I can’t believe school is about to start again in just a few weeks. Packing lunches is probably my least favorite thing about it. Here are some Easy Back to School Lunch Ideas that I hope will help us all!
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Pasta Salad
Make a batch a pasta salad to make packing lunch this week a breeze! My favorite pasta salad recipe is this Pizza Pasta Salad. It is easy and inexpensive to make. Use a Bento Style Lunch Box similar to the one pictured below to include the pasta salad, a few pita crackers, and fruit.
Bento Box Snack Lunch
A lot of kids don’t want a big lunch while they are at school. Sending in a small container with fruits, crackers or pretzels, carrot sticks and deli meat and/or cheese is perfect. You can add a yogurt pouch or granola bar to their lunch box for an extra item as well.
DIY Pizza Lunchable
Making your own Pizza Lunchables is super easy! You just need pita bread, sauce, and cheese. You can also include any toppings like pepperoni, diced bell pepper, ham, or bacon. We found these pita rounds at Trader Joe’s but you could also slice regular pita bread into wedges. The bento box containers work great for this and adding the silicone holders for toppings keeps everything together. We use disposable portion cups with lids for the sauce.
Taco Soup in a Thermos
One of my son’s favorite lunches to take to school is Taco Soup in a thermos. I make this in a crockpot so it is super easy. The soup stays warm in the thermos and then I use a freezable snack bag to pack the cold items like cheese and sour cream for the soup and a yogurt or applesauce. Also don’t forget the tortilla chips on the side for the soup. The disposable portion cups are perfect for holding the individual portions of cheese and sour cream.
Salad Bento Box for Kids
My kids also like salads in their lunches if they include pasta and ranch dressing. In the salads below we packed spinach, carrots, chicken, cucumber, and pasta. The lunch container was perfect for the salad and adding two sides. Plus it comes with a fork! We included crackers and fruit. The disposable portion cups are perfect for holding the salad dressing.
Taco Bento Box Lunch Idea
Tacos are a family favorite for lunch or dinner! Fill a tortilla with beans and/or taco meat with all their favorite taco toppings. We like using a divided lunch container to add fruit and chips and salsa for sides. I also put things in plastic baggies just to keep them together and hopefully they stay more fresh. The disposable portion cups are also great for holding the salsa.
Ham and Cheese Rollups
Ham and Cheese Rollups are an easy lunch idea! Make a few of these rollups and add their favorite fruit in a silicone container. You can also serve fresh veggies and crackers or chips and salsa on the side to fill up the bento box container for a great lunch.
Teriyaki Chicken and Rice (Leftovers for Lunch)
Saying kids will love this one might be a stretch! You may need to substitute the veggies here for fruit and a cookie. This idea is really to show how sending leftovers in for lunch can make your life easier. Make Teriyaki Chicken and Rice for dinner and the next day you have lunch for the kids too!
Good luck to everyone heading back to school soon! If you have an easy school lunch idea, we would love to hear it. I hope these school lunch ideas will help you have a smooth transition back into this routine.
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