Easy Back-to-School Lunches and Snacks
Can you believe summer’s practically over?! Us either. With school back in session, it is now time to get back into our usual routines and busy schedules. To minimize stress and maximize your time in a fast-paced environment, it is great to have easy school lunch ideas. These school lunch ideas take almost no time and require simple ingredients that you likely already have on-hand.
Homemade Lunchable
Find your favourite crackers or crisps (we love the ones found in our Balanced Snack Box) and your preferred deli meats and cheeses to create the perfect homemade lunchable for your student. This idea is quick and easy to combine and put into a container, and makes your child’s lunchtime simple and mess-less. Pair with fruits and vegetables and you’ve got an entire meal that they will love.
Pasta Salad
Pasta salad is not only easy to make, but you can make it in a large quantity to send with your kids to school for several days. The best part is, it can be eaten cold! Add your child’s favourite ingredients such as shredded chicken, ham, shredded cheese of their choice, diced veggies, their preferred dressing, and you’re good to go! For an even healthier option, try swapping your regular pasta for a chickpea or cauliflower pasta instead - we won’t tell if you won’t.
Pinwheels or Roll-Ups
This cute and bite-sized variation of a wrap is super simple to make! Make a wrap as you normally would using your choice of meat, cheese, and greens. Then, roll it up tightly and slice it into inch-thick, bite-sized pieces. Serve it with your child’s choice of sauce or dressing for dipping, along with vegetables or fruit and you have the perfect finger food for your student’s lunch.
Breakfast for Lunch
Even as adults, we like to switch it up sometimes. Having breakfast for lunch instead of a traditional lunch is fun and your student will love it. Heat up a few toaster waffles, make some scrambled eggs with your child’s meat and cheese of choice, add a side of maple syrup and some cubed fruit, and their lunch is complete. This meal is sure to fill them up!
Lettuce Wraps
Want to make your kids a healthier spin on their traditional wrap? Try using lettuce as an alternative to your usual flatbread or tortilla! The best lettuce to use for lettuce wraps is either romaine or butter lettuce because they are most flexible and fillable. Taking your piece of lettuce, fill it with the items you would normally put in your wrap. Once your meat, cheese, veggies, and dressing is in the wrap, you can either roll them as you would a wrap, or you can use toothpicks to hold them closed – almost like a taco.
We know it can sometimes feel overwhelming to make sure your kids are fed properly – all while juggling the other responsibilities you have. School lunch doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming with a bit of prep and some new ideas! With these five easy back-to-school lunch and snack ideas, we hope you’re inspired about packing your little one’s lunch box. For more meal ideas and recipes like this one, visit The Balanced Company blog.
To your Balanced health,
Your friends at The Balanced Company
