This post was sponsored by DOLE® as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central. All opinions expressed in my post are my own.
There is no doubt that raising children is filled with new challenges and adventures every day. In the first few months of your baby’s life, you are doing everything you can to make sure that they are growing and thriving. When they get a little older, you may be worried about potty training, picky eating, talking and more. One of the biggest changes though, is when your little baby grows up and goes to school for the first time!
My oldest son went to 1/2 day kindergarten last year and it was fun to watch him interact with all of the other kids. This year however was a little bit more of an adjustment for me when he started going to all day school in first grade. One of the biggest challenges at first was to decide what to make my little guy for lunch every day! He is not a very pick eater, but I didn’t want him to get bored eating the same thing all the time.
Over the past few months I have been able to experiment and find a few lunch ideas that my first grader consistently enjoys. Today, I am going to share with you all 5 of these ideas.
Busy moms know that it is important to find that balance between simplicity, health, and not too boring when it comes to lunch. I hope that these ideas work for you and feel free to adapt them so they work best for you and your kids.
Before I start, you will notice that each of these ideas includes a different variety of new DOLE Mixations® which are one-of-a-kind fruit fusions with imaginative combinations of smooth fruit sauces mixed with juicy chunks of real fruit. I (and my boys) love DOLE Mixations! They are perfect for school lunches because the chunks of real fruit are in fruit sauce instead of juice or syrup – that means that they don’t splash all over the place when you open them.
Another great thing about DOLE Mixations is that they are non-GMO*, contain no high fructose corn syrup, no artificial flavors, are gluten free and rich in Vitamin C! Right now you can get a coupon for a dollar off so that you can try it – click here for the coupon.
They are also perfect for moms that love to leave their kids’ a special note everyday in their lunch like I do. The lids are specially designed with inventive packaging so that you can easily write a note or a special picture for your kid to read when they open their lunch. I have always written the same note on my son’s napkins that I send with his lunch – it simply says “I love you Benji” and it has a big heart as the “dot” of the “i” in his name. A few weeks ago I forgot and when he came home he was so sad. He said he couldn’t tell if it was really his lunch because I forgot to put his name with the heart, and the heart means that I love him. It broke my heart and made me realize that he really does notice these things! Now, with DOLE Mixations, I can include the same note on the lid instead of on the napkin.
Now – onto the lunch ideas!
Lunch Idea #1
Main Dish:
1/2 Ham, Avocado and Cheese Sandwich with mayonnaise, mustard, provolone cheese, ham, and avocado.
Side Dishes:
- DOLE Mixations Apple – Raspberry Sauce with Dices of Apple
- Cheddar flavored fish crackers
- Grapes
Lunch Idea #2
Main Dish
Spinach and Cherry Tomato Salad with Cheese Cubes (don’t forget the toothpicks!). My son loves spinach and cherry tomatoes, but you may want to switch out the salad portion with a different salad that your kids likes.
Sides Dishes
- DOLE Mixations Pineapple-Mango Sauce with Pineapple Pieces
- Pretzel Sticks
Lunch Idea #3
Main Dish
Toasted Peanut Butter, Jelly, and Banana Sandwich. Make this by toasting one slice of bread and cutting it diagonally and then adding the peanut butter, jelly and a few slices of bananas to one side and topping with the other.
Side Dishes
- DOLE Mixations Apple-Strawberry Sauce with Dices of Apple
- Cookie
- Petite Carrots
- Cheese sticks
Lunch Idea #4
Main Dish
Cracker Sandwiches. Send a few small crackers, pieces of cheddar cheese, and small pieces of ham and let your child put the sandwiches together on his or her own.
Side Dishes
- DOLE Mixations Peach-Apple Sauce with Pineapple Pieces
- Small orange (think mandarin or tangerine)
- Celery sticks with ranch
Lunch Idea #5
Main Dish
Homemade Banana Muffin and a sliced hard boiled egg.
Side Dishes
- DOLE Mixations (any variety)
- Apple.
As you can see, these are very simple school lunch ideas, but simple is good when you have kids! No matter how simple the lunches are, as long as their is variety its less likely that your kids will get bored. I really hope that you enjoy these ideas and I would love to hear your ideas in the comments below!
- No genetically modified (or engineered) ingredients