• 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

    1 Cool Kid + 1 Yummy Lunch = 2 Much Fun

    The chalk board on the inside of the lunch boxes has been a huge hit with the girls.  Most days when they take these lunch boxes to school they cannot wait until lunch time to check out their chalk drawing or message.  Every once in awhile the girls will get a special treat in their lunch boxes.  Today they got a Lunchable and a variety of vegetables with ranch dip.

    Something “special” in the lunch today!

     Lunch Box Meal:

    • Chicken Nugget Lunchable
    • Fresh Banana
    • Fresh Carrots
    • Fresh Cherry Tomatoes
    • Fresh Celery
    • Ranch Veggie Dip
    • Mozzarella Cheesestick
    • Fresh Popcorn
    • Chocolate Mint Swirl Marshmallows
    • Sunrise Juice Bag

    Lunch is packed and ready to go!

    The girls love taking their lunches to school.  I like that the girls get a few extra minutes at lunch to eat since they take their lunches to school.  It is nice having not only their lunch but a snack already packed so they can eat on the way to the after school activities.

  • Fresh & Healthy: School Lunchbox Meals

    School Lunchbox Meals

    Part of the problem with doing lunchbox meals everyday is making sure you have a variety of ways to not only keep it appealing but also healthy for your family.  The girls love getting “surprises” in their lunchboxes.  Every once in awhile I will stick something special in their lunches that I find to keep it healthy and fun.

    • Peanut Butter and Homemade Strawberry Jam
    • Fresh Pepper Strips
    • Fresh Green Grapes
    • Gold Fish
    • Cherry Jello
    • Vanilla Yogurt
    • Chocolate Covered Cherries
    • Mrs. Fields Oatmeal Cookie & Chocolate Covered Raisins
    • Pink Lemonade

    Packing lunches for the kids

  • 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