Some schools serve nutritious and delicious lunches, and some don’t. As a responsible parent, you want your kid to eat healthy, even when away from home. Considering the few food options and poor nutritional balance of lunches served at school, this is your chance to make an impression. Your child will think you’re the coolest mom ever.
Wraps and Quesadillas
Food wraps aren’t just for entertaining. For this lunch, you’ll stuff ingredients inside of a flour tortilla. You can buy them in different flavors like lime and cilantro, garlic, black bean, spinach, and sweet potato or make them at home. Start with things you know your child likes, and then over time, introduce new foods. A favorite wrap consists of roasted chicken, beans, and cheese inside a spinach tortilla. Another idea is cheese and avocado quesadillas with salsa. While they’ll stay warm in an insulated lunch box, they’re also delicious cold.
Bento Boxes and Pasta Salad
Bento boxes originated from Japan as a single-serving meal. What makes them one of the top choices for packed lunch ideas? They’re convenient, creative, healthy, delicious, and fun. Choose any type of food, not just Japanese. Here’s one idea. White rice, snap peas, California sushi rolls, and sliced dragon fruit. Another option is barbecue chicken wings, salad, and macaroni and cheese.
A lot of kids love pasta salad. You could mix cooked spiral pasta, sliced tomato, diced celery, chunks of ham, black olives, and diced cheddar cheese. Then, toss with zesty Italian dressing.
Rice Bowls and Combination Lunches
While rice is always an ingredient, you can choose different types such as jasmine, white, brown, etc. Then, add other ingredients your kid enjoys eating. That’s what makes this another one of the most popular packed lunch ideas. Some options include teriyaki chicken and steamed broccoli, sweet and sour beef with snap peas, and roasted turkey with salad greens.
You can even create a rice bowl that doesn’t contain meat. Just add cucumber, tomatoes, seasoned black beans, papaya, and whatever your kid wants to the rice.
As for combination lunches, these consist of things your child likes. One example includes rolled-up turkey, crackers and almond butter, sliced apples, cheese, and seasoned snap peas.
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Get Creative with Packed Lunch Ideas
Especially with Bento boxes, you can get as creative as you want. As you look at recipes online, you’ll see that some parents come up with foods in fun shapes and designs. Even if you go with something more basic, your child will enjoy lunchtime at school. At the same time, you know they’re eating healthy.
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