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Since the close of school is coming in a couple short months, I thought it would be a great time to revisit the topic of school lunch. With a fresh, warm breeze in the air, you and your kids can explore some new ideas for lunchtime this spring.
Rather than the drudgery of packing the same old, same old lunch every day of the week, you can mix it up and maybe even add a few new favorites to your child’s repertoire. Even if your children are hung up on a few standard items, you could try serving them in different ways.
If you often turn to the beloved peanut butter sandwich, then maybe this week you could try something new; turn that sandwich inside out and pack a lunch of peanut butter “fondue,” which is simply smooth peanut butter packed as a dip for various veggies like celery and carrots, and a few whole wheat crackers or pretzel sticks. You could include various mix ins such as raisins, jam, whole peanuts, fresh fruit, or honey. I think that is something I could have gotten on board with as a kid.
If your child’s school has a nut free policy, than you could try swapping out the peanut butter for a different dip, such as roasted red pepper hummus or plain yogurt whirred with spinach or cucumbers. It’s a great way to supply your kids with some extra protein and a few servings of veggies.
One of the neatest ideas I have seen lately has been the lunchtime bento box. Common in Japanese culture, a bento is a flat sectioned container (or box) that contains a single serving of a carefully prepared mix of foods. In Japan, they can be an art form so elaborate that they take lots of time to prepare. There are even bentos arranged to look like popular Japanese cartoon characters or pictures, and bento making contests.
If you would like to try the bento idea, you won’t need to need to make it so complicated, and you can include all of your kid’s favorite foods. All you need is to find a bento box (at specialty stores or online) or sectioned Tupperware container and fill it with a healthy and colorful mix of foods.
Try mini cut up sandwiches (dig out some cookie cutters and put ‘em to good use) fresh or dried fruits, bite sized vegetables, cut up cheese, hard-boiled eggs, mini pickles, or include some of the dip ideas above. One Japanese bento staple is onigiri, or molded rice, which can contain a filling and might also be well liked by your kids.
If your kids are old enough, teach them to help pack their own healthy and filling lunch. Of course you can help this process along by choosing plenty of fresh fruits and veggies and healthier snacks at the market so they won’t just be packing potato chips. That’ll bring them one step close to much desired independence.
You’ll still need to give a little guidance to make sure they get the variety they need, but letting them have more control over what goes into their lunch will help them eat more of it and learn to make nutritious choices. Of course your kids might make it easy on you and want to pack the same thing, day after day. When I was a middle schooler in charge of my own lunch, I would almost always pack a peanut butter, hold the jelly, sandwich. That year I probably craved the sameness because so much about me was changing.
Try a few new ideas and your kids' lunch might have the most coveted lunch for trading in their cafeteria!
©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/pamela-chester/1147-sack-lunch-variety/
School Lunch, Revisited
Since the close of school is coming in a couple short months, I thought it would be a great time to revisit the topic of school lunch. With a fresh, warm breeze in the air, you and your kids can explore some new ideas for lunchtime this spring.
Rather than the drudgery of packing the same old, same old lunch every day of the week, you can mix it up and maybe even add a few new favorites to your child’s repertoire. Even if your children are hung up on a few standard items, you could try serving them in different ways.
If you often turn to the beloved peanut butter sandwich, then maybe this week you could try something new; turn that sandwich inside out and pack a lunch of peanut butter “fondue,” which is simply smooth peanut butter packed as a dip for various veggies like celery and carrots, and a few whole wheat crackers or pretzel sticks. You could include various mix ins such as raisins, jam, whole peanuts, fresh fruit, or honey. I think that is something I could have gotten on board with as a kid.
If your child’s school has a nut free policy, than you could try swapping out the peanut butter for a different dip, such as roasted red pepper hummus or plain yogurt whirred with spinach or cucumbers. It’s a great way to supply your kids with some extra protein and a few servings of veggies.
One of the neatest ideas I have seen lately has been the lunchtime bento box. Common in Japanese culture, a bento is a flat sectioned container (or box) that contains a single serving of a carefully prepared mix of foods. In Japan, they can be an art form so elaborate that they take lots of time to prepare. There are even bentos arranged to look like popular Japanese cartoon characters or pictures, and bento making contests.
If you would like to try the bento idea, you won’t need to need to make it so complicated, and you can include all of your kid’s favorite foods. All you need is to find a bento box (at specialty stores or online) or sectioned Tupperware container and fill it with a healthy and colorful mix of foods.
Try mini cut up sandwiches (dig out some cookie cutters and put ‘em to good use) fresh or dried fruits, bite sized vegetables, cut up cheese, hard-boiled eggs, mini pickles, or include some of the dip ideas above. One Japanese bento staple is onigiri, or molded rice, which can contain a filling and might also be well liked by your kids.
If your kids are old enough, teach them to help pack their own healthy and filling lunch. Of course you can help this process along by choosing plenty of fresh fruits and veggies and healthier snacks at the market so they won’t just be packing potato chips. That’ll bring them one step close to much desired independence.
You’ll still need to give a little guidance to make sure they get the variety they need, but letting them have more control over what goes into their lunch will help them eat more of it and learn to make nutritious choices. Of course your kids might make it easy on you and want to pack the same thing, day after day. When I was a middle schooler in charge of my own lunch, I would almost always pack a peanut butter, hold the jelly, sandwich. That year I probably craved the sameness because so much about me was changing.
Try a few new ideas and your kids' lunch might have the most coveted lunch for trading in their cafeteria!
Onigiri (Japanese Rice Balls)
Made with barbecued chicken, pickled plum, rice, nori seaweed, soy sauce, sesame seeds, pickles, salmon or tuna
Made with barbecued chicken, pickled plum, rice, nori seaweed, soy sauce, sesame seeds, pickles, salmon or tuna
Serves/Makes: 4
- 2 cups Japanese style rice
- 1 sheet toasted nori seaweed (optional)
- soy sauce
- sesame seeds, if desired
***Filling of choice***
- chopped pickles
- flaked salmon or tuna
- pickled plum (umeboshi)
- chopped barbecued chicken
Prepare the rice as directed on the package. Fluff the cooked rice with a rice paddle or wooden spoon.
Cut nori crosswise into 1-inch wide strips.
With clean, wet hands, place about 1/2 cup rice into your cupped hand and form into a disk shape. Make a hole in the center of the rice and tuck in the fillings. Season with soy sauce, to taste.
Cover the filling by closing the rice around it and mold it into a disk or triangular shape, pressing just hard enough to hold it together.
Cover one edge of the rice with a strip of nori and sprinkle sesame seeds over the rice shapes, if desired.
Serve the onigiri immediately.
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Made with olive oil, salt, garlic, chickpeas, roasted red peppers, parsley, lemon juice, tahini
Made with olive oil, salt, garlic, chickpeas, roasted red peppers, parsley, lemon juice, tahini
Serves/Makes: 4
- 1 can (15 ounce size) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup drained roasted red peppers
- 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste)
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- extra-virgin olive oil
Combine the chickpeas, roasted peppers, parsley, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, and salt in a food processor and puree until smooth. Transfer to a bowl.
Drizzle the hummus with a little olive oil and serve with pita bread, crackers, or veggie dippers. Also makes a good sandwich spread.
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©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/pamela-chester/1147-sack-lunch-variety/