10 Healthy Lunch Ideas for Kids

This list of ten healthy lunch ideas for kids originally appeared on my friend Karen’s website, The Good Stuff Girl. Karen has moved on as a blogger and has allowed us to share some of her favorite tips and recipes. I would love to hear your feedback in the comments section below!

Sandwiches for lunch can get old real quick. I am also not a fan of typical school lunches. Yes, they may be hot, but healthy, most of the time, they are not. So, time to think “out of the box” for your kid’s lunch box.

We have 3 kids. Our daughter is our “good” eater. I understand if you look at these meals below and think there is no way my kid would eat this. Well, you may be surprised, or you may not. Our two boys are definitely in the “picky category” and they would not eat many of the items below. So if that’s the case for you, check out the lunch blog for PICKY EATERS. (COMING LATER THIS WEEK.)

Below you will find some HEALTHIER OPTIONS for lunch besides resorting to the old sandwich or lunchroom options.

Here are some healthy tips to consider when packing these lunches.

1. Check out the DIRTY DOZEN list and print the list out and post it on your fridge. These are the foods that you SHOULD BUY ORGANIC because otherwise they are sprayed heavily with pesticides. So keep that in mind when packing fruits and veggies.

2. Keep protein in mind such as hardboiled eggs, nuts and seeds, and meat and beans. These are also great for the brain.

3. Limit sugar. Fruits are a good source of “sweet” and are at least natural in sugar.

4. Make your own trail mixes, protein bars etc. Try this great recipe for carrot cake bars .

5. Cut down on waste, by using leftovers creatively. You will see that in several of the lunches below. Keep in mind when cooking dinners that you can always add extra chicken, beef, rice etc for the lunchbox.

6. Pack your lunchbox FUN. I try to add a little something in a package on Fridays. READ THE LABELS and find something with very few ingredients.

7. PACK IN A BPA FREE lunch container. I also like this one. Another great option is to go stainless steel .

8. Include a little lunchnote for a bit of encouragement. I LOVED when my mama did this.

10 Lunchbox Ideas

1. Hard boiled free-range egg, snap peas, organic apple slices with lemon juice, a piece of homemade gluten free poppyseed bread, cashews, organic baby carrots

2. Leftover grilled chicken, somersault cinnamon crunch snack, homemade blueberry gluten free muffin, cantaloupe balls, organic blueberries, mixed veggies (snap peas, cucumbers, organic grape tomatoes, organic baby carrots)

3. Trail mix (organic non-GMO popcorn, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, and dark chocolate chips), Ezekial bread with organic peanut and almond butter mixed, veggie medley (green peas, cucumbers, broccoli, baby carrots), organic apple

4. Boar’s head turkey, pistachios, homemade gluten free waffle, snap peas, sweet peas, baby carrots

5. Organic strawberries, snap peas, non-GMO popcorn with pretzels, blueberry organic applesauce, turkey meat, little granola bites

6. Grass-fed steak tacos (leftover), organic grapes, cucumber, baby carrots

7. Organic green apple sandwich with organic peanut butter inside, hard boiled egg, nutty trail mix (raw cashews, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, dark chocolate chips, and organic chocolate candy), cantaloupe, blackberries, organic roasted grape tomatoes, mozzarella cheese with herbs

8. Whole Foods little organic pizzas, banana, pretzel thins, cucumber, broccoli, organic baby carrots

9. Organic baby carrots, organic grape tomatoes, green beans, grass-fed beef and quinoa leftovers, mango slices, blackberries, organic strawberries, organic grapes

10. Leftover rice, organic grape tomatoes and homemade chicken nugget kabobs, chocolate chip gluten free pancakes, cantaloupe, organic strawberries

I hope this will inspire you to look in the fridge and be creative with your kids lunches! There’s nothing better than to open up your lunchbox at school and see all the beautiful and colorful foods that have been packed with love.

From Karen Shakelford, The Good Stuff Girl

Mary Caire MD empowers the world to create a culture of optimized health guided by DNA and epigenetics.

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