Nutritious Lunch Ideas for 5 Days a Week
Out of healthy packed lunch ideas?
Packing a nutritious packed lunch your kids will actually eat five days of the week can sometimes be a challenging task. It's no wonder many of us get stuck in a rut and end up packing and eating the same thing for lunch over and over again.
When packing your kids lunch, you want it to be fun and appealing to them for their midday break, but you want to get some good nutrients in there too. Try to include a mixture of whole grains, protein, fruit and veggies in each packed lunch. That sounds like a lot of thought, but I promise it's easy once you get in the swing of things.
To help get you started, here are five lunchbox ideas balanced to include both the nutrients and the fun that you can use individually or as a 5-day sample lunch menu...
Start with an awesome waste free lunch kit....
The Kids Konserve Lunch Kit (pictured first in the row below) is a good choice if you are thinking of providing your kid with a solid and good quality lunch kit. It includes a recycled cotton sack for the two stainless steel food containers and stainless steel beverage bottle. It also includes a cloth napkin and a reusable, BPA-free, food kozy for your delicious sandwich or bagel. It comes in three designs, Butterflies, Caterpillars and Logos.
Overall, this is a great eco-friendly lunch kit idea, which I would certainly recommend if you are looking to invest a bit more money into a waste-free lunch kit solution. Yes, it isn't cheap, but you can be assured that you will get a high quality and safe product that should last for a long time and will help to reduce wastage. I am sure your growing kids will be proud to be helping the environment in such a way.
Lunch for Day One
Monday's Lunch Box
Wholemeal bread sandwich filled with ham and cheese
Fruit yogurt
Cut melon cubes and cucumber rounds
Small packet of raisins
Lemonade or fruit juice
Tip: Sandwich or cookie cutters for shaped sandwiches make prep work fun and easy, and are sure to please the young and the mature alike when they open their lunch.
Lunch for Day Two
Tuesday's Lunch
Pita filled with turkey and cream cheese
Carrot sticks
Pineapple chunks
Mini muffin
Iced tea or fruit juice
Lunch for Day Three
Wednesday's Lunch
Homemade Pizza Quesadilla
Apple sauce
Cherry tomatoes and cubes of ham
Yogurt covered raisins
Lemonade or fruit juice
Lunch for Day Four
Thursday's Lunch
Bagel spread with peanut butter and real fruit jam
Fresh peach
Carrot sticks and cubes of cheese
Yogurt or a yogurt drink
Fruit juice or Iced Tea
Lunch for Day Five
Friday's Lunch
Roll filled with tuna and sweet corn
Cucumber slices and cubes of cheese
Bunch of seedless grapes
Mini Fruit Muffin
Fruit Juice or Lemonade
***throw in a handful of M&Ms ~ TGIF!!***
It's the weekend!
See, that wasn't so bad, now was it? :-)
Keep in mind this menu isn't just for kids ~ it works great for the whole family too! (Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Uncle Bob all need a healthy lunch too!)
