Ban Boring Lunches! 5 Creative Lunch Ideas

Ban Boring Lunches! 5 Creative Lunch Ideas

It’s October, and by this time you are in full swing with the back to school schedule, after school activities, homework, and packing lunches. Even if you’re a homeschool mom, you can quickly run out of ideas for lunch, so I’ve gathered a few ideas to jump start your lunch creativity once again.

Make Your Own Lunch Kits

Even my older children see the Lunchables lunch kits at the store and want one because of the cute packaging. I just can’t buy them though, because they are exorbitantly expensive for the amount of food you get, and they are full of chemicals and overly-processed foods.

A great solution is to make your own lunch kits:

These BPA free reusable lunch kits are an initial investment of $3.48 each ($13.95 total for the set), but they are well worth it in my opinion because they make packing lunches a breeze. You can even pack several ahead of time and store them in the fridge for easy-peasy, stress-free mornings.

Click here to purchase (FREE shipping if you purchase 2 sets and you will be set for the year!).

Rethink the Sandwich

Most moms think of sandwiches as the main part of lunch, and let’s face it, they are one of the easiest choices, but who says you have to have PBJ every day?

Check out my Lunchbox Love Pinterest Board for some creative sandwich ideas including Almond Butter with Dried Cranberries, Blueberry Whipped Cream Cheese with Strawberry Slices, and Hummus with Carrot Strips. (You can also join 19,000 other readers and follow all my Pinterest Boards here.)

Create Food Art

You can create the usual lunch kit combos at home with healthier food, or you can make lunch a little more interesting by creating food art. Your kids will love cutting food with cookie cutters and creating animals, plants and funny faces. (photo from Jill Dubien)

Choose a Theme

Another idea is to create a theme for your lunches. Some ideas to get you started:

Hawaiian: ham and cubed cheese on pretzel sticks, pineapple chunks, yogurt with coconut sprinkles (or use the ideas pictured above from KeeleyMcGuire.com)

Mexican: nacho chips, bean dip, shredded cheddar, olives, cherry tomatoes

Ocean:  octopus shaped sandwich, fishy crackers, blue berry “bubbles”

Add Some Love

Give your kids a little extra love by adding a note to the lunch box. Click here for my list of 25 FREE Printable Lunchbox Notes. You’ll find enough notes to last the remainder of the school year!

Want Back-to-School to feel like this?

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