Back to School Lunch Ideas: First Day of School Snack Lunch

What time is it???

It’s Back to School time! I can’t believe that our 6 year old will be starting First Grade tomorrow! Where did the time go?I don’t know about you other moms out there, but I was sure enjoying the last few months of not having to make my daughter lunches to take to school! There is a special kind of stress involved with not only making a healthy lunch for a kid, but one that they would actually eat! I’ve had so many lunches come back partially eaten or not eaten at all because my daughter thought something was gross. I swear the lunch did not look gross when I packed it! There’s something about the jostling of lunch in a backpack that can make lunch look a little worse for wear...

How I'm Tackling School Lunches

So this year, I decided to make a couple changes to how I’m making my daughter’s lunch. First, I invested in a Yum Box. My lovely friend Sabrina told me about them because she swore that it helped her daughter eat more at lunch. You may have seen Yum Box or something like them before. They are a bento box style lunchbox where there are compartments to separate the food. The lid fits snugly over the compartments to prevent the food from getting jumbled up during transportation. I am not sponsored by Yum Box - I just really think it helps the food look better to the kids so that they eat more. Second, I’m investing in help from a professional on what kids eat…. My daughter! I’m letting her get more hands on and decisive about what to put in her lunch box. So if you’re looking for some lunch box inspiration, get ready for 3 different lunch box ideas! I’ll be posting a new one every day to hopefully give you some inspiration for your own lunch box.

Lunchbox Idea #1

The first lunch box idea is this First Day of School Snack Lunch. It might sound counter-intuitive to give a kid snacks for lunch, but my daughter is a mega fan of a fruit and cheese board. So why not take this concept and make it into a lunch box.Here’s the ingredients for this super simple lunch that you and your child can make together:

• Cheese Slices: we chose cheddar cheese. Other good options are colby jack or mozzarella.
• Crackers or Popcorn: we opted for plain popcorn, but any of your kid’s favorite crackers would work here.
• Fruit of choice: we love raspberries and blueberries. Apples, grapes or oranges would be good too.
• Veggies of choice: carrot sticks are always a good crunchy choice, but my daughter also loves snap peas, green beans or tomatoes.
• A sweet treat since it is the first day of school: we chose M&Ms.
• OPTIONAL Dip for veggies: the little compartment where the M&Ms are could be used for a favorite dip such as ranch.

In addition to this lunch box, I will also give her a reusable bottle of cold water and napkins. That’s it! Couldn’t be easier! On the first day of school, I think that the best thing is to give your kid something familiar that they love and will be more than happy to eat.Head over to Instagram to show me what you packed in your kids lunch. Also, don't just think of these ideas as kid-only. You could also use these ideas for what you can bring to work for snacks!Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post with a second idea for your kid’s lunch box!