How to Pack Fresh Lunches for School Every Day

Want to know how to pack fresh lunches all year long for school? Today I’m sharing real food and real advice on packing fresh lunches, the easy way.

How to Pack Healthy School Lunches

When it comes to packing school lunches, both you and I want to provide our family with fresh and nutritious foods. Sure it’s easy to grab the prepackaged lunch foods and snacks, but in the long run, we know it’s not best.

Here’s where I show you how you can easily AND quickly pack fresh lunches for school, without spending hours in the kitchen:

1. Create Multiple Lunches From One Ingredient

The main idea is to create as many different lunches using one item. Some examples include:

• Lunch ideas using deli ham
• Packed lunches with hummus
• School lunches with rotisserie chicken
• Lunch ideas with turkey
• School lunches with hard-boiled eggs
• Lunch ideas with chicken
• Easy lunches using tortillas
• Lunches with guacamole
• Egg salad school lunch ideas
• School lunches using chicken salad

This method uses the same ingredient but is prepared in multiple ways, which cuts down on food waste, and no one gets tired of what’s being served.

2. Prep Ahead

It’s incredible how much time you can save during the week from a single 2-hour meal prep session; this is one tactic that changed my life. Instead of spending hours in the kitchen every night to bring a meal to the table and pack lunches, it’s more like 30 minutes, max.

And I don’t mean making every single meal you’ll eat that week from scratch all in one day, but more like chopping veggies, marinating meat, and prepping salads, sides etc. We’re talking a couple of hours on Sunday afternoon to get ready for the week ahead.

3. Meal Plan

This is where the rubber hits the road. You can either

A. Start from scratch and select recipes for the entire week’s breakfasts, lunches and dinners, compose the shopping list, do a grocery haul, and then prep everything.

OR

B. Hire out the help with a family meal plan that offers a weekly dinner menu with completed shopping lists and prep guide- for only a few dollars a month. Once you’ve got your dinners taken care of, it’s easy to plan lunches from there.

Keeping School Lunches Fresh

Once you pack the lunch it can be hard to know how to keep it fresh until it’s time to eat it at school.

Watch this quick video for school lunch packing tips to help ensure everything stays perfect and nothing comes home uneaten.

Where to Find School Lunch Ideas

During the school year, life is BUSY, which can often leave us parents out of sorts when it comes to packing lunches. That’s why I created the free lunchbox builder to help busy parents come up with winning school lunch combinations that their kids will love.

You can also have your kids scroll through my school lunch ideas. Everything is photographed, so they can pick out any idea that looks good to them.