How to Quickly Pack a Better Lunch for Your Kid (and Yourself)
The one trick to keep you sane during the back-to-whatever lunch grind.
Welcome to back-to-school season, aka the kickoff to the simultaneous school lunch + work lunch grind. Between after school activities and work deadlines, it’s hard enough to find the time to pack lunch for the kids, much less yourself. But healthy packed lunches are an anchor in a time of chaos. If you can find a little window of time to pack them, they’ll fuel you and your family through the dizzying whirlwind of shifting schedules and new deadlines.
Let’s makeover the lunch-packing process so that it saves you time, without sacrificing flavor or nutrition. With a few tweaks, your school and work lunches can be healthy and delightful, as well as super quick to pack.
The key to the double lunch is the “customizable crossover.” Translation: You need a base dish that you can easily make kid or adult friendly, while eating basically the same main course for lunch. Throw in a few snacks and a piece of fruit, then enjoy smiles, satisfaction, and squeaky clean lunch boxes all around.
We’re not talking about complicated meal prepping. This can be as simple as a bowl of your favorite grain, a pile of pillowy flatbreads, or a bunch of veggies that you can chop while you’re making dinner on Sunday. You can remix these into a week of lunches, and even throw them into a few end of the week dinners.
Save time. Banish the lunchbox fatigue blues. Start the school year right by test driving one of these lunch combos for a week.
Build Your Own Flatbread
Customizable Crossover: Flatbread, pita, or naan
School-style: Fresh, store-bought flatbread acts as a fun delivery system for some much needed protein and veggies. Add a little container of hummus to spread on top of the bread, along with chopped cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and chunks of cheese. Later in the week, go for a classic deli flavor combo with add-your-own mustard, meat, cheese, and tomato. A baggie of frozen grapes doubles as an ice pack and a frosty, fruit-filled treat.
Work-style: Keep the veggies and cheese, but add in some extra flavor with olives, pepperoncini, or roasted red pepper strips. A handful of baby kale or arugula adds a yummy pop of color and texture. Pack a wedge of lime and use your grapes as ice cubes throughout the day with a quick grape-lime water that you can assemble at your desk.
A Magical Kebab Makeover
Customizable Crossover: Pre-chopped raw veggies
School-style: Throw whatever you have on hand onto a skewer and you’ve got a kebab, aka a kid-friendly hand-held salad. A few ideas: cherry tomatoes, carrots, hunks of cheese, cucumber, celery, or deli meat. Skip the sharp skewer and use a chopstick, straw, or even a pretzel rod. You can switch up the combos as the week goes on. (Grapes and strawberries make a great complimentary fruit kebab!)
Work-style: Vinaigrette, pumpkin seeds, and Castelvetrano olives turn identical ingredients into a chopped salad. Throw the grapes and strawberries into your salad for a touch of sweetness, or pack a few hunks of cheese to pair with them for a late afternoon mini-cheese-plate.
Embrace the Major Calzone
Customizable crossover: Big, baked sandwich
School-style: Make friends with pre-made pizza dough, make lunch for the whole week in one fell swoop. Fill the pizza dough with roasted veggies, ham, cheese, or whatever you have lurking in the fridge. The results? A magical, massive calzone (or “big sandwich”). Slice into individual pieces, refrigerate (or freeze!) and simply reheat the morning you’re packing a slice for lunch. Voila! The centerpiece of both of your lunches is complete. Throw in a few pieces of stone fruit or slices of melon to round out the meal.
Work-style: Add a few toppings like a slick of olive tapenade, a handful of roasted veggies, or a pile of hot cherry peppers. Keep the fruit, but give it a slightly savory twist with a pinch of flaky salt (packed separately) or a wedge of lime.
Need a quick lunch fix? Get a weekly bundle of healthy, kid-friendly eats to mix-and-match for the perfect school lunch.
