Back to School: 3 Creative Lunch Ideas

Back to school: 3 Creative Lunch Ideas

It is that time of year again. If your littles get burnt out on the normal turkey sandwich routine I am sharing three creative lunches for back to school. Here are the basics for how I build a lunch…

1. It needs to have all your macronutrients - carbohydrates, dietary fat, and protein

2. It needs to keep you full for 3-5 hours, no one has time to be unnecessarily hungry

3. It needs to be tasty and satisfying

4. It needs to be easy to prep the night before or easily in the morning

5. It needs to include something fun!

Once the lunch meets all the above requirements it can go into my lunch rotation. One of the biggest mistakes I see is the lunch is either missing a major macronutrient and/or the meal is too low in calories to keep us full, leading them to crash in the afternoon.

Creative & Healthy Lunch Idea #1 - homemade Lunchables

It’s essentially the same ingredients as a turkey sandwich, but with a twist. You can also add or switch so many different elements to the lunchable, making it almost impossible to get bored. I usually start with 3-4 oz of turkey, 2 oz of salami/prosciutto, 10-12 crackers, 1 baby bell cheese or 1 string cheese, 1 cup raw veggies, 1/2 cup berries or 1 piece of fruit, 1 tbs nuts, and 1/4 cup dried fruit. Sometimes instead of nuts and dried fruit, I will do 1/4 c yogurt covered raisins or chocolate covered almonds. Pickles, olives, dried cherries/cranberries, and pretzel thins/veggies straws/pirates booty have all be substitutes in the past. You can really make it your own with you child’s favorites.

Back to School Creative Lunch Ideas - Dallas Nutritional Counseling #healthylunches #lunchideas #lunchbox #lunchtime #worklunch #dallasnutritionalcounseling #caseybonanord #dallasdietitian #dallasrd #nutrition #intuitiveeating

Creative Back to school Lunch Idea #2 - Peanut butter and banana roll up

Switching up the classic peanut butter jelly sandwich to a peanut butter and banana roll up is a fun twist and keeps it interesting. I add at least some other side with protein like cheese, yogurt, hummus and/or nuts/seeds. Then add a fruit, veggie, and a carbohydrate side.

Back to School Creative Lunch Ideas - Dallas Nutritional Counseling #healthylunches #lunchideas #lunchbox #lunchtime #worklunch #dallasnutritionalcounseling #caseybonanord #dallasdietitian #dallasrd #nutrition #intuitiveeating

Creative Back to school Lunch Idea #3 - Caprese pasta salad

The best part about this one is you can make a big batch the night before and the whole family can eat it for lunch for a couple of days. It is also super easy to customize and add in family favorite toppings. Add a side of fruit and something sweet. You could also add another form of protein since the only protein in this picture is cheese.

Back to School Creative Lunch Ideas - Dallas Nutritional Counseling #healthylunches #lunchideas #lunchbox #lunchtime #worklunch #dallasnutritionalcounseling #caseybonanord #dallasdietitian #dallasrd #nutrition #intuitiveeating

Wishing you the best Back to School Yet!

If you find feeding your family stressful one of our dietitians can help. We often work with families to create a seamless and low stress meal planning system that works for your life!

It is that time of year again…back to school. If your littles get burnt out on the normal turkey sandwich routine I am sharing three creative lunches for back to school and how I build my child’s lunch box.