Do your kids eat only parts of their lunch? Get them involved in making their own lunches with this simple lunch planner. No more half-eaten lunches coming home from school!
Let’s face it – Kids often don’t have lots of time to eat at lunch during the school day. They love to chat with their friends, or the lunch line takes a long time. You want to be sure your kids have time to eat everything in their lunch box. There’s nothing as frustrating as a lunch box coming home with half-eaten food and a ravenous kid ready to eat everything in the fridge as an afternoon snack.
Easy Lunch Planner for Moms and Kids
This lunch planner works for almost every kid, even kids with allergies. Make sure your child has a healthy protein in their lunch first. This is the energy food that sustains them for an afternoon of learning. Always include water for necessary hydration. Follow up with a fruit or vegetable to ensure your kids are getting their fruits and vegetables daily. The fruit can also double as the “treat” in the lunch. While kids only need 4 teaspoons of sugar daily, fruit sugar is one healthy way to eat those 4 teaspoons of sugar. Don’t forget to watch the amount of sugar found in yogurt. I prefer to give my kids homemade yogurt with homemade jam to keep the amount of sugar under control. Easy Lunch Combination = Protein + Fruit or Vegetable + Dairy
Outside
- whole wheat bread
- roll
- Italian bread
- pita pocket
- tortilla
- lettuce
- Crepe
- English Muffin
- Taco Shell
Inside
- Peanut butter
- Almond butter
- Sunflower seed butter
- Jam, Jelly
- Meatball
- Turkey
- Beef
- Chicken salad
- Tuna Salad
- Egg salad
Protein Options
- Homemade chicken nuggets
- Chicken leg
- Homemade Egg McMuffin
- Quiche
- Deviled eggs
- Mozzarella sticks
- Rolled up turkey slices
Other options
- Rice and gravy
- Pizza
- French toast sticks
- Quick breads – pumpkin, banana
- Chef Salad
- Tomato and mozzarella salad made with grape tomatoes
Dairy
- Yogurt
- Cottage Cheese
- Smoothie
Leftover Soup
- Chicken noodle
- Chili
- Beef stew
- Turkey soup
Fruit
- Bananas with peanut butter
- Apples with peanut butter or cheese
- Fruit skewers
Free Printable for Your Fridge for Easy Lunch Making
More School Lunch Resources for Moms
 |
 |
 |
 |
Ummmm I wish I could kiss you right now!!! 😮 this has/will make my life SO MUCH EASIER!!!! Seriously!! Thank you so so much!
LOL So glad it helps!
What great ideas for lunch options! We homeschool, but on days that we attend co-op, I pack our lunches. Thanks for the great lunch planning tips!
Jennifer Dawn recently posted..A Little Bird Told Me Link Party #151
I’m glad they’re so helpful!
This is fantastic. I have two in high school right now and they both are short on time at lunch. This is a great way for them to have better choices at lunch and have enough time to eat! Passing this on.
Thank you! I found it harder to get my ds19 to eat lunch and breakfast while he was in high school. I’m hoping he’s different this fall while commuting for college.
This year I have one less lunch since my son will be eating at school. It is so hard to stay clever and unique in your lunches
Awesome!
This is such a great idea and I think it could really help my kids! We try to plan lunch in advance because it cuts down on the craziness in the busy mornings!
Michelle @ Sunshine and Hurricanes.com recently posted..Armed and Ready to Make School Lunches
Definitely! I know you have 4 kids so you appreciate the amount of traffic in the kitchen in the morning.
I LOVE this! I am going to have to start packing lunches for my first grader this year and I am freaking out!
LOL You’ll be fine! Just stock up a bit on easy snacks before school starts. Ask your first grader what they like to eat to make sure they’ll eat what’s in the box. And, they may not finish everything for the first few weeks. Depending on their Kindergarten situation, they may feel overwhelmed being with the big kids for lunch. My ds7 ate lunch with the big kids last year. However, he wasn’t allowed to get up from the table, and his teacher brought them over early to get the little ones through the hot lunch line first.
I like how you have addressed all the food groups in an easy to read planner and you have so many great ideas too!http://www.fadedspring.co.uk
ana recently posted..Purple Rain
Thank you!
I will need this in the future! It looks good even for me!
alexandria waning recently posted..INSTAGRAM ROUNDUP
I’m saving this! I home school but the kiddos love to have lunch boxes and eat out of them everyday!
Bonnie @ Living a Fit and Full Life recently posted..Ohuhu Automatic Soap Dispenser & Adjustable Reflective Vest Review
Great ideas and I love how handy the printable is. Thank you so much for sharing, these are very helpful tips!
Michelle recently posted..Easy DIY Big City Popcorn Boxes Tutorial
You bring up a great point about lunch being a short time! I love the idea of choosing one from each category; life simplified!
Jaclyn recently posted..What This Mama Wore: Vacation Style with Think Elysian Boutique
Very helpful. I start packing lunches agin very soon. this will be my 19th year of packing school lunches! Five more years to go
Stacey recently posted..Let’s Chill – It’s Still Summer Party & HUGE Anniversary Sale!
My daughter will be starting Preschool this year so I will not have to pack a lunch just yet. But, this is such a great list! It’s so important to eat healthy and I’ve tried to instill this into my daughter since she started eating real food.
Shelly recently posted..ModCloth’s 1st Ever Namesake Label
Anything to make life a little easier, I love the variety you’ve put together!
Rebecca recently posted..Easy Dinner Recipes Meal Plan Week 5
Thank you! Yes, lunch shouldn’t be a struggle for moms and kids.
I love how you broke everything down, down to the protein! Thanks for sharing!
Denea recently posted..CALLING ALL TEACHERS!
Thanks! Sometimes I start making lunch and have no idea what to do different. This gets my creative juices going.
This is awesome! I think it’s a great list for adults too. I love that you picked so many healthy choices as well.
Pam recently posted..Five Inspirataional Book Quotes
Thank you! Yes, it is a great help for adults, too.