Kabobs
- Tortilla Chips & Salsa (or Guacamole)
- Nutella & Banana Tortilla (or crepe) Roll-up
- Cinnamon Streusel Muffin
- Leftover Slices of Pizza
LUNCH FRUIT IDEAS
- Oranges, (Whole Mandarin, Segments or Slices)
- Apples (soak for 10 minutes in pineapple juice or Fruit Fresh so they don’t go brown)
- Bananas
- Berries (Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries)
- Grapes
- Cherries
- Peaches
- Cut Up Melon (Cantaloupe, Watermelon, Honeydew)
- Mangoes
- Kiwi (Peeled & Sliced)
- Applesauce Cups
- Diced Fruit Cups
- Raisins
- Dried fruit
LUNCH VEGETABLE IDEAS
- Baby Carrots
- Bell Peppers, thinly sliced
- Celery Sticks (with nut butter)
- Sugar Snap Peas
- Green Salad with dressing
- Cucumber Slices
- Cauliflower (Raw Florets or Steamed)
- Broccoli (Raw Florets or Steamed)
- Sweet Potato (Cooked & Diced)
- Edamame
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Olives
OTHER SIDES TO ADD
- Granola Bars (store-bought or homemade)
- Cheese (String cheese, Cubed or Squares of cheese, or Babybel cheese)
- Yogurt Cups
- Homemade Go-gurt Tubes
- Chips
- Crackers
- Pretzels
- Fruit Snacks or Fruit Leather
- Popcorn
- Mini cups of hummus
- Beef jerky
- Nuts (if your school doesn’t ban for allergies)
- Homemade Granola or Trail mix
- Graham crackers
- Homemade cookies or Brownie Bites (bake a big batch and individually bag them up)
- Special treats, candy or snack cakes (usually for a holiday)
DRINK IDEAS
- Water Bottle (mini size are fun)
- Drink packet mix for bottled waters
- Chocolate Milk
- Milk
- Juice Boxes (100% juice)
- Yogurt Smoothies
Notes
Lunch Idea Combos:
Combo #1:- Turkey & Colby Jack Cheese Sandwich
- Mandarin Orange
- Carrots
- Chips
- Cheese Quesadilla
- Strawberries
- Celery Sticks + Peanut Butter
- raisins
Combo #3
- Chicken & Rice Burrito
- Pineapple
- Red Bell Peppers, sliced
- Quick Pasta Salad
- Granola Bar
- Yogurt
- Blueberries
- Veggie Hummus Wraps
- Sugar Snap Peas
- Orange Slices
- Croissant BLT sandwich
- Carrots + Ranch
- Apples
- Chips
- Bagel & Cream Cheese
- Sliced Smoked Turkey
- Raspberries
- Granola Bar
- Hummus + Pita Bread
- String Cheese
- Fruit Leather
- Cucumber Slices
- Crackers, Meat & Cheese
- Olives
- Carrots
- Hummus
- Grapes
- Pepperoni Pizza Bites
- Edamame
- Mandarin Orange
- Yogurt
- Homemade Hot Pockets
- Green Peppers
- Watermelon
- Fruit Snack
- Sesame Noodle Salad
- Yogurt
- Cantaloupe
- Almond Butter (or Peanut Butter) & Jam Sandwich
- String Cheese
- Popcorn
- Applesauce
- Ham & Swiss Croissants
- Sugar Snap Peas
- Apple Slices
- Hard Boiled Eggs
- Cubed or Diced Cheese
- Whole Grain Crackers
- Celery & carrots with ranch
- Tuna on Pita Bread
- Carrots + Ranch
- Banana
- Granola Bar
- Deli Meat & Cheese Kabobs
- Crackers
- Pears
- Yogurt
- Tortilla Chips & Salsa (or Guacamole)
- Orange Bell Peppers
- Sugar Snap Peas
- Kiwi (Peeled and Sliced)
- Nutella & Banana Tortilla (or crepe) Roll-up
- Pretzels
- Broccoli & Ranch Dip
- Fruit Leather
- Cinnamon Streusel Muffin
- Pre-cooked bacon slices
- Yogurt
- Raspberries
- Carrots + Ranch
If you make your own Meal Prep Lunch bins, I would love to see them! Snap a picture of your bin and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #happymoneysaver and tagging me @happymoneysaver!
More Freezer Meal Lunches
- Homemade Hot Pockets
- Oven Baked Chicken Strips
- Make Ahead Ham & Cheese Sliders
- Mini Naan Pizzas
- Easy Meatball Subs Recipe
- Homemade Chicken Taquitos
About Karrie
Food is my love language. But so is saving money. So I like to combine the two a lot and make thrifty make ahead and freeze meals to save time. Because life is busy, and freezer meals can come to the rescue for all of us. And yes, they actually CAN taste good. Read more...
Comments & Reviews
Christine says
Come on now!!!! I understand kids have food alergies. We did as well in the 70’s. But, we were taught that we couldn’t eat certain foods and why, and we staid the heck away from them!!! If you teach your children, then you should have nothing to worry about!!!! What about outdoor alergies? We can’t avoid them going outside 24-7 to keep them from getting stung by bees!!!! Kids are so overprotective these days. They need to be taught right from wrong!! Not avoid the leason of consequences! I was alergic to dairy and wheat. I knew better than to eat those things. I WAS TAUGHT!!! WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF I did. It scared me enough not to do it! Guess what? I lived… I simply didn’t touch them. I was alergic to bees. I was taught how to behave when one or more flew by!!! I would have starved to death back then because I would only eat peanut butter sandwiches in my lunch. The point is, teach your children!!!!
Joy says
When my kids were old enough to make sandwiches, etc. I had them make their own lunches. For my kids that was 2nd grade. They were responsible for getting it all together when I went to the store. They alternated weeks, so it was fair. I wish I had thought of doing it this way, because my (now ex) husband would raid the refrigerator and pantry, which messed up the system. I believe if things were organized like this MAYBE he wouldn’t have eaten their food. (Ok I’m being nice and optomistic, LOL)
Happy.MoneySaver says
Teaching your kids to make their own lunch is definitely a great idea!
Kelly says
Like to say this was an excellent article and thank you for the help as we are switching from a half cold lunch/half hot lunch family to a fully cold lunch. I made the mistake of reading the comments that ended up in a heated debate about peanut allergies. I have a son with a peanut allergy thankfully only anaphylactic when ingested however has other symptoms from contact and inhalation. He is 4 and his classroom is peanut free. The school is not. The school is latex free due to students/staff with extreme latex allergies. Am I upset that its not school wide, no I’m not because his is from ingestion. Am I upset that I can’t bring balloons for my child’s birthday because he wants them. NOPE not one bit. Life or death is life or death. PERIOD! Everyone commenting about how that’s all there kid will eat and saying we should teach our kids how to handle there life or death allergy so yours can have what they want. How about you raise your kids to be diverse and eat something other then peanut butter. While teaching them that compassion and consideration go a long way. When it comes right down to it, its convenience. It is inconvenient to make something else, work with you kid to eat something else, to educate your kids as to why its not allowed. Yet as a parent with an allergic child we gave up convenience a long time ago because our child’s life depended on it. Then we are badgered because we don’t do enough educate our kids (even though we do daily) yet you won’t do the same?? All around we seem to forget what’s important, a person, a child’s LIFE! They can’t be replaced but peanut butter can.
Jill says
Great response..
Jenna says
I love how all these people whose kids don’t have food allergies think the allergic kids just need to “learn what’s safe and not safe.” My four year old KNOWS she’s allergic to peanuts and she KNOWS to ask if something has peanuts in it. But she doesn’t understand who to trust and not to trust. So many people are uninformed and don’t really know how to check if something contains or may contain peanuts. She believes people when they tell her something is safe, even if she shouldn’t believe them. In the early grades, we need to look out for these little kiddos until they’re older and able to be skeptical and learn how to protect themselves better.
I also love how people make these comparisons to vegetarians (What if we’re vegetarian? What if my kid is a fussy eater?” Those are not even remotely the same situations and are 100% personal choice. NOT life threatening allergies.
My kids go to an elementary school that is NOT peanut free. The school offers a peanut-free table, but I choose to have my kids sit at the regular tables. That’s my choice, based on my comfort level and my kids’ allergy levels. I just find it horrendous that people are so cruel and heartless to those kids with histories of anaphylaxis. What a way to model empathy and compassion to your kids.
Jenna says
I also love all the comments of, “So just homeschool.” Guess what? Not all of us are stay home parents. Some of us have to actually WORK to support our families! Novel concept, I know.
kassi jensen says
If your child could die from just touching a peanut product Homeschool!!!!
Marilyn says
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Mary says
Wowbutter people -> Peanut butter replacement. But seriously, get more creative and just serve peanut butter at breakfast at home. It’s ok to roll your eyes at the inconvenience. But you’d feel like poop if your laziness hurt someone’s child. As adults we have more important things to worry and complain about, come on.
Adrienne says
None of this allergy crap has anything to do with this post. Here are my thoughts on the allery thing, though : If your child is allergic, teach him or her about their safety. Ask your school to have a special place for your child to sit. On the smart assed side of things….If my child eats peanut butter for breakfast at home, will your child not have a reaction if he or she is touched by my child, who still has peanut butter on her hands when she arrives? Will he or she not react if kissed by my child in the hall (teens do it, even though we tell them not to)? Come on. It IS yours and your child’s responsibility. And at four, my children all knew what was safe, if I taught them. Teach them from the beginning. They shouldn’t share food. They shouldn’t touch peanut products. Further, kids are mean and don’t process consequences as easily, anymore. Video games and TV make life seem like it can be reset. Who’s to say everyone has all these rules and johnny doesn’t rub peanut butter on sally in the hall to see what happens when she has an allergic reaction? Or what if your child’s bus crashes? Or the school burns down? Risks. If they are too much and your child isn’t ready for school……there are many dangerous things in the world. You need to do your job. I, in turn, will make sure my child knows not to share food with anyone who may have an allergy. I, like many other people went to school. I never saw anyone have an allergic reaction to food. They knew not to come into contact with those things. DUH!
Marilyn says
Thank you!
Stacie says
As much as I think it’s ridiculous that this discussion devolved into a debate on peanuts, I can’t help myself from commenting.
My thing is, why can’t these schools simply seat the children with peanut allergies together for lunch? Then they don’t have to worry about them eating peanuts. My son is a vegetarian with food phobias, and eats a very short list of foods, one of which is a peanut butter sandwich, which gets protein and whole grains into him. Thank GOD so far his schools haven’t banned peanuts. I can even see it for little kids (maybe 3-6), but I’m sorry, if your kid is 8 or 9 years old and not bright enough to not eat something he knows will KILL him? You’ve failed as a parent at that point.
Sandy says
I’m not even sure how to respond to this. For starters, a food “phobia” is VERY different that an allergy that could kill my child. Food phobia. That’s a new one.
For you to say that my son isn’t “bright enough” and that I’ve “failed as a parent” is hurtful and unnecessary.
Florida Nurse says
Lmao… have to agree with you on that point. However, this is for the woman with the child who’s allergic to red dye. Rye dye can aerosol in powdered form, so not totally safe there either. Thinking no red flavored kool-aids.
It is the responsibility of the parent to teach their child what they can and can’t eat, or sit next to… and on and on. That has and always will be a part of life. And as far as kids not washing their hands after eating peanut butter sandwich… that’s a shame on the parent for not teaching better hygiene to their kids. That’s just GROSS and can spread disease.. not to mention allergens. For those who have children with nut anaphylaxic shock at the mere contact contamination, may I suggest sending the child to school with an epi pen, N95 respirator face mask and disposable gloves. And no, dead serious on that suggestion. As a nurse, that particular respirator weeds out some of the smallest particals that are aerosolled. Children as 3 and 4 can learn to give them selves epi pen shots since it’s a subcutaneous tiny shot. All children have to adapt to their environment. It is part of growing up. Nut allergy child has to adapt too. There are creative ways that both sides can meet in the middle… from what I’ve read on here.. both sides are closed minded.
Daisy says
BTW – I love your blog about the make-ahead lunches! There are many great ideas that I will be incorporating to help make our daily lunch-making much simpler. Thanks for the great ideas!
Daisy says
Most schools and day cares are going nut-free now, and while it can be difficult for a parent of a non-allergic child (myself included) to find meals without nuts in them, it has to be ten times as hard for the parent of an allergic child, because their child can NEVER eat nuts, at ANY meal. Non-allergic children really aren’t missing out on that much if they can’t have nuts for just ONE meal a day.
We, as parents of non-allergic children, should have more compassion for what the parents of allergic children have to go through, just to keep their child ALIVE each day. Yes, they do need to teach their children what is acceptable to eat, but WE also have a responsibility to teach our children to be considerate of others, which includes their allergies.
My daughter has just turned nine and we are blessed that she is not allergic to anything. But she has been in day cares and schools that were nut-free since she started attending them. She has friends with allergies, and she is a very compassionate and caring person. She always makes sure I have a fun nut-free treat for them to eat when her allergic friend comes over. There is nothing wrong with teaching our children to be compassionate and respectful towards each other.
I seems like a lot of the parents of non-allergic kids feel that the allergic person is depriving them, and their kids, of something. If our attitude is always self centered – “look what we have to give up” – then our children will pick up on that and we are teaching them that the situation is all about THEM. The attitudes we teach our children now will follow them through life.
We need to teach our children to show respect for others, but we also need to DEMONSTRATE it with our own words and actions. If we as parents had more respect for each other, this wouldn’t even be a topic for discussion. The world would be a much better place if we all could learn to have compassion for one another, regardless of race, religion, or ALLERGY!
Amanda says
I have two that are allergic to peanuts (ages 9 and 8) Last year our non nut free school called me no less than 5 times because my daughter ingested peanut butter. Unfortunate for her that her classmates do not wash their hands and my daughter grossly puts things in her mouth.
I however think we are lucky to have a non nut free school so we can teach others. We pack lunches and my kids talk to their friends about it. During class snacks or parties I was miffed that the teacher didn’t tell the parents not to bring peanut items due to a classroom allergy but then had to realize there were 28 other kids in the class.
We will have 4 in elementary school this year and pack lunches for healthy eating not allergy related. I have 1 that claims she is a vegetarian. She loves fruits and veggies-3 fruits and 2 veggies and a tortilla shell and she is set. I have one who only eats…peanut butter sandwiches, I am infecting my own kids!
Not really. I am confident that my kids know enough that if they ingest it willingly like eating that chocolate from the Christmas party I told them not to eat because 90% of Christmas chocolate has peanut butter in it, then she will feel the consequence. Of course we are not on the DIE scale of allergy but it does get scary. But how will they learn if I keep moving obstacles out of their way?
I WISH WE HAD A MICROWAVE!
Our school does not allow for it.
My husband and I just discussed this tonight! We are going to fill containers with applesauce and baggies with fruit and veggies. We have a section of the kitchen that is school lunch zone so non refrigerated items are kept on shelves.
Tracy says
Wondering how much this costs per day? Anybody do the math?
Shaunae says
I am confused, this was a great, helpful article….Why on earth did someone feel the need to bring up their childs allergies???? these comments totally derailed off topic quicker than a blink of an eye on a completely unrelated topic…All because a parent wanted sympathy for something else??
Not Mom says
I always think that’s a great idea. I am not a mom but I use the same theory. Although you could use some more ideas food wise I think its an awesome “game plan”.
Sharon Koerber says
I know this is an old post, but wanted to let you know that my son HAD a peanut allergy and is now allergy free. My husband calls it voodoo, but it worked. He was also allergic to pretty much everything else; wheat, corn, soy, eggs, milk protein (so all dairy), B vitamins, tomatoes, potatoes, and a number of other things. I had to make everything from scratch and he still was covered in eczema from head to toe and of course we had to have an epi-pen at all times. Anyway, we had several treatments done using Advanced Allergy Therapeutics and it worked. All of his allergies cleared the first time except for peanuts that took two attempts, but he was very allergic to peanuts! I reintroduced all of his allergies one at a time like he was a newborn and we have never had another allergic reaction. On top of that all of his eczema cleared up with-in a week or so. I am not getting that he ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch this week! It was such a miracle and we are so very thankful The treatments are not covered by insurance, but it cost less than $1,000.00 to complete and it was SO WORTH IT!
Kristin says
Cindy and Trish,
I was hoping to get more ideas too. I also got tired of reading the “peanut” debate. That is not what this post was all about. Trish, our ideas sound good!
If anyone has any other ideas, please offer suggestions! I need help with a major picky eater!
I love the original post idea. This would save a tremendous amount of time. Especially when at the last minute your child says when your about to walk out the door, I want to take my lunch to schoo today…it would only take a minute to grab these items and be on our way!
sam says
maybe a dumb question – but do you freeze your pepperoni and provolone sandwiches? does is get mushy?
Happy.MoneySaver says
Yes, I do freeze them. I keep them wrapped tightly and let them thaw naturally which I think helps the roll so it doesn’t get mushy!
Vicky says
Sandwich or wraps they don’t get soggy? When would I take them out of the freezer so they don’t get soggy?
Cindy says
I like how an article that is giving healthy lunch ideas to send to school or work has turned into a peanut allergy blog!
**Note: The article doesn’t even SUGGEST peanuts!
Trish says
I’m right there with you! I was really hoping to get more ideas for my kiddos lunches, but didn’t read the majority of posts because truthfully I got sick of reading everyone’s negative comments on (both sides) the issue!
Anyways, my kiddos like mini bagels with cream cheese for a change and chicken, cheese, and lettuce wraps. I grill up a bunch of chicken and freeze it to throw in their wraps. Also, they like cheese, sausage, and crackers.
Eve says
I was gonna post the same thing!!! Everyone thinks they are right. There’s no end. Yeah, and there wasn’t even any suggestions about peanut butter! Ugh. Go have your peanut debate somewhere else and let this article create conversations that are helpful. Geez!!
Tracy says
I’ve read through a lot of the comments but not all.
Our school does NOT have a peanut ban at school and I’m so glad they don’t. They are all monitored at school and are not to share lunches or snacks. For those of you saying well my child could die at the sight of a nut.. Will you start banning peanut butter at home for breakfast? What if a child eats toast with peanut butter and gets some on their clothes that is missed by a parent and goes to school??
Will Peanuts be banned for breakfast too? I’m not trying to be mean or anything. I’m just stating a fact. And like others. when will it end? Peanut sniffing dog at the entry way of school? I’m serious. again, not trying to be rude. Until peanut butter is banned in the entire world your child won’t be 100% safe from coming in contact with peanut butter. So wouldn’t the best thing to do is teach the child how to use their epi pen at the first sign of a reaction. Educate teachers on who does and who doesn’t have allergies and teach them the signs and symptoms of allergic reactions. Keeping epi pens in all class rooms etc. Just my opinion.
Brooke C says
I have sympathy for those with nut allergies and agree that it CAN/IS deadly for them. I don’t have nut/strawberry/fish/gluten/soy allergies, I have a rather rare and odd allergy. I am DEATHLY allergic to onions, the smell, the oils, raw, cooked, powdered, salted doesn’t matter. I have always had to be EXTREMELY careful with making sure it was not in anything. There have been days that I couldn’t go outside because of people GROWING ONIONS IN THEIR GARDENS and the wind would pick up the scent and carry it in my path.
All that being said, there needs to be some form of compromise between the 2 “camps”, if you will, the “ban it all” and the “they’re over-reacting” camps. I don’t know what it is and I’m not saying either is right or wrong.
Now to what this blog post was originally about:
We don’t have microwave use for the kids at school either, but we use thermos bowls too.
If you preheat the bowl with HOT water and get whatever (my girls like spaghetti) to just boiling it will stay hot till lunch. Craisins are another good, quick throw in the lunch box idea.