How to Pack Fresh Lunches for School Every Day

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

How to Pack Fresh Lunches for School

When it comes to packing 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 meals from one ingredient:
The main idea is to create as many different lunches using one item. Some example includes:

5 Lunches with Hummus
5 Lunches with Turkey
5 Lunches with Hard-boiled eggs

This method uses the same ingredient but prepared 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.

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 lunch and dinner menu with completed shopping lists and prep guide- for only a few dollars a month.

Lunch Ideas to Pack for School

To give you a peek inside what are lunch meal plan includes, here are some of our popular lunches.

Turkey & Cheese Pitas
Pita Pizzas
Turkey & Pesto Pinwheels
Deli Lettuce Wraps

Pick one out, make it for lunch, and see what the family thinks. I think you’re in for a pleasant surprise. There’s a LOT MORE where these came from, and you can read more about it here.

How to come up with Fresh 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 having a plan like one of our MOMables meal plans is the most efficient way to pack fresh lunches each week, why? Because we take the guesswork out of packing fresh and healthy lunches. You’ll find all the details about our family meal plans and how they work in this video:

What our Meal Plan Subscribers are Saying

Getting back into the school routine after summer or winter break is a challenge for parents, especially when it comes to packing lunches. Of course, we have the option for school lunches, but unfortunately, it’s not always ideal if you have picky eaters.

Our family meal plans, streamline packed lunches and offer a varitey of kid-approved meals. Here’s what our member, Greta had to say about our lunch menu:

If this sounds like where you want to be, head over to and grab a free sample of our family plan and see how it works for your family.

Fresh Lunch Idea for Today – Turkey Pesto Pinwheels

These Turkey Pesto Pinwheels are a great idea for lunches or served as a party appetizer. Pinwheels are best when made ahead of time and you can easily make a large batch all at once, with a few staple ingredients, it’s one reason you’ll often find them on our lunch menus.

​​​​​​​​This is also a great base recipe for more delicious and quick pinwheels ideas.

If your kids aren’t fans of pesto, swap it for hummus or another spread. You can also omit the Parmesan cheese for Provolone, Swiss, or any of your favorite varieties.

Turkey and Pesto Pinwheels

Cream cheese, homemade pesto and delicious ham – this fresh lunch idea is sure to be a favorite!

• Author: MOMables
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Yield: 32 pinwheels 1x
• Cuisine: Lunch

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1/2 cup pesto
• 2/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 4 8-inch flour tortillas
• 8 slices deli turkey meat

Instructions

In the bowl of a food processor or high-speed blender, combine the cream cheese, pesto, and Parmesan cheese. Pulse until smooth.

Place the tortillas on a flat surface and top each with the pesto, cream cheese spread. Place 2 slices of turkey meat on the cneter of each tortilla and roll tightly, wrap with plastic wrap.

Refrigerate for atleast 2 hours or overnight.

Remove each wrap from the refrigerator and remove the plastic wrap. Cut each wrap into 1-inch rounds and serve immediately or pack into lunch containers.

Equipment

LunchBots

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Easy LunchBoxes

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Glass Lunch Containers

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 8 pinwheels
• Calories: 508
• Sodium: 1059.9mg
• Fat: 27.7g
• Saturated Fat: 10.2g
• Carbohydrates: 35.5g
• Fiber: .8g
• Protein: 29.2g
• Cholesterol: 64.9mg