Back to School Lunchbox Preview: Healthy Lunchbox Ideas

My son is going back to school next week, should I do a happy dance or cry? Maybe I’ll cry while I’m doing a happy dance! Have you seen the mom on youtube who posts videos every year of her kids riding away on that big yellow bus while she sings “Bye, Bye, Bye?” Yeah, I probably could have done that a few times this summer as well. Believe me, I’m kind of excited to go to the grocery store and Target with only 2 children during the day. Life is so much easier when all of your kids can ride in a cart. Plus, maybe then all the old people will stop staring at me like I have 3 eyes. I know, I know, I look young and well… I am young. But seriously the stares I can do without. I get it, I’m crazy, my kids are crazy, and you hate us all when we are screaming in the isle you are occupying. Sorry for disrupting your otherwise quiet day, excuse me while I reach around you to get that pack of diapers (not your kind of diapers anyway, try the pad isle lady). Ok now my crude humor is coming out, we better move on before things get ugly! 😉

Last school year I learned a lot about packing lunches, mainly I need a good lunchbox system and my son will not suddenly like something new because it was in his lunchbox with a cutesy pick stuck in it. I think many other parents were in the same situation because my son came home one day and proclaimed “The teachers told us to tell our parents only to pack things we like.” What’s that you say now? I should pack stuff you like? Hmmm… I’ll think about it and get back to you on that one, ok honey? Truth be told sometimes that old lunchy-lunch came home barely touched. I can’t blame myself though, because turns out my son is talker. Yeah, that means he never shuts up. Believe me I know, I’ve spent a whole summer listening to him re-enact every move he has ever made playing Super Mario on his Nintendo Ds, including the sounds, songs, and random Italian accented Mario voice he decided to make up. Sometimes I find Mario and Luigi in my freezer… frozen… I mean not frozen, we don’t say that word in my house unless we want to listen to that song… that damn song… let it go people, let it go. Ok I’m done.

So here is my first batch of lunchbox recipes and guess what? They are ALL simple, easy, and lunchbox friendly. No soggy sandwiches, no disgusting lunchables… just real, nutritious food that does not take hours to put together. No, you don’t have to wake up at 5 am to do this!

Chicken Nachos (Lunchables alternative)

I’ve been told numerous times by my son the kids who take Lunchables everyday…..yes everyday! I always tell him “______’s mom probably just doesn’t know what the ingredients are in those things.” So he proceeded to try to tell his friend they were crappy. Not sure how that turned out, but I think it went something like “Lunchmeat is healthy.” Sure it is, sure it is. Anyway, kids love the idea of the Lunchable. It is fun, they can get creative, and they feel like their lunch is special. I thought chicken nachos would be a fun and easy way to create something that was deconstructed and my son loved it! Here is what you’ll need:

• Shredded chicken (I make whole chickens frequently during the school year so that I always have a stash of chicken in the refrigerator to throw in pasta salads or use for meals)
• Seasonings: adobo, cumin, and chili powder
• Baked pitas: I used a Food for Life Ezekiel pita. I cut it into triangles, brushed it with olive oil, then sprinkled it with adobo seasoning. These are SO good plain and the pitas are loaded with nutrition and cheap! There is nothing in these pitas that doesn’t need to be there, and no mystery ingredients.
• Shredded cheese
• Sour cream
• Fruit/Veggie of choice

Simply season your chicken, season pitas and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, and your done!

Sweet Potato Matchsticks

These are awesome! My kids love sweet potato fries but they are kind of hard to send in a lunchbox because they tend to get soggy. I solved this problem by cutting the sweet potatoes really thin, and baking them until they are crisp. Remember those potato sticks in the can we all ate as kids? Yeah, this is them… except in sweet potato form minus that crappy oils and preservatives. You can make these up ahead of time and freeze them, or just make a batch and store them in the refrigerator until it is time to transfer them to a lunchbox. My kids eat them hot and cold, which makes them ideal for a lunchbox. Here is how I make them:

• Slice sweet potatoes as thin as you can get them
• Toss in olive oil and cinnamon
• Turn out on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees until crispy, about 30 minutes

Homemade Trail Mix

I LOVE homemade trail mix! It is so easy to put together and I find it to be cheaper then the pre-made mixes that sometimes contain hidden ingredients that don’t need to be there. Here is what I threw together for my homemade trail mix:

• raw almonds
• raw pumpkin seeds
• raw sunflower seeds
• dried cherries
• Enjoy Life semi-sweet mini chips

Whole Wheat Banana Muffin with Cream Cheese Filling

Ok, you didn’t think I would do a lunch post without plugging another recipe, did you? Of course not! So here is my shameless plug. I made these amazing muffins. They are moist, they are banana packed, they are whole wheat and naturally sweetened, and last but not least they are sprinkled. Yes, muffins can have sprinkles too and I sprinkle muffins because them muffins need to feel pretty once in a while too now ya’ll! They have been sprinkle-less far too long people! My sprinkles were veggie dyed and my muffins loved them. Then they all lived happily ever after. The End. Now click this link to my shameless plug. 🙂

Whole Wheat Biscuit from 100 Days of Real Food

Yes, I do use other blogger’s recipes! I’ve been a long time fan of Lisa from 100 Days of Real Food and I love her Super Easy Whole Wheat Biscuit recipe. I followed the recipe as written, and sprinkled the top with a little cheddar cheese to jazz them up a bit. Generally I would send the lunch with the biscuit included with a hot thermos filled with a soup or pasta, but I didn’t feel like defrosting any of my thermos freezer stash so I will share a hot recipe next time, I promise!

Dat Other Stuff

• oranges
• frozen peas
• spinach salad with dried cherries and goat cheese
• carrots
• watermelon (or watermelly as we call it in my house)

Well there you have it… my Back to School Lunchbox Preview just in time for lunch packing next week. Hope everyone’s little ones have a good first day! 🙂

*If you like my lunchboxes check out LunchBots.

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