September 2026 Cardinal Newspaper
Jill Sonlin
Back to School: Creative Lunch Box Ideas Your Kids Will Love
Back to school is here, and kids are gearing up for a strong successful year.
I remember vividly being a child, and watching the classroom clock while listening for the sound of the bell to ring indicating lunch time! All the hungry kids smiling and running towards the delicious smells that filled the air from the school cafeteria.
Food is so motivating, even to kids. Making delicious and nutritious lunches doesn’t have to be time consuming or boring.
While it’s been quite a long time since I’ve packed a child's lunch, I do remember loving it. Many banana peel sharpie messages I’ve written in the past to my kids, professing how much I loved them or that they were smart, amazing, or any other descriptive word they needed to hear. Banana Peel messages are a super way to tell your child something supportive, loving, and encouraging in the middle of their day.
Another fun idea are homemade bento boxes for kids. If done right, you just might find your kids won’t trade out their lunch for friend’s swaps!
Bento boxes are reusable compartmentalized lunch containers inspired by Japanese boxed meals. The way to make them kid-friendly is by buying a bento box and filling it with deconstructed lunch items your child loves. After all, if you fill it with things they don’t like, it’s likely it will find its way into the school trash. So fill it with things your child loves, or decide together what goes in before packing it. Better yet, oversee your child packing their own lunch when appropriate. Assist them in filling it with well-balanced nutritious items.
Items that work well are “deconstructed lunch” bentos. These include everything singularly packed in its own space in the box, like turkey and cheese roll ups in one section, whole grain organic bread in another (cut in fun shapes of course), a tablespoon of nut butter for dipping, fruit kabobs, and a single sweet treat like a cookie.
Other bento filling ideas are veggies and hummus, baby carrots, organic nacho chips, salsa, sliced English cucumber, and cubed cheese.
Kids also like charcuterie boxes, using little pepperoni, different cheeses, grapes, apple slices sprinkled with cinnamon, and a small piece of chocolate.
Thinking outside the bento box and using regular lunch boxes, are many fun and yummy options. Make homemade banana sushi, by taking a whole peeled banana, spreading the top with nut butter then thin mango slices. Cut into small sushi sized pieces and serve with little chopsticks. How your kids will feel ultra special finding that for lunch!
Pinwheel sandwiches are also a winner. Simply take a tortilla, fill it with meat, cheese, tuna, tofu, or chicken, lettuce, tomato, and pickle, then roll up and slice into wheels or keep it whole like a burrito! For warm options, use an insulated thermos. Fill with homemade chicken noodle soup, mac and cheese, precooked chicken nuggets, or warm decaf herbal tea and two plastic teacups for a mini tea party at school. Add a scone, tea sandwiches, and pasta salad. Additional ideas are homemade protein bar cakepops, dried fruit, or yogurt and granola cups. The options and creativity are truly endless.
Just be sure to have fun doing it or ask for the child’s help with the packing. They just might see all the work that goes into making a packed lunch, and throw less away at school!