School Lunch Ideas for Picky Eaters

It’s hard to believe that summer break is almost over. Most schools here in the south are starting back in less than 2 weeks, so today I’m sharing a few school lunch ideas that even the pickiest of eaters are sure to love. I will probably mix and match these kid favorites so that they don’t feel like they’re getting the same things every day.

If your kids are like mine, you can’t throw just anything into a lunch box and expect it to get eaten. These lunches I’m sharing today are food items that my kids typically enjoy, but you can of course customize it however you see fit.

I used these and they store everything perfectly. The only thing that doesn’t fit in the container are the juice boxes and sometimes the yogurt or applesauce.

School Lunch Ideas for Picky Eaters

Everything fits perfectly in Raley’s lunchbox. We got this lunchbox from an Etsy shop over 3 years ago and it’s still going strong. It’s the perfect size for these + a drink, squeeze yogurt, or applesauce.

A few other things:

– We typically get the Minute Maid 100% apple juice boxes or the Honest Company juice boxes.
– Mix it up with different fruits and veggies. My kids love fruit, but they only eat a few veggies. We tend to stick to carrots and broccoli (yes, my picky kids like broccoli! Or “trees” as they call it)
– My kids don’t eat lunch meat on bread like a sandwich, but sometimes I will make a sandwich and they will pull it apart and eat the meat, cheese and bread separately, which is perfectly fine by me.
– I have high hopes for these neatly packed lunches, but realistically after about a month of being back in school I will probably be throwing Lunchables and pre-packaged Goldfish in their lunchboxes with no shame!

List of School Lunch Ideas:

Here’s a comprehensive list of all of these school lunch ideas + a few more added in there! There are literally thousands of combinations you can make with these few kid favorite items! I hope this list can help when you’re stumped as to what to send in your child’s lunch.

Main items:

PB&J sandwich
Ham and cheese sandwich
Turkey and cheese sandwich
Bologna sandwich
Pepperonis
Deli lunch meat (ham, turkey, chicken)
Bologna
Uncrustables
Ham or turkey and cheese wrap
Cheese quesadilla

Fruits

Apples
Oranges
Bananas
Strawberries
Grapes
Pineapples
Blueberries

Veggies

Carrots
Broccoli
Celery
Cherry tomatoes

Snacks

Veggie Straws
Veggie Chips
Popcorn
Goldfish
Scooby Snacks
Cheez Its
Crackers
Graham crackers
Fruit snacks
Dried Fruit

Other

Yogurt
Applesauce
Cheese cubes/rectangles
String cheese
Yogurt smoothies

Let’s Chat!

Got any other school lunch ideas for picky eaters? I’d love to hear your suggestions!