School Lunch Ideas Made With Five Ingredients or Less

Getting lunches ready and kids out the door in the morning is tough! Today I'm helping you out with school lunch ideas made with five ingredients or less!

School Lunch Tips and Tricks

Making school lunches can become a very tedious task very quickly. Especially when you're doing it day in and day out. After ten plus years of making school lunches, I've learned a few tips and tricks for making school lunches:

Make a meal plan for the week
Prepare lunches, backpacks, clothes and more the night before. I'll go through a checklist with the kids and make sure we go through all of their classes, lunches are made and we are ready to grab and go in the morning.
Minimal ingredients: Complicated school lunches can get tough really quickly. Making lunches with minimal ingredients will save money.
Save time or save money? This was a tough one for me. I used to cut and prep all of my apples and vegetables and then quickly realized that working one full time job, a part time job and trying to save a few pennies for lunches wasn't working. I started to buy already peeled apples to save myself time.
HERE ARE SOME OTHER TIPS FOR PACKING LUNCHES WITH NO REFRIGERATION

Lunch Ideas:

This is an easy mix and match lunch idea. I'm going back to old school and when I plan a lunch I plan a protein, carbohydrate and fruit or vegetable. Feel free to mix and match. I also have a printable version available here:

Protein

Protein options for lunches include plant based and non plant based ideas. Proteins are so important for helping you feel fuller longer. It's also the building block for bones, muscles, cartilage, skin and tissue.

Chicken skewers
Chicken breasts
Lunch meat
Beans
Chickpeas
Eggs
Greek yogurt
Tuna
Salmon
Nuts-almonds, walnuts, pecans, peanuts, sunflower
Cheese
Seitan
Tofu
Protein Bars
Milk (Non dairy or dairy)
Edamame
Quinoa
Cottage Cheese
Pumpkin seeds
Cheese sticks or mozzarella balls
Jerky
Protein balls

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are important for you too! They give a quick pick me up after a day of studying or working and help give you energy to make it through the rest of the school day! Carbohydrates are needed for concentration, recovery and fluid balance.

Quinoa
Crackers
Bread or toast
Cereal
Muffins
Rice cakes
Tortilla
Tortilla chips
Rolls
Pretzels
Pita bread
Naan bread
Popcorn
Trail Mix
Biscuit
Pancakes or waffles
Bagel
Rice or rice cups
Chips
Granola bars
Oat bars
Dried fruit or vegetables or fruit leathers

Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables are important for providing the nutrients a body needs. Vitamins are great, but getting the fiber, nutrients and vitamins a body needs come from the natural food sources.