There are 180 school days in an average school year – that’s a lot of school lunches! Now that school is in session, it’s time for smart parents to think about healthy lunch options for your little ones that won’t break the bank or bore your kiddos to new, non-eating heights.

MAKE IT FUN AND HEALTHY – DIY LUNCH OPTIONS:

A healthy lunch for growing kids includes a good balance of carbs, protein, calcium, fruits and veggies. The combinations are endless! How about make your own pizza – flat bread rounds, pepperoni and assorted toppings. Your little ones will be excited about eating healthy foods and lunchtime when they get to assemble their own finished product to consume.

  

VARIATIONS ON A THEME:

Your kiddos will be delighted and surprised. Have fun with this one: all orange items, all round items, all star-shaped items.

SO MANY PRINTABLE LUNCH NOTES:

SO, so many. Messages in their lunch can be as easy as a post-it with “Have a good day” or as spectacular as some of these options from Pinterest.

ADD SOME FUN FRUITS:

Add unique fruits or veggies like dragon fruit, passion fruit, strawberry guava or starfruit for an extra dose of adventure.

    

THE ART OF THE ROLL-UP:

Sure, you can make a peanut butter sandwich each day and send those little ones on their way with a banana and juice box in their brown paper bag, but what’s the fun in that? Break the sandwich monotony: Kids love roll-up ANYTHING! Cheese and turkey, peanut butter and jelly, chicken, salsa and cheese—anything you or your kiddos can imagine. Roll it up in pita, tortilla, flattened bread or naan. Extra fun: send the ingredients and let your little ones build their own.

QUICK LUNCHTIME PARENTING HACKS:

• Fruit and pudding cups are easy to pack and fun to eat.
• Cookie cutters in all shapes and sizes are great for cutting fun shape sandwiches, fruit, veggies and cheese slices.
• Disposable cupcake lines are great to potion out or section off items inside a lunch box—sort of a DIY bento box.
• Use a rubber band or saran wrap to keep apple slices fresh; simply slice the apple and the put it back into an apple shape.
• Use small empty bottle for sauces.
• Freeze juice boxes and use them as ice packs—they’ll thaw by lunchtime and your kiddos’ lunch will still be cold.
• Write lunch notes or messages on fruit (you can even use a toothpick to write a secret message on a banana that will appear as it starts to brown).

It’s fun in here; it’s no wonder our school lunch ideas are fun for both you and your kiddo. Don’t forget there’s still time to stop in for our add-on color promotion with My Little Pony for additional fun and adventure—cutting cheese and fruit into the Mane 6 My Little Pony cutie marks is another great lunchtime idea to celebrate My Little Pony: The Movie—in theaters now!