Last year, my husband and I sent our son to school for the first time. We had homeschooled him for several years, and he decided that he wanted to try a private school in the next town over. I packed his lunch dutifully every evening, but as my child has grown older he has taken the initiative, investing in his own health, his own preferences and his own interests. Me? I figure my job is to support that as much as possible. I give him the building blocks, and he grows from there.
Our guidelines give him a system from which he works, ensuring that he has a wholesome and well-balanced meal with him each day.
His responsibility extends not only to what he packs into his lunchbox, but how he packs it, and how he minimizes waste. We have frank conversations in our home about real food, wellness, waste and the small, easy actions we can take daily. From learning to gauge appetite based on his activities during the day to using reusable materials, we all take small steps that add up to big change.
The average family will go through about five hundred plastic baggies packing lunch throughout the year, and that adds up not only in the landfills, but on the budget too.
The 5 Healthy Foods We Always Pack
Animal Foods
Animal foods provide protein, healthy fats, and micronutrients that are not otherwise found in abundance, or at all, in plant foods like vitamin B12, retinol and vitamin D. Owing to their macronutrient profile, which includes protein and fat, animal foods are also satiating and provide long-lasting energy that keeps kids, and grownups, fueled until their next meal.
Favorites: natural lunch meats, natural salami and chorizo, leftover roasted chicken (get my easiest roast chicken recipe here), boiled eggs, cheese and bone broth which forms the basis for soups.
Grains, Beans, Nuts and Seeds
Grains, beans, nuts and seeds can provide starches and bulk for lunch. Keep in mind that many schools have moved to a nut- and peanut-free policy due to the increasing incidence of food allergies and the unique risk that nuts and peanuts pose, so if your school is a nut-free zone, you can emphasize grains, beans and seeds. Tahini, which is made from sesame seeds, pumpkin seed butter and sunflower seed butter all make good alternatives to peanut butter.
Favorites: walnuts, pine nuts, almonds, pepitas, homemade nut butters, sprouted hummus, sprouted grain bread and , store bought crackers or homemade whole-grain yogurt and dill crackers, as well as beans added to soups and chili.
Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables provide carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants as well as bulk to round out his lunchbox. When we visit the farmers market or farm stands around our home, I give my son a budget and he can pick a few fruits or vegetables that are reserved for his lunches. When we get home, we pack them away in an airtight container and set them on his shelf in the fridge.
Favorites: cherry tomatoes, salad turnips, cucumbers, carrot sticks, basil on sandwiches, grapes, berries, apples, dried fruit and just about anything that’s fresh and in season.
Healthy Fats
It helps us to feel full and satisfied, and it helps us to absorb the fat-soluble nutrients in our foods like vitamins A, D, E and K as well as many antioxidants including beta carotene. It’s a concentrated source of calories, so your kiddo doesn’t need much, but he or she does need some which is why we tend to opt for condiment-sized portions of minimally processed fats.
Favorites: homemade olive oil mayonnaise, full-fat cheese, avocados, olive or avocado oil in salad dressing, olive oil in homemade hummus, butter spread thinly on sandwiches, as well as fats and oils used in cooking soups and stews that we pack in thermoses.
Something Fermented
We always aim for something fermented, too. Fermented foods are rich in vitamins, particularly B vitamins, food enzymes and beneficial bacteria. They offer a host of benefits ranging from immune system support, reduced risk of cancer, and they’re typically anti-inflammatory as well. We often include small portions of fermented vegetables, homemade fermented pickles or a homemade fermented soda or tonic kept snug in a thermos or water bottle. Fermented foods, like kefir, can form the base of condiments like homemade ranch dressing, too, which many children tend to enjoy.
Favorites: sour pickles, plain sauerkraut, jalapeno garlic sauerkraut, kimchi, pickled carrot sticks, yogurt, creme fraiche and sour cream, kefir, raspberry ginger soda, water kefir, and apple cinnamon kombucha.
Reducing Waste
The average kid’s lunch creates a whopping sixty-seven pounds of waste each year – uneaten food, plastic baggies, lunch bags, and disposable cutlery. We aim to reduce waste in our kitchen by serving only the amount of food he’ll eat, and by using reusable lunch gear that he cleans out and washes upon his return home.
This large cinco bento box has five sections, one for each of the food groups above which makes packing lunch super easy. Icepacks keep lunches cold until it’s time to eat, especially when packed in a lunchbox that’s designed to keep cold foods cold and warm foods warm. I also send him to school with a bottle of filtered water to drink throughout the day (read more about why we filter our water here), as well as a kanteen like this one full of herbal tea or a fermented drink like kombucha to enjoy at lunch time.
Thanks for sharing these great lunch ideas! I love the bento box – so versatile!
Thanks so much! This is truely helpful. I don’t have any of my own children at the moment. But, I am always trying to help my boyfriend with a truely nouishing lunch for when he has work. He is still learnig this lifestyle.
Grew up mostly with pasta, meat, & cheese.
He’s slowly getting there 🙂
Reminds me of my husband. Eats meat, dairy and potatoes only. Avoids veggies like the plague. So tough! Would use these items for my 5-year-old heading off to school for the first time in 2 weeks. Has never even been to pre-school because I wanted her home with me. Wish I had the initiative to homeschool.
Lovely lunches! Great ideas!
While I don’t have children, I found your guide to packing lunches very inspiring. I’ve always packed my lunch, but they are never quite as awesome as your pics. I can’t wait to pack my first lunch next week…oh wait, but that means I have to go to back to work ?!? Poo.
Pictures of your lunch boxes look so delicious and healthy. Gives me ideas of what to include when I need to pack a lunch box.
Your bento box is cool! My household has been using tiffins, which is similar.
I truly appreciate the move back to reusable lunch boxes and real food over processed packaged items that have questionable nutritional value. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for supporting Mighytnest…I love them, I love you…it IS a virtual lovefest!!
Great looking lunches – very inspirational. No kids but I do pack my lunch for the office most days. I have re-useable insulated bags, cold packs and I’ve switched to glass lock & seal containers in all different sizes. I also keep a set of regular cutlery plus some condiments at my desk so all of that helps to cut down on waste – but still, I do still use ziploc bags – although I’ve managed to seriously cut back on the number.
Don’t do a lot of cooking in the summer so lunches are mostly salads or a selection of raw veggies with a protein – cutting back on the carbs as I’m trying to lose more weight and stick to 1200 calories per day at the moment. I find that packing my own lunch really helps with this as well.
Love those steel tray boxes that your son uses, and I’ve been looking at tiffins as well. Have to take a look at supplies and see what I really need for the Fall as I’ll start to cook more once we hit September – love all your soup recipes and plan on making lots of bone broths this year. Thank your for all the great info.
Awesome…thanks.
Love this and all your great lunch ideas! I check in all the time as we love to eat healthy. Also not a home with kids but all the same, any idea for healthy eating is a great one!
Jenny, I really enjoyed this post and it encompasses a lot of what I believe in: equipping your children to make their own decisions about healthy food choices and to take responsibility. I shared on fb and g+. And very inspiring lunch ideas! Thank you!
Love this post and love the formula for easy packing while hitting all the necessary groups. We currently eat most meals at home but I pack my 2.5 year old a snack in our Lunchbots Pico Duo when we are on the go. I may start using your list as a formula for that–maybe picking 2-3 (at least) of those 5.
How are these boxes to open and close? I have a kindergartener this year and I’m wondering if he will be able to get the lid on and off easily as well as make sure the top won’t come off in his lunch box! You know he’ll be throwing it around! I love that this is large enough for a sandwich!
Wondering the same…
Some of these metal box lids are rubber/plastic and easy enough to open. Some are stainless steel like the box and slightly harder but doable. There’s always an adult within range, or so I have found, if the child can’t get it open.
Thanks, I homeschool and am sending some to school for the first time also. I also pack dh’s lunch. Thanks for the post!:)
Cool looking gear and great nutrition ideas!!
Thanks for this great post! Wish kids got similar kind of food for school lunches on the premises. Greetings from Slovakia!
Amazing……
………..Thank you x
Thanks for this opportunity! As a Mom to a kiddo with multiple, severe food allergies I find that boxes like this are priceless. As my son learns to pack his own safe lunches, it is so easy for him to think of his meal compartment by compartment rather than getting overwhelmed by the idea of packing a whole meal himself.
Thank you for the inspiring ideas. My 16 yo daughter goes back to school next week and we always pack lunches, me included. We’ve been shifting to a more nourishing way of eating and it’s very rewarding to see her making the connection that her food choices affect how she feels. Love your ideas! I’m about to go soak some chickpeas for roasted red pepper hummus.
I have used small round stainless steel cans when wanting to save on space. Inside, I separate with silicone muffin cups. I have been able to fit three in a small round container. They bend to suit, and three bent in together are each teardrop shaped. Thus, the olives don’t salt the strawberries and the hummus doesn’t get everything goopy. Then I slide cheese/meat and carrots/cucumbers between the outside of the silicone cups and the metal can.
You’re setting that child up for a lifetime of wellness but also teaching him to take responsibility for that wellness. I’m in awe. 🙂
Hi! Your lunches look great and I love how your bento has so many compartments! Can you tell me where it’s from? Thanks!
I’m unbelievably curious as to what you have prepared on top of the avocado in the picture posted? It looks so delicious, my curiosity has gotten the best of me. Please share if you don’t mind? 🙂
It’s chicken salad.
This is the most helpful post I have seen for helping prepare children’s school lunches. Thanks so much!
I was curious as to the lunchbox you would recommend that would keep “cold foods cold and warm foods warm”. When I went to the link I just saw a lunch box for cold foods (which looks amazing, btw). Did you have a product in mind for keeping warm foods warm? Thanks! And great article!
Hi Cheryl,
Any insulated lunchbox will keep cold foods cold and warm foods warm.
Hi. This was a great post that gave me some good ideas for school lunches. I am wondering if your bento box leaks? I am looking for one less expensive but most of those are not “sealed.” It appears you have some items that could leak out (hummus, kraut, etc.). Does the LunchBots one work well for you? Thanks.
I recommend using one of the Lunchbots condiment containers for anything that might leak.