• Fresh & Healthy: Lunch Box Meals

    Getting the school lunches ready

    The biggest challenge for me when making and prepping the school lunches is finding a good variety of items for the girls to take to school.  Thankfully they eat almost everything (they don’t like liver) so that makes it easier for me.  Although I do have one that if she gets the same item in the lunch several days in a row she’ll stop eating it, guess she needs a little food variety to keep her excited!

    Lunch Box Meal:

    • Beef & Bean Burrito
    • Fresh Banana
    • Fresh Broccoli
    • Batman Fruit Snacks
    • Red & Blue Tortilla Chips
    • Strawberry  & Lemon Circle Crisps
    • Chex Mix or Animal Crackers
    • Jelly Beans
    • Fruit Punch Juice

    Fresh banana, broccoli, burrito and more!

    The girls really do eat most of the items in their lunch bags!  I have found that the food I pack them hold them longer than when they eat lunches at school.  Part of the reason may be because students that bring lunches get a few extra minutes to eat, plus they can eat any of the leftovers for a snack on the way to our after school activities.

  • Fresh & Healthy: Lunch Box Meals

    Karlie’s lunch is packed and ready to go

    The girls and I try to clean out their lunches after school and homework so we can re-pack them for the next day.  It is easier for our family make the lunches the night before and stick the whole lunch bag into the fridge.  The mornings tend move quickly and I want them to go as smoothly as possible for everyone.

    I am really excited about the girls new lunch bags from Thirty-One!  They are spacious and easy to clean.  The girls were SUPER EXCITED to get them!  A big thanks to Jennifer Kauffman for helping me get these bags ordered and monogrammed!  If you are looking for a monogrammed bag for yourself, a child, or to give as a gift Jennifer would be happy to help you.

    What’s for lunch today?

    Lunch Box Meal:

    • Beef Stew & Jasmine Rice
    • Fresh Banana Bread
    • Apple Peel Confetti Crisps
    • Pickles & Dip
    • Batman Fruit Snacks
    • Strawberry  & Lemon Circle Crisps
    • Spiderman Cheez Its or Grahams Bug Bites
    • Peach Yogurt or Sugar Free Strawberry Jello
    • Oyster Crackers
    • Jelly Beans
    • Fruit Punch Juice

    Beef Stew, pickles & dip, homemade banana bread and more!

    It has been better for our family to send our girls lunches to school.  Before sending lunches a lot of afternoons the girls would come home from school starving.  When I asked them what they ate for lunch they could never remember.  I like knowing what they are eating and I make sure to pack enough so they can have a snack after school too since we go to after school activities every day.  If they finish everything in their lunches then they can get something else to eat once we are home.

    Brina’s lunch is packed and ready!

  • Fresh & Healthy: Lunch Box Meals

    Brina & Karlie’s Lunch Bags are ready to go!

    Today I have a picture of the girls packed lunch bags. These are the ones they used last year so they will look familiar to some of you.  Our friends gave the girls these lunch bags for their birthday a couple years ago and we have gotten a lot of great use out of them.  The girls love having their names on their individual bags and I like that when they lose the bag at school, bus, or some other random place we always get them back.  There are not a lot of “Brina” and “Karlie’s” at their school so it makes it easy to identify whose bag it is.

    What’s for lunch today?

    The bags are showing some wear after much use but still have plenty of life left in them so we are using them some again this year.  This year I am trying to rotate through the different lunch bags to keep them from getting too moist or smelly.  Giving them a break helps them dry out, air out, and will help them last a little longer (hopefully) too.

     Lunch Box Meal:

      • Tuna Fish Sandwich
      • Fresh Watermelon
      • Fresh Yellow Pear Tomatoes (from our garden)
      • Mott’s Plus Mixed Berry Applesauce
      • Strawberry Yogurt
      • Quaker Blueberry Stila or Animal Crackers
      • Cinnamon Teddy Grahams
      • Strawberry Fruit Stick
      • Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookie or Chocolate & Vanilla Oreos
      • Cubed Beef Jerky Stick  (in the container)
      • Berry Blast Fruit Drink

    Watermelon, yogurt, tuna sandwich and more good stuff to eat!

    The girls are excited about rotating through their lunch bags because it adds a little extra variety.  They get excited to see what’s in their lunch that day.  With the lunch bags sometimes I pack a note too or write on their sandwich container or something else as a special surprise for them that day.  Whatever they don’t have time to eat at lunch they can eat it as a snack during class or as an after school snack.

  • Fresh & Healthy: Lunch Box Meals

    Chalkboard notes in the girls lunch boxes!

    Today the girls chalkboard notes say “Have a super fun day! Love You!’ (Karlie’s) and “Have a wonderful day! Love You!” (Brina’s).  Every day that they take these lunch boxes to school I make a point to write a note or draw a picture.  The notes and pictures are sometimes exactly the same and other days they are similar.  These little notes and drawings are seriously one of the biggest highlights during their school day and a great way to remind them that we love them!

    Pistachios, fruit and other good treats

     Lunch Box Meal:

    • Almond Butter Sandwich or Pepperoni Pizza
    • Fresh White Peaches
    • Fresh Carrots
    • Fit & Active All Natural Blueberry Fruit Strip
    • Animal Crackers or Chocolate Chip Teddy Grahams
    • Blueberry Yogurt Stick or Pistachios
    • Capri Sun Sunrise Tropical Juice

    Ready to be packed into the lunch box!

    The girls lunches last year were exactly the same for the most part except the occasionally different flavor of yogurt or juice.  This year I have one that is restricted with eggs, peanuts, and diary so I have had to change it up a little bit.  The girls still get a variety of items just not necessarily the exact ones due to the diet restrictions.

  • Fresh & Healthy: Lunch Box Meals

    Karlie and Brina’s lunches all packed and ready to go for school.

    With the school year in full bloom we have once again started the lunch box routine.  Every evening before going to bed we put together all the lunches for the following day including school and work lunches.  After everything is all packed the lunch boxes are put into the refrigerator so in the morning all that we need to do it pull them out, stick in an ice pack, and go.   The mornings are busy enough with activity so prepping the night before saves us a lot of time.  We try to pack a protein (sandwich / meat), fruit, vegetable, diary (yogurt or cheese stick), drink, and snack in each lunch.  Everyday is a little different to add more variety to their lunches.

    Fresh plums, garden tomatoes, and other goodies

    Lunch Box Meal:

    • Peanut Butter & Strawberry Jam Sandwich
    • Fresh Red Plums
    • Blueberry or Mixed Berry Yogurt Tubes
    • Garden Red Cherry Tomatoes
    • Ritz Cheese Crackers
    • Strawberry Fruit Rollup
    • Honey Ham Stick
    • Mini M&M’s
    • Reduced Sugar Cherry or Pineapple Juice

    The cupcake sandwich container and princess baggie add a little more excitement to the lunch.

    While it may look like a lot of food the items packed in their lunch boxes have to get them through the majority of the day including school lunch and an afternoon snack.  We have activities after school every day of the week so whatever they don’t eat for lunch they will eat as a snack on the way to the activity for the day. Since we have started doing the school lunch boxes they have had more energy because they are eating a more balanced meal and snack plus we know exactly what they are eating.  Do you pack lunches everyday for your kids?  How do you keep it exciting for them?

  • Fresh & Healthy: School Lunchbox Meals

    Brina’s lunch

    Last year for their birthday a friend gave the girls monogram lunch boxes.  Both of the girls still pick those lunchboxes to use almost everyday.  Occasionally they will change it up a little bit but they love having a lunch box with their name on it.  They know it is theirs and are responsible for cleaning it out everyday after they get home from school.  Every once in awhile if they start smelling I will go through and give it a more thorough cleaning.  I always find a good stash of “love notes” from me in each of their bags which makes me smile and confirms that taking the time to write the sweet notes for the girls really does mean a lot to them.

    • Homemade Chicken Salad Sandwich
    • Fresh Green Pepper Slices
    • Fresh Green Grapes or Fresh Apple Slices
    • Strawberry Jello
    • Vanilla Yogurt
    • Chocolate Covered Cherries
    • Goldfish
    • Mrs. Field’s Oatmeal Cookie
    • Bottle of Water

    Karlie’s school lunch

  • Be My Valentine: “Love Bug” Notes

    Little ladybug “love” notes in the girls school lunches

    The girls love getting surprises in their lunch boxes.  I found these adorable ladybug notes (aka “love bug” notes in our house) and waited until I had a coupon to buy them at our local Hallmark store.  It is my intention to send a special note or treat with the girls lunches at least once a week (on a good week I do it 2 or 3 times).  In a time pinch I put these fun bugs on their sandwich containers or random places in their lunch.

    Fun note to remind the girls we love them

    Not only do these notes brighten the girls days it also encourages them to read.  The notes are cute and it only takes a minute to add them to their lunch box.

    Karlie’s Note – Buzzing by to say….. Consider yourself HUGGED!  Squeeeeeeeeze

    Karlie has been known to keep her “love” notes in her lunch box for weeks.  She gets so excited about the little notes that sometimes when I ask her how her day went the first thing she tells me about is the “love bug” she found in her lunch.

    Brina’s Note – A little buggy told me you’ve been working really hard.  You should feel so proud!

    Brina loves getting these notes in her lunch so much that she has a baggie full of them in her “special” drawer at home.  I know the girls appreciate these small reminders of our love.

    I love having these on hand to add a little bit of variety to the special surprises.You could pick up these or something similar at your local Hallmark store or find some online to print off or make up some of your own to print off.  What type of goodies do you put in your kids lunch boxes?

  • Fresh & Healthy: Lunch Box Meals

    School Lunch!

    The girls are good at helping put together their lunches.  They know that we get a protein, fruit, vegetable, dairy, drink and snack.  Here’s what they had today:

    • Peanut Butter & Homemade Strawberry Jam
    • Fresh Tomatoes
    • Pita Chips
    • Yogurt
    • Applesauce or Yogurt Raisin
    • Cheesestick
    • Bottled Water and Reduced Sugar Juice
    • Sugar Free Cherry Jello
    • Protein Bar or SoyJoy Apple Granola Bar

    Lunch Box Goodies

  • Fresh & Healthy: Lunch Box Meals

    Lunch Box – Chicken Salad Sandwich, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Banana, Yogurt, Lime Jello, CheezIt Crackers, and Boost

    With the second semester of school in full swing I am back to doing school lunches again every day.  Someone asked me what I send with the girls in their lunch boxes and asked if I could share some of my ideas.  Their lunches are not fancy, but I try to make them well balanced and fun.  Here is another post on school lunches.  In every lunch I pack a meat or protein, diary, fruit, vegetable, snack, and drink.

    Lunch Box – Chicken Salad Sandwich, Banana, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Yogurt, Lime Jello, CheezIt Crackers, and Capri Sun Juice

    Occasionally I will pick up some character sandwich bags at the Dollar Tree or other stores just for fun to add to the girls lunches.  The girls love getting Princess, Dora, Tinkerbell, Lightening McQueen, and a variety of other character lunches baggies in their lunch boxes.  Sometimes I will get great sandwich bread on clearance at the store and make what the girls call “football sandwiches” for an special treat as well (pictured below).

    Princess sandwich bags