When Liam started preschool I remember being so overwhelmed thinking of lunch ideas. I mostly would send the same thing every day. These lunch ideas for kids 6 and under have saved me from making my kids bored of food and also from really having to think about it every day!
Lunch Ideas For Kids 6 and Under
How I plan:
Every Sunday I sit down and map our meals out for the week for lunch and dinner. Mostly so I am not blankly staring into my fridge trying to decide and also so we can grocery shop. I have the list of proteins, veggies, fruits, and carbs and I basically just mix and match them up for the week. Just making sure I am not doing the same thing two days in a row in any area and that I give them a good variety.
What we alternate:
Proteins: Peanut butter (wow butter for Charlotte) and either jelly sandwiches or on crackers. Hummus, hard-boiled eggs, turkey bacon, yogurt, turkey.
Veggies: I try to cut them into shapes using these veggie cutters which I do think somewhat helps! We do carrot sticks, cucumbers, bell pepper slices, frozen edamame, and cut-up celery.
Fruits: My kids will literally eat any fruit but mostly I do blueberries, strawberries, watermelon, grapes (sliced), tomatoes (sliced), cantaloupe, oranges, and pineapple.
Carbs: I alternate between a few that I know they love; pretzel crisps, snap pea crisps, pirates booty, goldfish, and veggie straws.
Do my kids eat it:
Honestly yes most of the time. There will be days when some stuff comes home for Liam and it’s rare Charlotte finishes everything but they are both decent eaters and they also get snacks at school. The main thing for us is to give them variety. We also kind of go on the philosophy of we decide what and when and they decide how much.
What are some of your go-to lunch ideas for your kiddos?
Oh gosh I love this… One of the things I pinterest the most is “kids lunch ideas”. It’s so hard to think of new ideas all the time! Thanks for these suggestions!
preparing lunch boxes can be overwhelming yes, but really fun! these lunch boxes can make things easy as when you swap out or just alter the place where the food stuff are placed makes them look different from day to day
All of these are great lunch ideas for kids! Thanks for sharing this with us!
That’s how you do it! I love that you included a little sweet treat to go with the other healthy items. Balance is key.
Such great organization! I am feeling inspired as these would make the kids feel extra special.
Those are great lunch ideas. I always like a good portion and healthy parts to my kid’s lunch.
Lovely and simple ideas! Not only that but cost-effective too which is important for multi-child families.
Hhhmmm…I like these and the switch up you make in between days and meals. I’d love my peanut butter for my meals everyday, though.
Oh gosh I love this… One of the things I pinterest the most is “kids lunch ideas”. It’s so hard to think of new ideas all the time! Thanks for these suggestions!
I love that you peeled the fruit. I wish I’d have thought of that when my kids were younger.
preparing lunch boxes can be overwhelming yes, but really fun! these lunch boxes can make things easy as when you swap out or just alter the place where the food stuff are placed makes them look different from day to day