Healthy Lunchbox Tips, Tricks, and Ideas for Back-to-School

Adapted from Plant-Powered Families by Dreena Burton.

These tips and ideas will arm you with so many ideas for healthy lunches, and hopefully shake up any lunchbox ruts. Readers ask me all the time, “What do you give your girls for school lunches?” Now, you have the answers!

Once you establish a routine complete with simple recipes and weekly staples, packing lunches becomes much easier. For parents working outside the home, this is just as handy for packing your own lunches. Here are some strategies that I find useful.

First things first: pick a regular packing time. When are you most productive? Morning? Night? Find a convenient time and make it a habit to prepare lunches at that time. One exception: If packing hot soups (or similar) in a thermos, pack those the morning of school.

You will need an arsenal of lunchboxes or meal-sized food storage containers, especially if you are making lunches for several children. I find it useful to have a variety of sizes and shapes:

There are many types, from individual containers to compartmentalized lunch kits, made from stainless steel, BPA-free plastics, and other materials. I opt for inexpensive but practical BPA-free containers like those made by Ziploc and Glad. They are durable enough to last a while, but also inexpensive enough to replace frequently misplaced tops and bottoms.

It’s very useful to batch-cook staples like grains, beans, and potatoes and also recipes like dips, soups, and muffins. When possible, double or triple recipes that you know are in heavy lunch rotation to ease your food prep through the week.

Don’t discard a leftover spud or a modest amount of hummus; instead, think, “What can I do with it?”

Leftovers make some of the best lunch add-ins. I call them “lunchovers.” Kids love to nibble on a variety of foods anyway, and I find these small amounts are perfect for wrap and sandwich fillings, and pasta and rice bowls. Once you think beyond just sandwiches with a spread like PB&J, there’s really so much you can do!

Occasionally ask them what they’d like packed in their lunchbox. If there is time, they can help pack. If not, they will still enjoy knowing they helped conceive it!

This is one of my mantras. Jokingly, yes, but in reality I do use hummus like it’s a food group! I use not just traditional hummus, but all flavor variations that use different beans and seasonings. We love it as a family, and I enjoy creating different flavor variations.

5. Find lots of great hummus recipes here.

Many vegetarian restaurants have some sort of grain bowl or “Buddha Bowl,” where hot rice is topped with steamed tofu or tempeh, and then covered with an irresistible sauce. You can recreate something similar at home, using quinoa, millet, or brown rice. Add some favorite veggies, or even fruits like chopped grapes or berries, along with any other nutrient-dense add-ins like hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, beans, tempeh cubes, etc. Add a zippy sauce and pack in a thermos or an airtight container with a fork or spoon to go! Looking for grain bowl recipes? Look right here.

Much of what you can do with a grain bowl works equally well for leftover pasta. Short shapes (rotini, penne, etc.) work best for lunches.

If your kids enjoy soups at school, cook a batch or two every week that can be worked into lunches. If you don’t have time to make soups, there are some healthy store-bought varieties. When I use store-bought soups, I always add extra beans, pasta, tofu, grains, or vegetables. They make the soup more satisfying and nutritious, and also stretch one can over several kiddos!

Kids love to dip and dunk, so pack small containers filled with some of their favorite sauces. All these sauces can also be used to mix into whole grains or pasta, along with veggies, seeds, beans, tofu, etc. A sauce can turn something fairly ordinary into something extraordinary, so have a few in your arsenal.

Using whole-grain and sprouted bread, and also whole-grain pita bread and tortilla wraps, try these ideas:

Savory

Wraps

Our girls love wraps. They are easy to eat, can be filled with some of their favorite ingredients, and are also individualized! Think of using leftover grains, bean spreads and dips, potatoes, sweet potatoes, nuts/seed butters, chopped or grated veggies, nutritional yeast, refried beans or baked beans, and cubed tofu or tempeh. Then, if your kiddos love things like olives or pickles, you can chop some up and add to their individual wrap—they will love it! Use whole-grain tortillas, or if your kids love nori, wrap fillings in those (but don’t overstuff).

Some children love to have breakfast foods at lunchtime, such as pancakes, French toast, or oatmeal.

You don’t have to make everything from scratch! Busy parents need some quick fixes with wholesome store-bought items as well. If you are fortunate, you might have a health food store with a bakery or deli that offers some plant-based baked goods, salads, dips, and other lunch items. Other quick lunchbox options include:

Some homemade snacks are just about as quick to pack as a store-bought snack! Here are examples of snacks that don’t require baking or cooking, just quick assembling:

Always include fruits and veggies in your kids’ lunchboxes. I like to include a whole piece of fruit (ex: apple, peach, pear), and also some smaller, cut pieces (especially for veggies). Fruit is plant-powered fast food! It’s easy to eat, and most children love “finger fruits” like grapes, strawberries, and blueberries. But other fruits like cubed melon, plums, kiwi wedges (kids can eat them like an orange), and half a mango (scored) are welcome changes. Try replacing raisins with other dried fruit, such as apple slices, mango, or apricots. (Choose unsulfured and organic whenever possible.)

Also, try making it easier for kids to eat these fruits—sometimes they only have 10 or 15 minutes to eat! So, peel and segment their oranges. Put cubes of melon or pineapple in a small container, and pack a fork. Add cut grapes to their nut or seed butter sandwiches instead of jam. Make veggies convenient, too (ex: baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, sliced bell peppers, sliced cucumbers).