4 Easy School Lunches (plus over 10 snack ideas!)

When I was a kid and going to school, one of my favorite times of the day was lunch and recess. Being able to sit with my friends, joke around, feast on something healthy and nutritious, and then run outside to my heart’s content made learning for a couple of more hours that much more feasible and enjoyable.  It always felt good to have that little reminder from home during the school day as well.

These days, though, we all know the state of school lunches: not good. And we also know the temptations that lurk when it comes to packing our kids’ school lunches: toss in a bag of some highly processed snack, or a Lunchables, or throw in several other processed foods like fake gelatin pudding, pre-made PB&J sandwiches, etc., into the bag and call it a day.

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When those foods become your staple lunch options, you’ll most likely notice a decrease in your child’s health and ability to pay attention and feel good the rest of the day.  Perhaps those types of snacks have made it into your child’s lunchbox before, and if so, forgive yourself and move on.  You no longer need to fret or feel any guilt when packing your child’s lunch when you can have these simple things to munch on! These go-to lunches may mimic the store-bought imposters and will likely include ingredients you might already have on hand.  There isn’t anything wrong with a little peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, or pudding in a lunch, but why not make it the real food way!

Here are 4 easy school lunches for the real-food conscious mom/dad/parent/guardian:

A Real, Hearty PB&J:

Make a yummy and nourishing homemade nut butter and jelly sandwich using real ingredients like the nut butter of your choice (peanut, almond, sunbutter) void of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) or hydrogenated oils; sweetened with jelly (sweetened with real sugar or fruit juice as opposed to HFCS or Splenda); and sandwich it together with a more highly digestible sprouted or sourdough bread.  If such bread is not available to you or you haven’t started making your own yet, homemade bread, or the best version of whole wheat bread you can buy at the store without HFCS could suffice. The fat of the nut butter paired with the sweetness of the jelly and the easily digestible protein of the sprouted or sourdough bread make this option a lot easier on your child’s stomach.

Make your own “Lunchables” ( gluten-free)

One of my favorite grab & go type lunches is also one of the simplest:

• cut-up slices of deli or lunchmeat (nitrate- and preservative-free is best if available)
• raw or whole milk cheese (skip the lowfat or reduced fat cheeses and opt for the full fat variety — it’ll keep your child full longer and they need those good fats for their developing brains!)
• crackers (homemade or see Kate’s recipes, or the best variety you can find at the store with few ingredients – I really like Crunchmaster’s gluten free multigrain crackers)

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