The goal of school lunches for me is simple: deliver a consistent message of the importance of real food! I also want to make sure the littles are nourished for their long day at school. Happy tummies mean happy brains. Happy brains learn better and make better choices during the day.
If you are just starting off and find the task daunting… write it out and make a plan. Keep it simple and you will find your way! 🙂
👬For the 7-year-olds:
LUNCH
🍠 Orange sweet potatoes
🥝 Fruit salad
🥦 Broccoli
❤️Black olives
❤️ Mary’s Gone Crackers, Black pepper
🍳 Hard-boiled eggs or Crown Prince smoked oysters
SNACK:
🥥Thrive Market Coconut chips, Brazil nuts, cashews, and Sunmaid raisins
🍫 Refrigerator fudge from the Instagram feed with Trader Joe’s cocoa nibs
👭For the 3-year-olds:
💥Same trail mix as the boys
🥝Same fruit salad with kiwi, Granny Smith apple, oranges, and strawberries.
👬For the boys:
LUNCH:
🦃 Ground turkey, Greek meatballs
🥥 Coconut ranch dip
🍠 Orange sweet potato or plantains
🥦 Steamed broccoli with olive oil and Redmond’s Real Salt
🍅 Cherry tomatoes
🍓 Strawberries and blackberries
SNACK
🌟Cashews and dried strawberries
👭For the preschooler's SNACK
🍓 🥝Strawberries, Kiwi, and blackberries
🎃 Pumpkin seeds and dried strawberries
.
🤗TIP: put lower-cost fruits with high-cost fruits to stretch them. A couple of nutrient-dense blackberries go a long way!
📚 Lunchbox time!
👬For the 7-year-olds:
LUNCH
🍠 Orange sweet potatoes or 🍌 Banana
🐠 Homemade fish sticks recipe from @paleokid_(cod battered in coconut flour)
🥦 Broccoli
🥕 Fermented carrots
🍅 Ketchup + avocado oil mayo + sauerkraut juice = dip
SNACK:
🥤Smoothie: green kale, orange, lemon, frozen organic berry blend including cranberries, banana, water, and Sun Warrior Protein in my Vitamix.
👭For the 3-year-olds:
🍅 Tomatoes, broccoli, and green olives!
🌮 Deconstructed fajitas are the inspiration. .
👬For the boys:
LUNCH:
🍗 Crockpot chicken thighs with tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, garlic and sage. ⭐️Grain free Siete tortilla chips
🧀 Raw grass-fed Gouda cheese or green olives
🍠 Sweet potato or plantains fried in coconut oil
🥝 Kiwi, red plums, and blackberries
.
SNACK:
⭐️Pitted dates stuffed with pecans and sprinkles with Redmond’s Real Salt Or
🍈 Cantaloupe, kiwi, peach, and blackberries
🌊 Sea Snax original nori sheets baked in olive oil!
.
👭For the girls:
SNACK:
🍈Cantaloupe, peach, kiwi and blackberries
🧀 Raw grass-fed, Gouda cheese
🍞 Here is my take on bread, for our family. Homemade is best because you control the ingredients and the fermentation! Letting the bread rise for 12+ hours reduces the gluten level and increases digestibility.
For the boys 👬:
LUNCH:
🥪 Spelt roll with Kerry Gold butter, leftover roast beef, and raw milk Gouda.
🍅 Tomatoes
🍏 Apples, red plum, and kiwi
🍫 Beetroot brownie
⭐️Green olives
SNACK:
🍓 Thawed organic frozen strawberries
👭For the girls:
SNACK:
🍏 Same mixed fruit as the boys ⭐️Black olives
Thanks, Lunch Bots for making such high-quality containers!
👬For the boys:
LUNCH
🍎 Winesap apples with cinnamon and Redmond’s Real Salt
🐄 All beef, sugar-free pastured hot dogs from US Wellness Meats
🥝 Kiwi
🥦 Steamed broccoli with olive oil
🥕 🥒 Home fermented carrots and cucumbers
SNACK:
⭐️Blueberry protein smoothie:
🌿 Beet greens
🍌 Banana
🍺 Ginger kombucha
⭐️Frozen blueberries
💪Vanilla protein Sun Warrior Protein
TIP: Add a high-quality mineral sea salt to the kid’s food! This encourages hydration!
👬For the boys:
LUNCH
❤️Chickpea salad with sautéed garlic, onion, celery, carrots, and apple cider vinegar.
🍐 Green pear with pomegranate seeds.
🎃Pumpkin cornbread (recipe from @nourishingmeals)
🥦 Steamed broccoli with olive oil and Redmond’s Real Salt
🍇 Organic green grapes
SNACK
🍁 Maple-almond popcorn (recipe from @pamelasalzman) with added toasted cashews and dried apples (try the Nesco food dehydrator)
👭SNACK:
🍁 Maple-almond popcorn sunflower seeds and Sunmaid raisins.
🍿 The popcorn is from @pamelasalzman ! It is a fabulous recipe as is all of her beautiful creations! I highly recommend it!
🤯One day my efforts will pay off! Four kids equal a house of chaos… pretty much 80% of the time!
😆How do I find peace? Knowing that I am imputing the best nutrition possible to keep growing their energetic little bodies!
👬For the boys:
LUNCH:
🐄 Beef head cheese from US Wellness Meats
🥕 Tricolored carrots from Trader Joe’s
⭐️Black olives
🍌 Green plantain fried in coconut oil
🍠 White sweet potato Tart from Farms
🍫 Coconut refrigerator fudges with cocoa nibs from Thrive Market
🍏 Cubed apples, pomegranate seeds, and kiwi with cinnamon
SNACK:
🍓 Frozen thawed strawberries from Costco
👭For the girls:
SNACK:
🥤Smoothie:
🌿 Red kale
🍋 Lemon
🥕 Carrot
🍓 Strawberry
Sun Warrior Protein and Great Lakes Gelatin collagen.
🥕 Mixed carrots
⭐️Black olives
Sourcing high-quality hot dogs can be done! Look for all beef, grass-fed hot dogs!
👬For the boys:
LUNCH:
🌭 All beef, grass-fed hot dogs from Miller’s Organic Farm CSA
🍎 Gala apple and pomegranate seeds
🥦 Broccoli with olive oil and Redmond’s Real Salt
🍓 Strawberries (thawed from frozen)
🍠 Orange sweet potato from Tart Farms OR
🍌Green plantain fried in coconut oil with Redmond’s Real Salt
SNACK
⭐️Brazil nuts
⭐️Hazelnuts (toasted)
🥥 Coconut chips from Thrive Market
🍎Dried apples in my Nesco dehydrator
⭐️Dates from Costco
I hope these lunch boxes offer some inspiration to you and your family! I would love to hear from you about some of your lunchbox inspiration!!