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Something you don’t think about before you have kids is just how much time you’ll spend making meals for your kids, including packing lunches.  

Whether you thoroughly enjoy packing lunches for your kids or despise it with a burning passion, we can all agree that packing healthy lunches for kids is important.

As a registered dietitian and mom of two, I’m sharing six tips to make packing healthy lunches for kids easier.

1. Plan Ahead

Weekday mornings can be chaotic, especially if you find yourself trying to rush to put together a snack or lunch five minutes before the bus comes.  The more you can do ahead of time, or the night before even, the easier mornings will be – for you and your kids. 

Plan Out Your Child’s Lunches with Them

Sit down with your child and discuss what they’d like for snacks and lunches for the week.  Getting their input will help you pack something they’ll actually eat which means less food wasted. 

This doesn’t mean letting them pick out only fruit snacks, candy, and chips.  You can take their preferences into consideration, but ultimately you’re the one who purchases the groceries. 

If your child eats lunch at school, go over the school menu and decide which days they’d like to eat at school and which days they’d like to eat lunch from home.  This way you’re not scrambling that morning to figure out what the plan is. 

Prep Fresh Fruits and Vegetables for The Week 

Packing healthy lunches for kids wouldn’t be possible without fruits or vegetables.  

It’s easy to go overboard on fruits and vegetables when you’re grocery shopping, but try to pick out 1-2 fruits and vegetables for the week.  This way you still get some variety, but not so much that it ends up in the trash before you can use it. 

Get your kids involved with selecting which fruits and vegetables they’d like to eat, as well as washing and chopping them with kid-safe knives.

Use the PackIt Mod Large Bento Containers to store prepped fruits and vegetables for easy access to pack their snacks and lunches with and even pull out for breakfast, after school snacks, and dinner too.  They include two removable dividers that allow you to separate different foods.

Pack Your Child’s Lunch The Night Before

Preparing another meal at the end of the day might be the last thing you want to do, but you’ll thank yourself in the morning. 

Try packing as much of your child’s lunch the night before so all you have to do is pull it out of the fridge.  Doesn’t that sound much better than whipping it up in a frenzy the morning of.  

Depending on what you pack your child for lunch, you could prep several days in advance, or even for the whole week!  

The PackIt Mod Bento Lunch Containers are perfect for packing healthy lunches for kids. You can use the removable dividers to adjust to the foods and portions your child enjoys. 

Don’t forget to put your PackIt Classic Soft Sided Lunch Box or Bag in the freezer the night before so you can skip the ice pack and keep their lunch cool for hours!

While these tasks might seem small, every second you save yourself in the morning matters.

2. Provide Variety

You don’t have to pack Pinterest perfect bento boxes in order to provide a healthy lunch for your kids.

More important than the ingredients in the foods you choose for your family is making sure your kids are exposed to a wide variety of foods, this includes what you pack in their lunch box. 

Try not to overthink it when it comes to packing healthy lunches for kids.  Follow my super simple lunch formula; protein + grain + fruit and/or vegetable.  It’s also important to consider adding a healthy beverage and something they love.

Protein

Protein is essential for your child’s growth and development and is one of the key nutrients to help keep your kids fuller longer.  

Proteins for lunch box: cheese stick, cheese cubes, cheese slices, shredded cheese, yogurt, deli meat, cottage cheese, hard boiled eggs, diced chicken, edamame, beans, hummus, nut or seed butters, chickpea or lentil-based pasta, tofu, quinoa

Grains

Carbohydrates, which typically make up the majority of the grains we eat, are our body’s main source of energy making them an important component to include when packing healthy lunches for kids. 

When selecting grain-based products for your family, aim for whole grain products.  You can identify whether a product is whole grain by looking for the word “whole” as the first or second ingredient. 

Grains for lunch box: bread, crackers, pasta, naan, mini bagels, pita bread, pretzels, waffles, pancakes, english muffins, tortillas, granola, breadsticks 

Fruit and/or Vegetable

We all know fruits and vegetables make sense when packing healthy lunches for kids, but getting them to eat the fruits and vegetables you pack is another story.  

As a dietitian specializing in picky eating, your child’s lunch box isn’t the best option for getting your kids to try new or disliked foods like fruits and vegetables.  

Instead focus on adding the fruits and vegetables they love and if you do include a not-so-well-liked option, make it tiny and maybe even add a fun food pick. 

Most parents go straight for the fresh fruits and vegetables.  Fresh is great, but don’t forget to consider different forms of fruits and vegetables like dried, freeze dried, and canned too.

Fruits for lunch box: berries, sliced apples, craisins, raisins, orange wedges, fruit bars, pineapple, peaches, pears, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, avocado, guacamole, and any freeze-dried fruit or canned fruit

Vegetables for lunch box: cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, carrots, jicama, bell peppers, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, chickpeas, hummus, beans, corn, peas, radishes, edamame 

Healthy Beverage for Kids

When it comes to packing a healthy beverage in your child’s lunch box, water should always be a priority, but it’s okay to occasionally pack 100% juice or your child’s milk of choice. 

Something they love

While it might sound backwards, it’s important to pack a small amount of a sweet or treat when packing healthy lunches for kids. 

Part of having a healthy relationship with foods is learning how to balance all foods, including sweets, treats, and other snacks.  Restricting sweets, in particular, may reduce intake in the short term but increase preoccupation with sweets in the long term.   

By including foods like a few mini chocolate chip cookies, fruits snacks, a small piece of chocolate, or a handful of chips you not only provide that much more enjoyment at lunch for them, but you’re making these foods accessible in a reasonable way.  

3. Pack Superfoods for Kids

A superfood essentially means a food that’s jam-packed with beneficial nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber, omega-3s, etc.   

Here are a few superfoods for kids to consider packing in their lunch:

• Seeds: sunflower, pumpkin, chia, ground flaxseed
• Avocado: guacamole, avocado slices
• Berries: blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries
• Eggs: hard boiled, scrambled, baked into grains
• Beans: hummus, roasted chickpeas, edamame, black bean brownies, refried bean quesadillas
• Walnuts: trail mix, baked into foods, whole or pieces
• Spinach: salad, smoothie, spinach pancakes
• Yogurt: make your own parfait
• Seaweed: crunchy seaweed snacks

Here are a few more superfoods for kids you can incorporate when eating at home.

4. Let Your Kids Help Pack Their Lunch

While it might be easier to just pack their lunch yourself, it’s important to get them involved.  This creates autonomy which can ultimately lead to them actually eating their lunch.

Having them help pack their lunch also teaches them responsibility.  The older they get the more involved they can be in packing their own lunch. 

How to get your kids involved with packing their own lunch:

• Include them in grocery planning for items in their lunch box
• Take them grocery shopping with you to pick items out for their lunch
• Have them help prep fresh fruits and vegetables for their lunch
• Let them help pack their lunch the night before or morning of

When they come home from school, instead of asking them “did you like your lunch?” ask them open-ended questions to learn more about how lunch went and what you can change to make it better.

• “What was your favorite thing in your lunch?”
• “What was your least favorite thing in your lunch?”
• “What would you add to your lunch?”
• “What would you take away from your lunch?”
• “What did your friends have for lunch?”

5. Prepare Your Child for Lunch at School

Eating lunch at school is a lot different than eating lunch at home.  

Imagine trying to eat your lunch in a room filled with hundreds of loud kids, you only have fifteen minutes to eat by the time you get to your seat, and all you can think about is going to recess.  No wonder they come home with their lunch half eaten most days!

To help set your child up for success and not let the healthy lunch you packed them go to waste, send items that are easy to open and close with as few moving parts as possible.  

For preschool and younger kids, try practicing opening and closing lunch boxes, bento boxes, containers, water bottles, and any packaged items you send before they start school.  

If it’s too difficult for your child to open, avoid sending it.

6. Keep Food Cool

There are two reasons why it’s important to keep packed lunches cold; safety and quality. 

You want to avoid perishable food (refrigerated food)  being in the danger zone (40°F – 140°F) where harmful bacteria can grow rapidly.  It’s not that your child’s food will automatically make them sick if it falls within this range, but it does increase the risk.  

As a dietitian, mom, and food safety “police,” my expert opinion is to skip the ice packs and just use the PackIt Classic Soft Sided Lunch Box or Bag to make sure your child’s lunch stays fresh and cool. 

PackIt lunch boxes, bags, snack boxes and bags contain a patented cooling technology that’s built into the walls of the bag.  Basically the whole lunch box is an ice pack and they’re the best lunch box to keep foods cold.

While food safety is the main concern, quality is important to consider also because no one likes a room temperature sandwich, yogurt, or cheese.  

Using the PackIt products allows you to pack healthy lunches for kids with a wider variety of fresh options. 

Quick Tips for Packing Healthy Lunches for Kids

Whether you thoroughly enjoy packing lunches for your kids or despise it with a burning passion, we can all agree that packing healthy lunches for kids is important.

Plan out your child’s lunches, prep 1-2 fresh fruits and veggies for the week, and consider packing their lunch the night before.

Provide variety with multiple food groups using a simple formula: grain + protein + fruit and/or vegetable, as well as a healthy beverage and even something they love. 

Try to prioritize packing superfoods such as seeds, berries, beans, eggs, and yogurt for more bang for your buck when it comes to nutrition. 

Let your kids help pack their own lunch, even a small portion of it. 

Send items that are easy to open and close with as few moving parts as possible.  

Keep the foods you pack in their snacks and lunches fresh and cool.