Five Easy Lunch Box Menus ⋆ Design Mom

Packing lunchboxes and need a little inspiration? Here are five easy menu ideas.

Lunchbox Menu #1

– Turkey Wrap – large  tortilla spread with a thin layer of cream cheese and a single layer of: deli turkey, baby spinach, sliced fresh tomato
– Fresh raspberries
– Cucumber “chips”
– Homemade granola bar (here’s a recipe, or you could purchase some at the grocery store)
– Milk

TIPS
– When making wraps with tomatoes, remove the seeds. It keeps the wrap from becoming soggy.
– You can make wraps the night before and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. This keeps the wrap from falling apart. You can even make them 2-3 days ahead of time. They keep really well this way.

Lunchbox Menu #2

– Tuna sandwich on wheat bread with pea shoots/sprouts
– Cinnamon applesauce (no sugar added)
– Clementine
– Baby cheese wheel
– Snack size chocolate bar
– Bottled water

TIPS
– Another great thing about this menu? It partially relies on easy, store-bought items for those days when you don’t have time or when you want to make things extra easy on yourself.
– This is a lunch that older kids can put together themselves.

Lunchbox Menu #3

– bagel with plain cream cheese and cherry (or your child’s favorite) jam
– veggie crisps (these are Inner Pea crisps from Trader Joe’s)
– fresh strawberries
– water

TIPS
– Bagels can be hard for little mouths to chew. Cut it into fourths for younger kids.
– You might worry about making the bread soggy and use a thin layer to keep the jam from soaking in, but here it’s okay.
– The jam can squeeze out through the center and sides, so go easy on it. You could also mix the jam and cream cheese together or just use flavored cream cheese.

Lunchbox Menu #4

– loaded pasta salad with vinaigrette
– fresh broccoli
– carrot apple sauce
– oatmeal raisin cookies

Lunchbox Menu #5

This one is a homemade version of lunchables. You can totally sub whatever cheese, meat, crackers, and fruit your kids like best. It’s just a nice reminder that sometimes nothing tastes better for lunch than good old crackers and cheese.

MENU #5
– assorted crackers (one or two kinds)
– ham
– cheddar cheese stick
– herbed goat cheese (you could sub cream cheese or Laughing Cow)
– grapes
– strawberries

TIPS
– For younger kids, skip the spreadable cheese and knife and use sliced or cubed cheese instead.

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Photos and text by Lindsey Rose Johnson.