Top Home Packed Lunch Ideas From The Pros

Since home lunches don’t pack themselves, it’s important to think of different ways you can spruce them up. We’ve gathered some of the best home packed lunch ideas that will help you to pack your lunch, or your kids lunches, just like the pros. Make your kids happy this year by creating lunch ideas that are practical but out of the ordinary. If you need some tips to get you started, check out these five tips for packing home lunches.

Every kid loves opening up their lunchbox at school to find something fun, unique, and definitely worth envying. While we want to send our kids off to school with the ideal lunchbox, it can be a struggle when juggling everything else at home. These tips from the pros will give you great packed lunch ideas that can help you to make sure your kids have a delicious and safe lunch that they will love enjoying at lunchtime.

Top Home-Packed Lunch Ideas From The Pros

Freeze Items – There are some items you can freeze and then pack. Why is this important? School lunches get warm very fast, and you can combat this by freezing things like juice, water, and yogurt. I even like freezing grapes, blueberries, strawberries, and melon. Not only am I keeping their food safe, but I am creating a great natural ice pack that they will enjoy eating. I use small snack sized baggies for the fruits and take advantage of a time-saving method by prepping them in advance once a week. If you don’t like being wasteful with baggies, you can invest in some reusable snack bags instead. By the time your child eats lunch, these items will be unthawed and ready to go!

Make Ahead – Mornings are a blur for many families as they rush through routines to get out of the door on time. By packing the next day’s food the night before, it helps combat the “rush” we are all feeling in the morning.

One great suggestion is to create a shelf or bin in your pantry that kids can choose from. Have a small selection of things like crackers, granola bars, mixed nuts, trail mix, granola, and fruit strips or dried fruit in these baskets. They can help with the process by picking out 1-2 of these items to go into their lunch while you add in the sandwich, leftovers, or yogurt you prepared the night before.

Get a Great Lunch Bag– One of the reasons kids love these packed lunch ideas so much is #1. The food and #2. They get to pack it in their favorite bags. This year, pick up a bag that’s practical and will help make packing lunches a lot easier. Make sure it has a variety of pockets and a place to put ice packs.

Our favorites:

Pack a Little Variety – When it comes to packing lunches, try to stay away from packing the same thing over and over again. Pack a little variety in those lunches. One of the best things to pack is fruits and veggies because they are so colorful. Gone are the day so of packed lunch ideas just consisting of sandwiches and chips. Whether you use a Funbites shape cutter for making sandwiches, cheese, meats, or fruit into cute shapes, or you go out of the ordinary and pack things like waffles and bacon for lunch instead of breakfast, there is no real standard for lunches.

The most important thing to remember is to pick a variety that will stay safe and at the right temperature until time for your kids to have lunch. That, along with picking healthy options they enjoy will ensure you’ve sent an amazing lunch.

Make a Home Lunch Menu – Just like your child brings home a school lunch menu, you can also create a home lunch menu. Not only are you able to plan ahead, but this also helps everyone know what’s for lunch that day! Because it’s all organized, you don’t have to dig around trying to come up with something to make. WIN!

These packed lunch ideas are the top picks of the pros. Packing a great nutritious meal for your kids to enjoy each day at school is so much easier when you follow these guidelines!

What are some of your best-packed lunch ideas? Share them in comments below!