"Yours is way better mom!" - School Lunch is elementary

Last year, my daughter asked if I would be willing to buy her some Lunchables. We talked a little about the ingredients, and nutrition, and packaging, and I offered to make her a homemade lunchable instead, and it turned into one of her favorite lunches. This summer, I decided to buy the kids some lunchables as a treat for the beach...and they were fairly underwhelmed. For one thing, my 4th grader doesn't care for marinara, and you can't get pesto in a lunchable. "Yours is way better mom!" he said. Is there anything better to hear from your pickiest eater?

When I pack lunches for my kids, my goal is (1) to make sure they have enough to eat so they're not hungry, and (2) make them healthy and appealing. When my (now) 4th grader was in kindergarten, I found a wonderful blog, 100 Days of Real Food, focused on cutting out processed foods that included wonderful pictures of ideas for lunches. He looked through them, picked a few things to try, and we went from there.

It's definitely a stretch to say that I "enjoy" packing lunches, but I love knowing that my kids are well-nourished with plenty of fresh food each day. I know parents are always looking for lunch ideas, so last year I snapped a few pictures of lunches to share.

PB sandwiches on homemade chia seed bread, cheddar cheese, grapes, carrot sticks

Turkey sandwich on homemade bread with salami, apples, lettuce/cucumber/pepper salad, homemade chocolate milk

Wraps (one turkey/pepperoni/cream cheese w/ lettuce on side, one turkey/cheese/lettuce), grapes, carrots, weird kid-made chocolate cookie

Leftover chicken drummie, triscuts, mozz/salami rollups, peppers, grapes

Mac&Chz with peas, tomatoes, apples, Trader Joe's gingersnaps

Leftover pasta w/chicken sausage+broccoli, peppers/cucumber, cheese stick, ~1tsp mini-m&m candies

Wraps (one with lettuce "on the side"), apples, orange slices

Salami/mozz rollups, PB/berry smoothies, lettuce/pepper/apple salad, cucumber

"Camping leftovers" lunch: storebought rolls w turkey/provolone, oreos (!), grapes, cucumber, boiled/deviled egg

Four years later, we still visit the Real Food blog for inspiration, and I still buy/pack more processed items than she does. Easy lunches revolve around staples: grapes, apples and cherry tomatoes all keep well, and can be packed for snacks in reusable fabric zipper bags. Spinach wraps are a weekly item here, crackers/pretzels are used often, boiled eggs are popular, and I do pack a dessert of some kind at least once a week (thought the day varies). The Trader Joe's gingersnaps are hands-down my favorite dessert -- few ingredients, low in sugar, they keep a long time, and are delicious!

Our daily goal is "half of what we eat is fruit/veggies" and we get pretty close. I believe in baby steps, and I know we all like some oreos once in a while! (Though I also have to recommend the Trader Joe's dark chocolate version.) This year promises to offer even more health and variety, with the kids expanding their "likes" to soups and herbs over the summer. Oh, the possibilities!

"Yours is way better mom!" I just had to type that one again.