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Today we put ones of those boxed Do-It-Yourself pizza lunches to the test. It’s easy to see the appeal of this lunch – mini pizzas the kids get to make themselves – fun! Food and interaction? definitely a plus.
What’s In The Box?
Our boxed lunch came with 4 mini pizza crusts, a portion of rubbery mozzarella (that I had to break apart), a pouch of sauce, a stack of pepperoni slices and a Capri-Sun drink. There was also supposed to be a chocolate treat – but ours was missing! How disappointing that would have been for a child.
Round 1 – Contents
Do the contents match the DIY picture? It’s always a disappointment to watch my kid open something and when they do… it doesn’t look anything like what’s in the box. In this case, it holds true.
My version, (shown below, packed in EasyLunchboxes), has the same ingredients as the boxed lunch, but better quality: nitrate-free pepperoni, whole wheat bread rounds, real shredded mozzarella (not prepared cheese product), and all natural low-sodium marinara sauce.
Related: Top 5 Lunchboxes We’ve Tested
The boxed lunch sauce comes in a squeeze pouch – mine is in a recycled condiment cup, so I packed a spoon for spreading. I also added some grapes – the boxed lunch has no fruit serving.
Round 2 – Nutrition
As with the cracker lunches, the boxed pizza lunch has 30% more fat. It’s also 20% higher in sodium and 35% higher in carbohydrates, probably because it has 55% more sugar! My lunch is higher in one thing – it has 20% more fiber. The boxed lunch does have 10% more protein than my remake, probably from the peanuts in the chocolate bar. Winner by an average of 30% less of what kids don’t need : the MOMables lunch!
Round 3 – Overall Appeal
My girls had no interest in trying the boxed pizza lunch; primarily because the ingredients looked bland, colorless (the pizza dough) and the cheese felt rubbery. I can’t really compare taste in this round. Both girls pointed to my lunch and shouted “I want that one!” Winner, by kid’s choice: the MOMables lunch!
The all-around winner: homemade MOMables!
Wouldn’t you rather send your kid to school with a lunch like this one?
Fresh and delicious in 10 minutes or less.
This challenge showed me that my kids know good food when they see it! Both the 3 & 5 year old chose the homemade lunch over the boxed, on sight. And the homemade version only took a few minutes to put together. You too can make your own fun, fresh & healthy “MOMables” like these, and more, with the help of MOMables menu plans!
Too busy to make school lunches? We’ve got you covered. Lunches like this one & more in 10min!
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do you use regular jar pizza sauce?
Yup! Whatever I have on hand!
Such an awesome post!! Definitely trying this one next :) I was wondering, what is the brand you used? Or where to buy it or make it? I tried finding in my local grocery (I live in Hawai’i) & I can’t seem to find any.
They are open sandwich thins. I can’t remember the brand but thin bagels work too!
Does the child need to heat up this lunch or does he/she make the little pizza and eat it right out of the box?
most kids do it right out of the lunch box, at room temperature. Enjoy!
I am very sad to say that my 5 year old loves the pizza lunchables. I am a military wife and have 3 kids. Husband deploys for a minimum of 6 months every year. Our youngest (10 months) just had major surgery. So, trying to cook every meal is very difficult. But I’ve noticed on the days that I try really hard to feed them healthy food they seem happier and aren’t so moody. I googled “homemade pizza lunchables” and this post came up. I am so happy I found your website!
I’ve felt so guilty for so long about what I feed my kids. There’s been days when I feed them spaghettios from a can. I hate that!!!! I want to feed them healthy meals. I grew up eating unhealthy. I don’t want to do that to my kids. Thank you for your website! I am going grocery shopping this weekend and have written out several meals from your recipe index. I hope the kids like them!
My son’s favorite lunch – my homemade one of course! I make my own pizza rounds and homemade pizza sauce too. I will do about 15 pizza rounds and once and freeze what we don’t use for later. Love all your great ideas for lunches and just picked up your cookbook. Keep up the good work!!
thanks for picking up my cookbook! I hope you enjoy many of the recipes for years to come!
What do you make your pizza rounds out of? Regular pizza dough?
the ones in this post are store bought sandwich thins.
the ones in this post are store bought sandwich thins.
My son’s favorite lunch, my homemade one of course. I make my own pizza crust rounds and my own homemade sauce as well. I do about 15 rounds at once and then freeze the rest for a future lunch!
I shared this idea on my Facebook Page (Fearless Freezer Cooking) today. So excited to try it this week! I also found that Kroger makes less expensive sandwich thins….
thank you for sharing Joy!
Love it! So fun and pretty. :) Thanks for sharing it! :)
This is a great find! I will definitely be using this!
Such a great idea! I’d love to invite you to join us on Saturday Show & Tell at Cheerios and Lattes! I know my readers would love this idea too!
Have a great weekend!
Mackenzie :)
http://www.cheeriosandlattes.com/saturday-show-tell-15/
Thank you! I’d love to!!
Thanks so much for sharing this great post on Saturday Show & Tell @ Cheerios and Lattes last week! :) Hope to see you again this weekend! :)
Mackenzie
I love these. I am going to be a first time school mom this fall so I will have to visit often for ideas!
Tiffany, we are glad you love our ideas! if you decide you need a little help and a plan… it’s what we do! :)
Great idea! It looks a lot tastier than the boxed one. I will be using this idea for the school year.
Where do you find the little dip cup with attached lid? I love your lunches!
the ‘dip’ cup is a re-purposed to-go dip form a while back. It’s difficult to find something for sure, I also use gerber plastic baby food containers -although they are not leak-proof- but i place them inside the lunchbox and it does the trick.
You can buy reusable sauce cups online! I actually bought some that sort of look like the ones pictured here except in assorted colors.
I found a 6 pack of the cups with lids at Dollar General. They are great.
Where to find the bread rounds? I’ve found mini pitas, but not those.
They are actually sandwich thin/round/flats. I’m not sure what brands you have in your shops so here are a few examples : Nature’s Own Sandwich Rounds, Orowheat Sandwich Thins, Pepperidge Farm Deli Flats. They are softer than a pita but firmer than bread – they work great for mini pizzas.
Target has the Archer Farms and Brownberry versions too. Yum!
thanks! we will go check them out and see..
As kitchen challenged and as pressed for time as I am, I think even I could do this!
Holly, all our school lunches in our menus are for the ‘kitchen challenged’ and take less than 10minutes to make. :)