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School is in Session: Packed Lunch Ideas for the Kids (and you too)
Posted by C. Carey on Sep 8th 2018
Schools out for Summer! Oh, wait, it’s the exact opposite of that. School is in session, my friends! For me that means it’s time to get my organizational skills in order, get serious about our schedules and meal planning. I have mentioned it time and time again, but meal planning makes life so much easier, especially during the school year. Because of how much less stressful meal planning makes my life, I spend time each weekend planning and putting together lunches for the kids. We do have food intolerances and allergies to deal with though, so it’s just as easy as just making a bunch of PB&J sandwiches and calling it good. Just because you may need to make specialty lunches, doesn’t mean you can’t meal plan with the best of them!
I guess what I am saying is, don’t worry my friends, regardless of what type of foods you need to prepare, you will be able to get it done and make lunchtime easier. One thing I caution though is to buy a good lunch box or bag. Yes, brown bags are cheap and easy, but lunch bags cost less in the long run, plus, you can keep ice packs in them to keep your foods colder longer. Here at Sassafrass we have some adorable ones that your kids are going to love!
All of our lunch bags are lightly insulated and can be hand-carried or slung over the shoulder with the adjustable nylon strap. Plus, they are less than $10 which means that they pay for themselves quickly!
Here are some of my favorite packed lunch ideas for specialty lunch needs:
Dairy Free:
I’m putting these VEGAN FRUIT & OAT BARS in the dairy free section, but truth be told, they are DAIRY, NUT, GLUTEN, EGG AND SUGAR-FREE! They might just be the perfect snack for someone on a special diet.
These Homemade Fruit Cups are great for breakfast, lunchtime or just a snack throughout the day.
Hummus is a great dipping snack for chips, crackers and veggies! So, yeah, basically the perfect snack and lunch addition.
Gluten Free:
I’ve been gluten free for a while and trust me when I say, it’s hard a hard switch, but once you go gluten free, you really get to know a good recipe. Here are a couple that I just love:
These Oatmeal Peanut Butter Protein Bites make a great addition to any lunch box and will keep you full for a while once you’ve munched!
Called, the Best Homemade Sloppy Joes, I do have to agree because these things taste amazing! Not to worry, these aren’t just for dinner. They are easy to pack up in a sandwich bag for a lunch item.
My kids go crazy over these tasty Corn Dog Nuggets. They are delicious, they are gluten free and they are low carb, which is great for many different healthy eating programs.
These Mini Pizza Muffins are another great, gluten free and low carb option. What kid doesn’t want pizza for lunch, am I right??
Vegan:
This Rainbow Wrap is full of flavor and color and perfect for a Vegan lunch for the kids or mom and dad.
Who says you can’t eat sushi on a vegan diet? Muffin Tin Sushi Cups look like the real thing, without compromising your food preferences.
Keto:
Keto is all the rage, right now. If your kids are doing keto with you, or if you just like to make life easier by planning meals that work for everyone, these are great options.
These Cheddar Bacon Biscuits are an easy lunch meal for those following keto. These are great too because they only take about a half hour to prepare and cook and you can freeze them and eat later. These are literally some of the best meal prep foods I have tried.
Make these Mini Taco Bites at the beginning of the week, toss them in the freezer and munch on them all week long for breakfast and lunch. Delicious keto, easy meal prep food.
Set aside a little bit of free time soon soon and spend some of it meal prepping for lunches for the week ahead with these healthy eating, special diet meals. I bet your kids are going to love the time and effort you put into making sure their packed lunches are delicious regardless of their dietary restrictions. Oh and this is a very small list of foods compared to the amount of special diet recipes you can find on the great wide web. Besides this little list I have created for you here, Pinterest is a great resource for finding special recipes too.