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I’ve been packing school lunches for 15 years. The cooking was never the hard part. The hard part is that lunch happens again tomorrow, and again the day after that.
Years ago, my oldest came home and announced he was done with sandwiches. Not sandwiches in general, just the same one, packed the same way, every single day. He was bored, and honestly, so was I. That was the moment that made me start thinking about other ideas, and it’s a big part of what eventually became my cookbook, Weelicious Lunches.
So here’s my list. 25 things I actually rotate through, sorted the way I build a box: I aim for a protein, a fruit, a veggie, a carb, and a little something sweet. The fruit and veggie are usually just whatever I picked up at the farmers market that week, cut up and ready to grab.
The rest you can mix and match however your kid likes. Some come together in five minutes, some are just last night’s dinner in a thermos. On the weeks we skip meat, I pull from my meatless sandwich fillings instead.
Sandwiches get called boring, and usually that’s a shape problem, not a sandwich problem. Change the format and kids treat it like an entirely different food.
Kid-Friendly “Sushi” Sandwiches
A rolling pin, a slice of bread, and whatever spread and filling you already use. Rolled and sliced into pinwheels, it stops being a sandwich. My kids love the tuna salad version or classic PB&J too.
A letter cookie cutter and the first initial of their name. It sounds like nothing, but it's the reason the box comes home empty. Use a sturdier bread so the letter keeps its edges. Bonus: any cookie cutter shape works so you can switch it up!
I boil a dozen eggs every Sunday after the farmers market, and this is where most of them end up. I keep the egg salad in a covered container and build the sandwich in the morning rather than the night before. Toast the bread first if you want it to hold up better.
Chili holds its heat better than almost anything else I pack, and it tastes better the second day anyway. Make a double batch and you've got dinner and at least two lunches out of one pot.
Most thermos disappointment comes down to one skipped step: preheating. Here’s how I send food that’s still hot at lunch.
Fill the thermos with almost boiling water. I pour straight from my electric kettle. Let it sit while you heat the food, so you’re warming the container, not just the meal.
Heat the food hotter than you’d serve it at the table. It has four hours to cool down before anyone opens it.
Dump the water and dry the inside before you fill it.
Fill it, leaving a little room at the top, and seal it tight.
Tell your kid to keep it closed until lunch. Every time it opens, heat escapes.
The same trick works in reverse for cold food. An ice pack does more work if the container starts cold, so I sometimes chill the lunch box in the fridge overnight, then pack it with an ice pack. I keep a running list of the lunch gear that’s survived my kids if you’re shopping for either.
Muffin Tin Lunches and Finger Foods
Anything baked in a muffin tin comes out already portioned and easy to eat with one hand. Perfect for little ones (but still a hit for bigger kids).
Baby Frittatas
Egg bites before egg bites had a name. They're good cold, and that matters more than it sounds.
When I added these corn dogs without the stick to my littlest ones lunchbox for the first time, she lost her mind and immediately asked for them again the next day.
Three ingredients and about as good a crunch as you can pack. They stay crisp in a sealed container for a couple of days, so I make a batch and portion them out.
Pack it with chips or whatever's crunchy in the drawer. Be generous with the lime and press a piece of plastic wrap right onto the surface before you put the lid on, and it'll still look good hours later.
Fifteen years in, I still get an “I’m bored” every now and then, but now I have a long enough list that I’m never staring into the fridge at 7am with nothing to pack.
Rotate through these, lean on the freezer, and let a good thermos do some of the work for you. And finally, get your kids in on it! Ask them what they’d actually want to open at lunch, then put it in the rotation. Mine have picked things I never would have thought of.
Tell me what’s working in your house right now. I’m always looking for one more idea.
Catherine is a mama of three. A Kentucky girl living in California. Here’s what I know: all kids can be great eaters and mealtime must be easy. I create simple, healthy recipes the whole family will love.
