As part of back to school week, I Stacy from Kids Stuff World to share something with us. You see, her site is full of great products, fashion and gift ideas for kids. Stacy loves to shop. She is also a personal shopper and offer her services for free. So if you need back to school shopping help, make sure you contact her. Today, she is sharing with us her ideas on school lunches. This is Stacy who simply said…
Hi ladies! I’m Stacy, Mommy to Happy, Sweet & Little and you can find me most days over at Kids Stuff World. It’s the place where I write about the little things, the big things and all the “stuff” in between.
When I first heard I’d be guest posting during back to school week, I must admit I was a little intimidated. Sure, I’m a mother of three but none of my children are in school yet. In fact, I’m actually giving homeschooling a try for preschool this year. I wondered how I could capture your attention while talking about a subject on which I had no experience.
I wanted to write about something that I can benefit from too (selfish, I know). So, I tried to think of things I might have in common with moms with kids in school. Busy? Yes. Rushed? Yes. Lacking ideas for lunchtime? YES!
What Makes A Great Lunch?
Fiber, whole grains, some protein, healthy fat, a vegetable and some natural sugar, like a piece of fresh fruit. Whew, that’s a lot for me to think about when I’m in a hurry.
This color chart from Nurture Baby seemed like a bit more fun and easier for me to work in to my schedule. And this handy dandy chart gave me plenty of color choice fruits and veggies to choose from.
How could I make it Healthier?
- Try thin breads, wraps, pitas, english muffins or mini bagels instead of plain old bread. If using bread, choose 100 precent whole grain.
- Substitute chips for veggie chips, goldfish crackers, whole grain crackers, pretzels, mini rice cakes or pita chips.
- Even better, use bite size veggies for crunch factor. A little sour cream and ranch seasoning and my kids will eat anything.
- Swap soda and sugary fruit juices for flavored waters such as CapriSun Roaring Waters and Minute Maid Fruit Falls are my personal favorites.
- For treats, try frozen fruits like grapes or blueberries, muffins or trail mix you baked with the kids, oatmeal bars or granola balls, applesauce.
- For packaged goods, my kids love Funky Monkey snacks
and Clif Kid ZBar
Where could I find ideas on what to make?
- School Lunch Ideas from Disney Family
- Healthy Kids Lunch Ideas from Eating Well
- Another Lunch
- Bento Lunch
- Wendolonia
- Crouching Mother, Hidden Toddler
At first I was just looking for ways to make lunch time greener and healthier but then these ladies got me to thinking. Thinking about meal times as a chance for me to show my children how much I love and care about them instead of looking at it as just another chore weighing me down on my to do list every day. They say it is the small things in life that your child will remember later on. These ladies have inspired me to make at least one part of my child’s day magical by adding a few extra steps to something I was doing any how. What child wouldn’t want to eat a meal that looked like this? I mean, I want to eat meals that look like this! And if they look back on these adorable lunches when they’re older, I hope they will make them think of me and how much fun we had together.
Here’s some things I learned this week about lunch time:
1. Lunches don’t have to be boring.
1. Bento Lunch 2. Crouching Mother, Hidden Toddler 3. Wendolonia
2. Lunches don’t have to be repetitious.
(Click images for full posts)
3. Lunches don’t have to be high in fat, carbs or even sugar.
Sliced strawberries and fruit sweetened jelly wrapped in whole wheat tortilla with almond butter. A side of carrot sticks and sugar snap peas. Granola Bites and bottled water. Lunch idea courtesy of Whole Foods.
4. Lunch boxes don’t have to be bland.
1. Zoo Lunchbag 2. Lunchskins Snack Bags 3. Oots Lunchbox
4. Snack & Stack Utensils 5. Cute Sip Water Bottle 6. Kids Smart Container Set
7. Hot Lunch Bowl 8. Easy Lunchbox 9. LunchSkins Sandwich Bag
10. Kotobuki Panda Bento 11. Laptop Lunch System 12. Lunch Punch Cutters
If you’re still reading, thanks so much for sharing your time with me. Stop on by Kids Stuff World and say hi. I’d love to meet you! -Stacy
Love these ideas! Thanks for the inspiration. Another site that features creative lunches is Lunchbox Limbo. Amanda is very down-to-earth in her posts.
Thanks Julia! I’ll be sure to check out Lunchbox Limbo, I’m always on the hunt for more ideas
Stacy-You are awesome, your ideas are incredible and easy to follow-I will surely visit you at your site-Thanks again
Gladys, you are too kind
I would be thrilled to have you over at KSW any time!!!
I love all of these. I’m always looking for new ideas for my son Kai’s lunch! He often comes home with one bite out of his sandwich.
http://www.kellyloves.wordpress.com
Kelly, boy do I know what that is like. Some days, I can’t even get my kiddos to eat the cheese ??? I’m really hoping bento will open them up to a whole new world of fun & food. We do theme days some times – everything green or things that a horse would eat and those always go over well. I’m hoping presenting food to them in a fun new way will have the same effect. Thanks for commenting
Beautiful and healthy ideas!
Thanks Emily
Exactly what I was hoping for … not if only I can pull off something similar at our house … (to be continued)
These are some great ideas Stacy! My boys would love me forever if their lunch looked like this! Shoot, I’d love me too;-) I’m glad I popped over!
Thanks for having her over on SMM!
Lakeitha, you always bring a smile to my face
I’m so glad we’re friends. Keep me posted if you make any of these, I’d love to know how the boys react.
Great ideas!!! I wish my lunches were that great! =)
You & Me both Jasmine! You & Me both. Looking to make the change here as soon as possible
Just wanted to say thank you for sharing my blog (BentoLunch, the turtle box). I love seeing other people getting bitten by the bento bug, it’s a lot of fun and only a wee bit addicting! ;o)
glad to have you, shannon. you have such great ideas on your site!
No, Shannon … THANK YOU!! You have literally changed the way I look at lunch forever! When I first started writing this post I thought i would just give some healthy substitute ideas and a few ideas for what to put in a lunch box but thanks to your email I found a whole new world & a lot of new friends.
forever indebted to you my dear
I disagree with this. So much food is wasted doing this. What is done with the leftover scraps? Terrible. *smh
Hi there! Thanks for the shout-out!
I can sing the praises of bento all day long, but at the bottom of it all IT’S JUST PLAIN FUN. 
Briseida – wasteful? Oh contraire! Nothing is wasted. When cheese shapes are cut out the “scraps” are often tucked underneath (where they may not be visible), or I am eating them or one of my several kids are grabbing them off the cutting board. Worst case scenario – they are stored in the fridge for a quessadilla or tossed in a salad. Bento is actually awesome for USING UP scraps and bits of food that may otherwise be overlooked. Take the bento above where I popped 4 cherries on little picks. If only a few cherries (or grapes, berries, etc.) are left in the fridge, one might not feel compelled to pack them in a lunchbox since they wouldn’t fill a dish or plastic baggie… but a berry or two, or a couple cherries fill a bento box corner out nicely. Not to mention this food presentation appeals to my children, and naturally encourages them to eat MORE of their food… LESS food goes to waste as it all ends up in their tummies.
Hi,
Where di dyou get the blue rectangular/oval bento box with the two small containers inside?
Thanks-