Endless packed lunch ideas

A comprehensive back-to-school guide for grown ups & tiny humans.

I am very ready for school to start. Ozzie has been home for the past couple of weeks hanging with his little sister and making art projects, which is cute and all, but there’s clay everywhere. Like everywhere. I work from home too, so to all my wonderful clients that heard a screaming almost 5-year old doing Minion impressions, I’m sorry.

Photo evidence (after a little clean up). During normal times, I might eat lunch and answer emails here.

Kids or no kids, there’s something about September and the end of summer that feels like a fresh start. It’s a great time to get organized and back in your groove. I know a lot of you reading this are parents and a lot of you aren’t. So I’m going to start with some tips for adult humans, then we can get into tips for the tiny ones. If that doesn’t apply to you, you can just stop reading.

Speaking of September, if you want to work with me 1:1, I have a few spots left for for the month. It’s a busy time for nutritionists (second only to January), so book a consult if interested.

Whether eating at home or bringing to the office, lunch should be quick and easy. This is not a meal you’re cooking—the name of the game is assembly only. Essentially we’re turning your fridge into a salad bar. These are the 5 basic components of putting together a quick and delicious lunch:

1. Protein: Make sure you have a solid serving of protein in your lunch. This could be a shelf-stable protein, leftovers from the night before, or prepped over the weekend.

   1. Ideas: Rotisserie chicken, meal prep chicken, roasted salmon, smoked salmon, canned tuna, tofu, frittata, meatballs, burger patties, pulled pork.

   2. Some proteins are not sufficient, but you can mix and match to get where you want to be: hard-boiled eggs, lentils, beans, cheese, and nuts.

2. Base: Your base is essentially what makes the dish the dish. Is it a taco (tortilla), a sandwich (bread), a salad (greens), or a grain bowl (grains)? This gives your meal identity and can make it easy to switch up your lunches with the same ingredients from the fridge (i.e. chicken tacos one day and a Mediterranean chicken salad the next).

3. Vegetables: Make sure to get some veggies in with every meal. This could be some salad greens, roasted or steamed vegetables, or raw veg like cucumbers, carrots, snap peas, or tomatoes (a fruit, I know, but you get the idea).

4. Sauce: A good sauce makes it! If you’re packing your lunch, bring the dressing separately or keep a jar of your favorite Primal Kitchen dressing at the office.

5. Extras: This is optional, but if you know me, you know I love a little extra-ness. Pickled red onions, olives, za’atar, hummus, furikake, sauerkraut, kimchi, capers, pumpkin seeds, avocado…get creative.

   

   

   TURN YOUR FRIDGE INTO A SALAD BAR PARTS 1, 2, 3, & 4

With options from each of these categories in your fridge, you can throw together a lunch in minutes. Here are some examples:

• Mediterranean grain bowl: Meatballs, arugula, roasted vegetables, cauliflower rice, olives, tahini dressing, and pickled red onions.

• Tokyo bowl: Salmon, romaine, cucumber, tomato, with carrot ginger miso dressing, nori strips, and sesame seeds

• Tacos: Shredded chicken, black beans, avocado, pico de gallo in tortillas with a side of carrot cabbage slaw (or with lettuce and no tortilla for a taco salad)

• Pesto bowl: Rotisserie chicken, quinoa, roasted vegetables, spinach, and pesto dressing

• Put an egg on it: Lentils with walnuts and a hard-boiled egg on mixed greens with roasted vegetables, and dressing of choice

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Now, let’s get to the kids…

When it comes to kids lunches (or all meals), my focus is three things:

1. Balancing blood sugar levels for optimal mood, energy, and focus. Kids don’t need that much protein (since they weigh less), but protein, fats, and fiber are important for curbing blood sugar spikes, which affect their behavior and overall health. It’s normal for kids to crave high-carbohydrate foods, so try to get them a little protein to go with it. For example: an ice cream (with protein and fat from the milk) is a better treat than a snow cone (sugar + ice).

2. Nutrients from colorful foods. Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables will help children get the micronutrients (i.e. vitamins, minerals, etc.) they need for their growing bodies.

3. Reducing exposure to processed foods and what comes with them (sugar, food dyes, etc.). We know that these foods are not good for long-term health, but in the short term, they can cause behavioral and attention issues, which makes things harder for the kids and their caretakers (parents, family, teachers, babysitters, etc).

I know kids can be very particular. If you’re dealing with a picky eater, don’t give up. Studies show that it can take 15-20 exposures before a child is willing to put a new food in their mouth. If you’re trying to expand your child’s palate, the key is to stay within their comfort zone while slowly introducing new things. Don’t force your kids to eat. I get that it can be frustrating, but they feed off your energy, so if you seem annoyed it will likely just backfire (I get annoyed too, so this advice is as much for me as it is for you all).

They are watching what and how you eat—set an example by making healthy meals for yourself (a case for meal prep, ahem) and offering them a bite in a casual way and with no expectations (“yum, this is so good, do you want to try?”). With younger kids, trying new foods can often come down to marketing. I’ve recently been making “Hulk pancakes” — a blend of eggs, banana, spinach, and chia seeds. They’re perfect for Freya who is learning to self-feed and marketed to Ozzie with his favorite superhero so I don’t have to make two separate breakfasts.

Okay, so lunch. While we adults like composed dishes, kids’ meals are often better deconstructed. Choose 1 protein (or mix and match), 2-3 fruit and veg sides, and maybe a dip/sauce and/or snack. Here are some ideas:

Proteins (choose 1)
- Cheese sandwich (I love Ezekiel bread for sandwiches — 5g of protein per slice!)
- Nut or sun butter and jelly sandwich (I like Chia Smash jelly)
- Chicken and veggie roll-ups
- Hummus and avocado roll-ups (with or without cheese)
- Turkey cheese roll-ups
- Egg salad (with bread or crackers)
- Chicken salad
- Tuna salad
- Chicken tenders
- Quesadilla
- Pasta salad with broccoli, carrots, chicken, cheese (you can use a higher protein legume pasta and whatever vegetables they like)
- Lentils with diced carrots and celery
- Fried rice (rice, peas, carrots, egg)
- Mini sliders or meatballs
- Turkey burger, quartered or halved
- Hot dog bites
- Shredded chicken
- Hard-boiled eggs

Fruits and vegetables (choose 2-3)
- Raw or cooked veggies: broccoli, snap peas, bell peppers, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, carrots, green beans, zucchini, sweet potato wedges, asparagus
- Fruit: blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, apple slices, orange segments, kiwi, peaches
- Cucumber, tomato, avocado spoon salad (chopped up into bite-sized pieces and dressed with olive oil, rice wine vinegar and sea salt)
- Ants on a log: celery with nut butter and raisins
- Edamame (also a great source of protein)
- Olives

Dips/sauces
- Hummus
- Ketchup
- Tahini
- Ranch
- Guacamole

Snacks
* Check out my Thrive List for a million ideas. If you’re not a Thrive member, use this link for a free gift and 30% off your first order.
- Lesser Evil snacks
- Seaweed
- Chomp sticks
- Jerky
- Brami beans
- Pumpkin seeds
- Cereal trail mix (I use a mix of Lovebird cereal, seeds, raisins, and chocolate chips)
- Banana muffins (here is a nut-free recipe)
- Yogurt
- String cheese
- Leftover pancakes from breakfast cut into shapes
- Happy Wolf bars (these bars are amazing—discount code: MIA20)

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RESOURCES & ACCESSORIES
A few things to make that lunch packing and prepping a little easier.

Lunch Boxes/Bags:

• Maisonette x Feed kid’s insulated lunch bags

• Planet Box: I asked around and this was by far the most popular option. I have a similar one (without the bag) that I like too.

Get your kids involved (it’s amazing what kids will eat when they’ve been a part of the cooking process):

• This Is What I Eat: A great activity book about mindful eating by my friend

  Aliza J. Sokolow.

• Cookie cutters: it’s amazing what kids will eat when it’s cut into a shape.

• Material Kitchen kids set (discount code: MIAMATERIAL)

• Opinel Kids knife set: I just bought this for Ozzie and can’t wait to get him cooking with me.