fbpx

The Brooklyn Mom

Your resource for easy (and healthy) recipes, natural health and wellness, and NYC Life!

You are here: Home / Healthy, Easy Recipes / School Lunch Ideas / It’s that time of year again! Healthy, Fun, and Easy School lunches

by

It’s that time of year again! Healthy, Fun, and Easy School lunches

Last year moms in my daughter’s class were always talking about needing ideas for lunches. When I would chaperone class trips where the kids would eat lunch, the other chaperoning moms would always walk around the lunch table checking out all of the kids’ lunches to see what their moms’ had packed and if the kids were eating it!

I admit I’m all about food. It makes me happy.  And that carries over into making lunches for Isabella. It’s important to me that she has a healthy lunch that she loves, but I also want it to be easy. Here are some ideas to get your school year lunches started:

image

Planet Box Rover with Fairy Magnets

We got our Planet Box at the beginning of the school year last year and its amazing! Yes, its more than most of us would spend on a lunch box. But, it will last forever, its eco friendly, and my daughter will seriously eat anything  I put in it! It’s like a magic lunch box. The changeable magnets allow your child to pick a new theme every year for only $3.95! We also love our Rainbow Unicorn Magnets!

 

-Healthy  Do-It-Yourself “Lunchables”

The Ingredient list from the Kraft Turkey and Cheddar Lunchable is long and concerning. This is the nutrition and ingredient information from the Kraft foods website:

 

Serving Size 1 package
AMOUNT PER SERVING
Calories 250 CAL
Calories From Fat 110 CAL
% Daily Value
Total Fat 13 G
Saturated Fat 6 G
Cholesterol 13
Sodium 670 MG
Total Carbohydrates 7
Dietary Fiber 1 G
Sugars 5 G
Protein 12 G
Vitamin A 4
Vitamin C 0
Calcium 15
Iron 8

Ingredients

Ingredients: ROAST WHITE TURKEY – CURED – SMOKE FLAVOR ADDED – WHITE TURKEY, WATER, POTASSIUM LACTATE, MODIFIED CORNSTARCH, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF DEXTROSE, CARRAGEENAN, SALT, SODIUM PHOSPHATES, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, SODIUM DIACETATE, FLAVOR, SODIUM ASCORBATE, SMOKE FLAVOR, SODIUM NITRITE, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR. PASTEURIZED PREPARED CHEDDAR CHEESE PRODUCT – MILK, WATER, MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, MILKFAT, WHEY, WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, SODIUM CITRATE, SALT, LACTIC ACID, SORBIC ACID AS A PRESERVATIVE, CHEESE CULTURE, ENZYMES, OLEORESIN PAPRIKA (COLOR), ANNATTO (COLOR), WITH SUNFLOWER LECITHIN FOR SLICE SEPARATION. CONTAINS: MILK. CRACKERS – ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), VEGETABLE SHORTENING (SOYBEAN OIL, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED COTTONSEED OIL WITH TBHQ AND CITRIC ACID ADDED TO HELP PROTECT FLAVOR), SUGAR, SALT, BAKING SODA, WHEY (FROM MILK), SOY LECITHIN, NATURAL FLAVOR, ENZYMES. CONTAINS: WHEAT, MILK, SOY.

Servings

Here’s my version! Pretty easy and Isabella asks for it all the time!

Healthy "Lunchables"

Healthy “Lunchables”

Organic cheese , nitrate/nitrite free organic ham or turkey ( We like Applegate Farms) , whole grain crackers, organic cucumbers and mayo. Use a cookie cutter to cut into shapes. Organic choc chip granola bar for a treat! So easy and so much healthier than the store-bought!

 

-Leftovers as School Lunch

How awesome is it to be able to get more than one meal out of whatever you cook??

planet box left overs

Brown rice , beans , and spinach with a whole wheat tortilla, banana, blueberries and some raw cashews. 

-Make your Own Salad Box: Kids LOVE to make their own anything! If you

planet box salad

Organic greens, hard-boiled egg whites, dried cranberries, diced apples, shredded organic cheese, raw cashews, homemade dressing (a little extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, and raw honey. Make a batch and keep it in a mason jar in the refrigerator!)

It can be fun and a not so daunting task to get out of the PB&J rut! I hope these ideas help you in planning your own healthy lunches this school year!

Comments

Would love to hear what you think!

Yum
%d bloggers like this: