grapes; cheese filled pretzels; mini whole wheat pitas; cheddar cheese; hummus; baby carrots [and a knife for spreading the hummus… they like to make cheese and hummus pita sandwiches, and they also like to dip carrots into hummus]
macaroni and cheese in thermoses; popcorn in snack bags; grapes, pears, apples; special treat: Honest Kids “squeezy juice”!
kiwis and blueberries; whole wheat Fig Newtons; cheese crackers; turkey, cheese, and honey-mustard roll-ups on whole wheat tortillas
banana; yogurt; water bottles; granola in snack bags (to stir into the yogurt)
turkey slices; baby carrots; hummus; crackers; cheddar cheese; oranges
chicken noodle soup (ready to be opened, heated up, and poured into thermoses the next morning before school); dried cranberries, strawberries, and raisins; crackers; cheese
leftover Chinese food and orange slices
grapes; cheese; cereal bar; crackers; ranch dressing for dipping; tomatoes, carrots, green peppers
thermoses ready for filling the next morning; special treat: chocolate milk!; leftover pasta primavera (to be heated up the next morning); grated parmesan cheese; cantaloupe, strawberries, grapes
carrots; pretzels; cheese stick; kiwi; sunflower nut butter & jelly sandwiches (our school is a ‘Peanut-Free-Zone’ –which really cramps our style because we eat a ton of nuts in the family– but it turns out that K & O have come to actually prefer “sun-nut butter” to good old-fashioned peanut butter!??!!!!!)
So you guys are totally my parent-feeding role models. Although JuLin is only 15 mos, I worry constantly about what she's eating, how much of it (I swear she eats more than school age kids!), and whether we're setting her up for a healthy lifestyle. And, she has a peanut and still-to-be identified allergy (weird things break her out: mac and cheese, string cheese, some types of yogurt) that further limit what we can give her. She's a total carnivore and a total carb junkie, but a great eater! It wasn't until I had kids that I realized this statement is SO true: it is much cheaper and easier to NOT eat healthily. Anyway, keep the tips coming. It's encouraging to know a "good" meal doesn't have to be gourmet, but cheese, crackers and other basic things can be filling and good to little mouths and tummies. Rock on J-M family!
reply to Safiya– love ya! 😉 ~hbj
I want to eat lunch with Kyle and Owen! It all looks delicious. I think you had a bologny and cheese sandwich most days when you were a kid…! You are a wonderful mom.
Those lunches are inspiring! Do they trade things with other kids, or are they good about just eating their own food?
I'm also wondering whether things stay hot in the thermoses, and when you say you heat the pasta before school, does it stay warm? If not, do they care?
Reply to "CLBROOKE" — Hi! It seems that they do not trade their lunches with other kids. I don't think it is allowed in their classrooms. I've never heard them talk about anyone trading anything. I do know that K & O like their lunches and almost always finish them completely. They sometimes tell me that other kids ask them to share with them…. and I guess sometimes they do… (?)… but I don't really know. Kyle's teacher says that he is by far the best eater in his class. Owen's teacher says that he's a good eater but is too social at lunch (! surprise surprise!) and gets distracted. But still Owen almost always finishes his. Re: the thermoses… we have really good (i.e., EXPENSIVE!!!) thermoses. They are "Thermos" brand "food jars." They are about $15-25 per thermos (depending on which one you get). I bought them on-line for slightly less than $15 each. But I have seen them at Target. We've been using K & O's for almost three years now and they are still going strong– totally leak-proof, and they totally (really!) do keep the food hot! (or cold…. great for yogurt in warm weather) Totally 100% worth the investment. We also have larger thermoses from "Laptop Lunches" (search for these online). They are decent but not nearly as good as the Thermos brand. The reason we use the Laptop Lunch thermoses are for larger things… like larger types of pasta (penne, ziti, linguine, etc.). They work just fine… and the good thing is that they have a "bowl" that is a separate piece that separates from the top, so they can pour pasta into it, sprinkle with cheese, and eat from a bowl (instead of trying to dig deep into the tall thermos). Anyway, between those two sets of thermoses we are all set. We've been using both sets for three years with zero problems. I heat the stuff up in the microwave, and pour it into the thermoses in the morning before they go to school.
K & O's school lunches are a labor of love for me.
Thanks for the comments and thanks for reading!
I think you could work with Jamie Oliver and kids lunches in school!!! Yours look amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How about starting a kids lunch biz? LOVE YOUR LUNCHES, the kids at school must be jealous!
We have one of those nifty laptop lunchboxes. We were quite inspired early on this year to fill all the neat boxes with a colorful variety of tastiness. Even without peanut butter. We do cream cheese and jelly sandwiches. But everyday our little chatterbox came home from school with most of his lunch still sitting nicely in the cute boxes. He says his girlfriend Katie won't let him eat:)
OMG, I'm in awe. (And how long have I read your blog and my first comment is about food?!) These lunches look just like all the magazine articles I have dreamily cut out and saved — "One day, my kids' lunches will look like these" — but I didn't realize anyone actually PACKED lunches like these. I'm an elementary school teacher, and I walk around at lunchtime sometimes, and I've never seen anything like this!
Couple of questions:
— Do the hot thermos and cold thermos affect each other's temperatures? I love sending leftovers in my kids' thermoses, but when I send something cold along in the lunchbox, I get temperature complaints.
— Where did you get the bento-box lunchboxes? Does the food really stay in the little compartments when you close the lid and carry it vertically?
— What do you put on the fresh fruits to keep them looking good until lunchtime — or are your boys not picky about eating browned fruits (mine are VERY picky, so they end up with a lot of the prepackaged fruit cups instead)?
Thank you SO much for this new dose of inspiration. Your children are so lucky!
Reply to AMANDA–
Thank you so much for your compliments! Honestly, I don't feel like my lunches for them are that big of a deal… I really truly don't! But coming from a school teacher, your comment really makes me think. Thank you!
— re: temperature— the dark red lunch "box" things that you see in the photos w/ the thermoses…. those are from LLBean. Great investment. They are insulated and they keep the stuff cold or hot. They also have a little pouch on the outside for a drink bottle. I find that the thermoses are so good (again… see my comment above… they are the expensive/good types of thermoses! and of course, you get what you pay for– in this case, you get GOOD thermoses!)… that they don't seem to impact the other food items around them. I can have a thermos of hot soup right next to a container of fresh fruit, and they both seem fine.
— the bento-style-boxes are from Laptop Lunch Systems. http://www.laptoplunches.com/
I highly, highly recommend these!!! We've been using ours for 3 years and they are GREAT. Yes, the food stays in the containers… but… you need to get the "carrying case" — http://secure.laptoplunches.com/AMAZING/itemMatri… — because that keeps everything contained, closed tight, and keeps everything from sliding around. The best part about these is that we just throw them in the dishwasher. The best part about the "carrying case" is that they are insulated, so everything stays nice and chilled inside.
— I put nothing on the fresh fruit. They seem to be fine. I've always wondered about that. I have no idea why they don't get brown. I have a TOTAL aversion to browned fruit myself… so I totally get it that your boys wouldn't want to eat browned fruit. I don't know why ours aren't getting browned. The only thing I can theorize is this: I cut them up right away, and put them in air-tight sealed 'tupperware-type' containers (no plastic zip-loc baggies!!!). Also, they stay cool. They are in the fridge overnight, and then they go straight into the insulated lunch boxes, so there is no warming up-cooling down-warming up going on. They stay chilled until they eat them. So, the less air exposure the better (it is the exposure to air that makes stuff get brown), and the colder the better.
Those are my thoughts! I hope this helps!
Oh wow! I honestly cannot choose which lunch I would prefer to have. They ALL look so yummy , and so creatively packed!! I love the lunchboxes that you use! Where did you get them? Oh, and those cute reusable snack bags? Love them, too! You have given me sooooo many great ideas for my own lunches! My baby is too young for school, but I will remember your ideas of packing such fun looking lunches for your boys when it comes time for Kai to go to school! Love this post!!!
Man, it is 10pm here in Seattle and I had one piece of pizza for dinner. I was starving before I read this post and now I am even more hungry! I wish that food would just jump out of my computer!!
It all looks so yummy. I think I might try the turkey, cheese, and honey mustard roll up! Sounds super good.
Could you make my lunches too, please? 😉
It's nice to see so many vegetarian lunches! Gives me ideas for the lunches I pack my husband. I don't know if it's OK to mention my blog here, and if it's not, I won't. But I have a blog that documents the lunches I pack my husband every day in his Laptop Lunchbox. I love those things!
reply to Katie — yes, of course, it is always great to tell us your blog site!!!!!!!! Give us the link and we'll all go check it out! 😉
Those lunches look so yummy!! As a veg momma I was excited to see a bunch of lunches that I can try out with my daughter! If you have time, could you share your recipe for pasta primavera? It looks great!
reply to parkey.allison — For the past 15 years I've been trying to make the perfect pasta primavera. I still do not have it perfected. I don't want to give you the recipe because #1) there really is no recipe, I'm winging it… and #2) it is good, but not great. There are tons of recipes for pasta primavera online (believe me, I've studied them!!! LOL!) — if you find a great one, send it my way! In the meantime… I'll continue trying to get it perfect. When I do perfect it, I promise I'll put the recipe on the blog!
~hbj
Those lunches look great. Gives me some ideas for my kids. I was wondering how many minutes Kyle and Owen get to eat lunch at school? Do they finish all the food?
Here in CT, my kids only get 20 minutes from start to finish and barely get down a sandwich.
Reply to JULIE — I think their lunchtime lasts around 20-30 minutes, but honestly I'm not sure. I can absolutely assure you of this, though: 20 minutes is enough time for K & O to fully finish any/all of these lunches. Don't forget— these boys CAN EAT!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😉 Seriously. ;-0 Yes, most days they finish all of their food… or they come very close to it. And here's our policy: When they get home from school, if there is any lunch leftover from their lunchbox, then they need to finish it before they get to have any afternoon snacks (they usually have a big snack — like, sitting at the kitchen table eating something substantial — at around 2:30). If there is leftover lunch, they eat that first and then can have other foods for snack-time. So, virtually every single school day there is virtually zero food wasted from their lunches. It works great. We've been doing that since they started pre-school, so they don't know any different! 😉
excellent, more inspiration for lunches.
I bought the laptop lunch containers after seeing them on your blog and they really are terrific. For some reason it is easier to think up lunches when faced with four small containers than when faced with a giant empty lunchbox, or is that just me?
I use a thermos for Sport's lunches too – I find the key in our cold climate is to pre-heat the thermos with boiling water while the food is heating up, and then dump out the water and pour in the food. And I agree that buying a really good quality thermos is the way to go.
reply to JUNIEB — No, it isn't just you… I find that the laptop lunch systems make me waaay more creative, and make the lunches waaaay more well-rounded, than they otherwise would be. I really think they help tremendously in the lunch-packing-arena!!!! 😉
Looking at their lunches made me hungry! and I see that they like cheese and crackers, so do I
To echo the other readers – WOW – good job on giving your boys a well balanced, enjoyable to eat and delicious packed lunch each day!
My questions is: Do you and Braydon also take similar packed lunches to work?
While I was in school it was easier for me to make packed lunches (my mum made my packed lunches when I was a young child then I did it myself as I grew older). But now as I attend college and go to my work placement – due to having to fit in writing up reports and papers in my 40 hr/wk schedule, I don't usually have the energy to pack a lunch the night before. But I'm trying to find the time and energy – both for my health and my bank balance!
TTFN!
– KMV
reply to KATE.M.VICKERY— Yes, I do pack lunches for Braydon and I for work. We often have lunch meetings and don't need a lunch… so I don't do lunches for us as much as for K & O…. but at least a couple days a week we each need lunches packed. And then, on those days, I'm doing 3-4 packed lunches in one fell swoop in the evening. I plan to do a "Food Friday" post on our packed lunches some time soon. I totally understand about the college-busy-reasons for not doing packed lunches. Braydon and I started doing packed lunches in graduate school. We were very good about packing our lunches in order to save money (and eat relatively healthy). But it was tough!!!!!!!! (especially when friends would be eating take out at the desk right next to mine!!!!!!) ;0
LOVE IT! Heather, where do you get the great little eco snack packs? I have the laptop lunches and Fabkins (Cloth childrens sized napkins) but would love the cloth snack bags. Do tell!
reply to HICKSBLEEKER– the snack bags…. they are great. We have them in various sizes and they have fully replaced 'zip-loc' type plastic baggies in our house. I highly, highly recommend them! The ones you saw on this post were the smaller ("snack sack") size. I also love the large size ("sandwich sack"). I have one that lives in my diaper bag to contain lots of small snacks for Meera. It is large enough to hold 1-2 snack sacks inside it, plus a couple packages of fruit snacks, fruit leather, etc. Here's the site: http://www.snacktaxi.com
Yum!!! Seriously, this made me miss the days my mom packed my lunch. Think I could talk her into it again?
I mentioned to a friend how cool I thought it was that you could pack hot items and she wanted me to warn you about bacteria growth. She works for Good Housekeeping and she said that they did a test of thermoses and that most don't keep the food hot enough for long enough to prevent bacteria growth. I know you guys are probably using the safe kind, but I just figured I'd throw that out there!
So I might be copying these lunches for myself this week! (Another college-busy-person here. :))
I am thinking of getting laptop lunch systems for my 3, to use when not packing something warm in the thermos. Are they worth the money? Does the food move around or stay divided?
Thanks!
Ok, so I read through the comments and saw that you answered these questions already ;). That's what I get for reading without drinking coffee first.
To the person who asked about keeping fruit from turning brown, you can squeeze a few drops of lemon juice on the fruit or there is a product called fruit fresh: http://www.freshpreserving.com/pages/new_products…
It does have chemicals in it, so if you want to avoid that, go with the lemon juice. You don't need much at all. Just toss the sliced fruit with it.
Love your lunches. A while back when you first showed the lap top lunch boxes I bought them for my kids and we use them all the time. Even in the summer when going to the park, on the boat, canoeinig etc. I just bought the new larger size for my husband and he is really using it and liking it at work! Keep up the great ideas!!!
Jenn
PS I love your new blog!
Wow! As so many others have said, what great lunches! I love the reusable snack bags. I pack my lunch every day for work. I'm going to look into the lunch boxes for me
(and of course for my girl once she is big enough). Thanks for sharing these great ideas!
Ok so I thought of another question. Have the boys been able to keep track of all the laptop lunch containers? Do they hold up well or have they had to be replaced?
I am also going to look into the snack taxi stuff.
reply to "MomOf3" — amazingly, we have never lost one single piece of the laptop lunch containers. They eat right out of the case (with the little containers in place), so the little containers never actually move around too much. And the whole system zips up (we have the carrying cases/sleeve things), and it is all contained nicely within. They hold up very, very well. In three years of using them at least 3x/week we have never had to replace any of them. We wash all of it in the dishwasher too. TIP: Although we have only 2 carrying cases/sleeves (1 for Kyle, 1 for Owen), we bought an extra set of the actual lunchbox systems… so, we actually have 2 sets of the plastic boxes and containers per kid (so we have four sets). That way, we can throw 2 whole dirty sets into the dishwasher at night after school — and I can make fresh lunches for the next day that same night in clean systems from the day before. It is well worth the investment! Let me know if you get them how you like them!
I love that you have taken pictures of your lunches! I feel quite proud of my lunches, too, after I have made them all:)
Thanks! I was figuring if I ordered them, I would get extra sets (3 since I would go ahead and order for #3 even though he won't need it for another year) both to put in the dishwasher and in case they lose a piece.
The 2.0 systems also seem to have more lids and that would be good I guess for stuff like yogurt and such.
Anyways, they are on my list.