It’s me, Kelsey, back guest posting from Simple Life by Kels. I get a lot of questions about little people lunch ideas. Let’s look at my favorite re-usable lunch boxes and some ideas to fill them.
What do my kids eat for lunch? My 8 and 6-year-old began going to school outside of our home for the first time last year, so I started packing lunches. I keep things simple in most areas of my life, and my lunch ideas are no exception!
I know what my kids like, what they will eat over and over again, and what they don’t like. My 6-year-old is a little bit pickier than the 8-year-old who will eat anything just because she knows it’s good for her and because I took the time to make it.
Their lunches vary slightly day to day, but I have a basic system I like to follow. They get protein of some kind and a healthy fat. I want them full and happy at school, not crashing in the middle of the day for their poor teachers!
Easy Lunch Ideas:
- sandwich — classic, but great. My girls get a jam sandwich if there is bread made (which is most of the time)
- ham/turkey rolls — I like the Hormel Naturals Ham
- chicken apple sausages — my kids love these cold
- carrot sticks
- grape tomatoes
- mini cucumbers
- sugar snap peas
- bell peppers
- apple slices– throw into a bowl with water and 1/8 tsp of salt, then drain and rinse to keep from browning
- berries
- mandarin oranges
- homemade jello — I try to have this on hand most of the time
- nuts or dried fruit — we love almonds, pistachios, dried mangoes, and raisins
- freeze dried fruit packets
- fig bars
- applesauce pouches
- yogurt — the few times I have done this I put yogurt into one of their lunch box compartments, then put some granola in another one so they can mix it at school
- cheese sticks
Making lunches takes me a few minutes.
My kids don’t have access to a microwave at school or I would send more leftovers and things they could heat up.
It’s always a cold lunch, but they are fine with that. My 6-year-old often comes home with food still in her box, and it then becomes her after school snack. She knows it must be eaten. It’s important to me to send real food with my kids to school.
My oldest told me almost every day what other kids had to eat, and she was a good little advocate for healthy eating amongst her friends!
She introduced classmates to pomegranate seeds, pistachios, bell peppers, and homemade natural yeast breads and muffins. I love when she tells me that someone asked to try her roll or have some of her pomegranate seeds AGAIN. 
It might be small, but those kids go home and tell their parents they tried something new. Who knows what the trickle-down effect could be? As far as lunch boxes go, I used plastic bags for the first week and knew that wasn’t sustainable or practical. I ordered some YumBox lunch boxes. We liked them a lot.
Then I got some Bentgo Kids boxes as well to try.
I love both, but am slightly partial to the Bentgo. They are perfect for smaller children. They have room for more options, but little portions of each thing, which is great for my kindergartener. My older daughter could easily use the Yumbox every day and have a few things with bigger portions of each.
I tend to alternate between the two depending on what they are going to be eating. Sandwiches fit more easily into the YumBox. I would recommend both, depending on needs. The Bentgo are a little harder to close, but my girls haven’t had an issue with them.
They are easy to use and clean. I have loved having both options.
