10 Healthy, Nourishing School Lunches

Email This Post Email this Post | Print This Post Print this Post | Share

black bean soup

School lunch has quickly become one of the most deplorable American meals – comprised of low-cost, commodity items like CAFO-raised beef, canned fruit and vegetables. Standard lunches of chocolate milk, overcooked peas and mealy french fries lack versatility in nutrients, flavor and, most importantly, they lack inspiration.  So, per reader request, I’ve put together a list of ten satisfying, flavorful and nourishing meals that can be easily packed in a lunchbox, thermos or bag along with a bottle of chilled milk, fresh cider, water kefir or even milk kefir. So print this post and pin it to your fridge in preparation for next week’s lunch plans, then share your favorite and healthiest school lunches.

Day #1: Salmon Cakes

Day #2: A Roast Beef Sandwich

Day #3: Ham and Melon Roll-ups

  • Pasture-raised ham and melon roll-ups with fresh mint
  • Whole-grain crackers with raw cheddar cheese
  • Carrot sticks

Other Posts on Kids and Food

Day #4: Black Bean Soup and Muffins

Day #5: Egg Salad Sandwiches

Day #6: Leftover Pot Roast

Day #7: Almond Butter and Banana Sandwiches

  • Roast almond butter and banana sandwiches on sprouted wheat bread
  • Carrot and celery sticks
  • Raisins

Day #8: Chicken Nuggets (The Real Food Way)

Day #9: Hummus and Lamb Kebabs

Day #10: Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Don’t forget to share you favorite, healthiest school lunches in the comments!

Shop Real Food

  • buy grass-fed cheese
  • fermented veggies
  • buy kombucha online
  • buy unrefined olive oil online
  • buy sourdough starters online
Learn to Cook Real Food
Learn to prepare nutrient-dense, traditional foods at home from scratch with this weekly newsletter featuring the best that Nourished Kitchen has to offer:
Real Food Recipes | Real Food Discussions | Real Food Giveaways | Real Food Philosophy

Enter your email address to subscribe:
 
Facebook | FlickrTwitter

Comments

  1. Emily says:

    I am always on the lookout for nourishing lunches for my husband to take to work. Thanks for the ideas!

  2. Brandy says:

    I needed more lunch ideas and these are great- thanks! What the cafeteria serves in our elementary school is just sad. We had funnel cake on our breakfast menu the other day. Unbelievable.

  3. Rebecca says:

    Great ideas!

    How about wild-caught Pacific salmon salad sandwiches? With homemade mayo, onions, red peppers, on sprouted grain bread or wraps.

    Hummus with a bunch of chopped vegetables.

    Homemade chicken corn chowder or cream of potato soup with pastured bacon or ham. Homemade crackers.

  4. Soozer says:

    And pizza can always be made healthy and tasty. Use whole wheat dough, fresh chopped tomatoes, basil, low fat skim mozzarella and ricotta cheese and turkey sausage topping….the list of healthful things to top it with is endless. Not to mention fresh veggie soup with whole grain crackers. I rage at the Lunch Ladies on Jamie Oliver’s show. This is not rocket science.

  5. Lisa says:

    These look great!
    We can’t do meat dishes in our school because of kosher issues, so it does limit my options tremendously. My kids love Caeser Salad with sprouted bread croutons and I also pack them cucumber sushi with the fermented soy sauce.

  6. Tutti says:

    Thanks for putting this together. It seems I’m always trying to find enticing new meals for my kids to eat and we get tired of the same old thing. Hummus with veggies is a regular for us as well as the almond butter banana sandwiches, but a lot of the other ones are new ideas. Awesome, thanks!

  7. Joann says:

    Love these lunch ideas! I needed them so much! Lunch time can be crazy in our homeschooling house. Everyone is so hungry. Thank you for the inspiration.

  8. Jenny says:

    Joann - 

    I’m glad you like the lunch ideas!  Soups are frequent lunches here, and it’s always good to share what works, you know?

    - Jenny

  9. Jenny says:

    Rebecca -

    I loved your idea about salmon salad sandwiches!  That sounds seriously yummy.  I might make some for supper tonight ;) .

     - Jenny

  10. Those look awesome, but you can’t heat up soups and other dishes in typical school settings, so that might present a problem. With our younger elementary children, we really try to stick with (travel-friendly) less messy foods for practical reasons, too – less work for the teachers, too.

    And lastly (I’m such a pain in the butt, I know!) we really need to watch sending nuts to school, just in case of allergies with other kiddos. Sometimes the schools won’t publicize a child’s severe allergies to other parents for “privacy reasons” I have learned, so it never hurts to be extra-careful.

    I’ll eat it all, though! Mmm!

  11. These are some delicious ideas Jenny!

  12. Stacy says:

    I can come up with cooler weather lunches just fine, but what about warm weather lunches? My little ones will eat only so many salads.

  13. Runaway,
    We have stainless steel thermoses that I can send hot foods to school in! And it stays hot, too. :)
    Kelly

Trackbacks

  1. [...] finally, Jenny at Nourished Kitchen posted 10 Healthy School Lunch Ideas with links to all the recipes. Many of these caught my eye even though I’m not sending any [...]

Speak Your Mind

*