Photo © stevendepolo
#5: Panini Sandwiches
Panini sandwiches are great because they melt all of the ingredients together in a tidy little sandwich. We like to press avocado and cheese sandwiches or avocado, strawberry and goat cheese sandwiches. At lunchtime, your child can heat it up quickly or eat it cold, either way they are delicious. Lunchtime perfection!
Photo © little blue hen
#6: Pick Your Own Cup of Soup
My son is a huge fan of soups, the homemade kind, not the canned variety. To ensure that we have soup ready to go on school mornings, we make large batches of our favorite soups and store them in mason jars in the refrigerator. Each morning, we simply remove a jar of soup from the refrigerator, heat it up and put it in his thermos.
Photo © extended,epiphany
#7: Make it a Sampler
If your child gets bored by the same foods, try packing a sampler. I like to pack an assortment of fresh vegetable and fruit sticks, whole-wheat pita triangles, nuts, seeds, and a few dips that can be used together. For example, a homemade taziki is perfect for dipping fresh vegetables and pita triangles, then a sweet yogurt dip that is great for fruit. I like to choose fruits that won’t brown over night – my son is a huge fan of citrus!
Photo © NathanF
#8: Leftovers!
If I am not feeling creative or just don’t have the energy to make a prepared school lunch, I will purposely make extra dinner and send my son leftovers for lunch. To be honest, this is probably one of his favorite options – he loves to open his lunchbox to find a large slice of vegetable lasagna, a manicotti roll or two, a serving of spaghetti or rice and vegetables. Whatever meals your child enjoys for dinner is sure to please at lunchtime too!
What do you prepare ahead of time for your child’s school lunchbox?
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Love the ideas for lunches for the little ones! Question…..how are you keeping lasagna warm till lunchtime for him since he doesn’t have access to microwave?’
Hi Mommabear,
We use a large soup thermos to hold the lasagna – it keeps it warm until lunchtime!