School Lunch Ideas

Sometimes it feels like you’re life is on repeat: packing the same peanut butter and jelly sandwich and juice box in your child’s lunch everyday. When the school weeks drag on and your taste buds get bored, try these sandwich alternatives:

Sandwich Alternatives

For hot meals like macaroni and cheese or soup, buy a wide-mouth thermos that your child can easily open herself.
Roll cheese outside of cold cuts instead of bread.
Find out if your child’s preschool will heat up food, as many do.
Wrap fruits and vegetables in one half of a paper towel to keep them from getting soggy.
Put condiments in between the meat and cheese instead of on the bread to keep it from becoming soggy.
Pack tomatoes and lettuce separate from the sandwich.
Save small packets of mayonnaise, mustard, and ketchup from take out restaurants to add to lunch bags so your child can add her own condiments at lunch time.
To keep apple and pear slices from turning brown in your child’s lunchbox without making them too sour for your child, squirt them with pineapple juice or lemonade.
Ways to keep food cool other than an ice pack:
Use frozen bread for sandwiches in the morning.
Put in a frozen juice box, which will keep food cool and melt in time for lunch.

About the Author:

A dynamic national speaker, consultant, corporate spokesperson, and writer, Stacy DeBroff is President and founder of Mom Central, Inc., a company devoted to providing pragmatic tips and advice to strengthen busy families and enhance the home environment. Stacy has written several best-selling books on household and family organization including The Mom Book Goes to School; The Mom Book: 4,278 Tips for Moms; Sign Me Up! The Parent's Complete Guide to Sports, Activities, and Extracurriculars; and Mom Central: The Ultimate Family Organizer.

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2 comments

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By arabellajasmine on 08/14/10 at 7:00 am

Rich nutritive lunch meal is important but to the ways to make it look tasty is more important for childs.

By hmpg on 07/23/10 at 1:01 am

Children like a variety of food in their lunch box. As they play in school, their appetite levels will increase. So a rich nutritive lunch is really goo ...