Southeast Texas
School Lunch Ideas
As a family that eats home cooked meals, school lunches can be challenging. We have three boys that all like different things and who wants to eat a cold lunch every day? We even have one son that will not eat a sandwich to save his life.
A few years ago, our school cafeteria got rid of microwaves. Although I understand the reasoning behind why they did. Kids were standing in line for the microwaves, patiently waiting for their turn only to end up with two minutes to eat their lunches. Kids were hungry and teachers were frustrated.
Thinking Outside the Box
We had to think outside the box. Who wants to eat cold rice and gravy or a cold chicken breast with sweet potatoes? So, the search for other options began, and then entered the electric lunch box. Now, we did get a slight bit of kick back from the teachers when we first introduced these. I think they thought that they would be responsible for heating them up. We assured them that the boys knew how to work them, and it would only take one or two minutes to heat. Once they saw how easy this was, they were fine with it.
This is the Electric lunch box that we use. It is not the most durable but for our purpose for kid use, it works fine. We just replace it at the end of the year.
Homemade Convenience Foods for School Lunches
We like to recreate the “kid food” found in the grocery stores. You know, the ones with all the bright packaging that kids can put together on their own. The ones that come in a plastic wrapper and just need to be heated up. We take what is marketed and packed full of chemicals and seed oils and make a from scratch version.
- Individual Focaccia Pizzas
- Hot Pockets using our empanada dough
- Taquitos
- Chicken Nuggets
- Bean and Cheese Burritos
These are just what our boys will eat. But, if your kiddos like something else, recreate it!
Leftovers for School Lunches
We are all about leftovers in this house. Whatever we make for supper, there is a good chance the boys are getting it for lunch. We usually cook about three meals on the weekend that will get us through Wednesday. This is because I only work my 9-5 part time. The other days I work from home which gives me the freedom to cook on Thursday and Friday evenings. This way there are three healthy meals that we can alternate (and the boys can choose) for either lunch or supper.
Here are some ideas.
- Grilled chicken with sweet potatoes
- Grilled chicken with fruit bowl
- Smothered pork chops with string beans
- Tacos
- Gumbo
- White beans, sausage and rice
- Chicken and rice
- Pesto Tortellini
- Spaghetti
- Lasagna
These are just to name a few. Basically, we do a protein and a side. It really does not need to be anything fancy. Honestly, with kids the simpler the better.
Cold School Lunch Ideas
This is like a sack lunch if you will. These are easy and less fuss sometimes.
- Ham and cheese sandwich with a side of fruit
- Charcuterie board filled with meat, cheese, veggies and fruit
- Kid sushi (this is something we made up it is basically meat, cream cheese, spinach and any other toppings that go on a wrap and then sliced to look like sushi)
- Homemade lunchables
Why Do We Go Through All the Trouble
Before the dreaded year of 2020 our public school had some of the best tray lunches I had ever seen. I was comfortable with our oldest eating them….well this was before we knew what we KNOW. After the year 2020, lunches became prepackaged, filled will dyes, seed oils, and chemicals. Burgers were warmed in plastic wrappers and vegetables were in plastic wrappers that were probably dipped in bleach. We decided to say no more!
Now, there are many nights that I want to curse the stainless-steel inserts on these fancy lunch boxes. I have to wash them every night, fill them with all the healthy food and then store them in the refrigerator until the morning. It can be a daunting task. But I also enjoy packing these lunches for the boys. We have teachers ask us how we get our boys to eat so well. The truth is they just do. When they have healthier options at their fingertips and no Cheetos in the cabinet, they just do.
The way we eat plays a vital role in our overall health. You can’t eat garbage and expect to feel great. You can’t consume seed oils and not expect inflammation. You can’t consume dyes and expect to not be hyper. It just doesn’t work that way. This is why we do this. We look at food as our medicine. It gives our bodies fuel to go throughout the day. It gives us nourishment. So, when I am washing all the compartments of lunch boxes, I remind myself of this. IT IS IMPORTANT. IT IS WORTH IT AND IT IS NECESSARY.
We hope this gave you some inspiration to change the way your children eat when they are at school. There are ways around it, you just have to think outside the box.
God Bless!
