Tag Archives: pack school lunch

6 Places to Shop for Eco Friendly School Lunch Supplies

6 Places to Shop for Eco Friendly School Lunch Supplies

My kids love bringing lunch to school. School lunches have improved, generally speaking, over the past several years, but we still enjoy the flexibility of bringing lunch rather than buying it.

The challenge comes in finding more eco friendly containers for the kids’ lunches. Kids are great for losing things, so you don’t want to spend a fortune. So far, most of my kids’ stuff has eventually made it back to us, anywhere from being found in the lost & found the next day all the way to appearing in a different teacher’s classroom the following school year. Obviously, sometimes I’ve had to buy more containers because I thought the previous ones were gone.

You also want containers that will last well. I prefer stainless steel, and for the drink bottles, ideally no straws. My youngest still gets straw containers, even though the straws eventually go bad because she chews on them, because that’s what she can open without needing help and close reliably. For older kids, I like bottles that the kids twist the lid off rather than a sports bottle type opening – kids are great for not closing sports bottles tightly enough and having it leak all over their lunch bags.

Insulation is wonderful, especially for drinks. Ice works well to keep drinks cool, and you can freeze milk into cubes so you don’t ruin the flavor if that’s your child’s preferred drink. Make sure the drink bottle has a wide enough mouth that ice is easily added.

Size is key with food containers. Some will be too small to hold enough food for your child’s appetite. Too big and you may have to rethink the lunch bag. Pay attention to reviews as well as how much your child tends to eat for lunch to figure out what’s the right container. Some have their own carry bags available.

There are plenty of places to buy eco friendly school lunch supplies. Here are just a few:

Amazon (seems like they carry everything)
Shop Waste-Free Lunch for Kids at ReUseIt.com
ECOlunchbox
PlanetBox
The Ultimate Green Store
Laptop Lunches

Cucumber Pita Sandwich – Cheap Packed School Lunch Idea

Pita bread is fun to use for school lunches. Kids love the pocket. These can also be made on regular bread.

1 piece pita bread, sliced in half and opened
2 tablespoons hummus
6 slices cucumber
2 tablespoons alfalfa sprouts
1 tomato, sliced
handful spinach leaves
1 ounce pepperoncini, sliced (optional, will your kid eat them? Pickles may be an alternative.)
1/2 avocado, sliced

Spread hummus on each side of the pita. Arrange vegetables in the sandwich. If serving immediately, oil and vinegar or a vinaigrette salad dressing may go well, but can make the sandwich too wet to package as a school lunch.

Recipe Books You May Enjoy

Healthy Eating for Kids
Lunch Boxes and Snacks
The Just Bento Cookbook: Everyday Lunches to Go

Couscous, Cranberry, and Feta Salad – Cheap Packed School Lunch Idea

Two of my three kids aren’t that much into couscous, but the one who likes it, really, really likes it. Couscous tastes fine when eaten cold in most recipes, in my opinion.

1 package couscous
1/3 cup dried cranberries
2 teaspoons balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing, or to taste
1/2 cucumber, diced
1/2 cup toasted pecans
2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
salt to taste

Prepare couscous according to package directions. Add cranberries. Fluff couscous with a fork and add balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing. Add cucumber, pecans, feta cheese and salt.

Recipe Books You May Enjoy

Healthy Eating for Kids
Lunch Boxes and Snacks
The Just Bento Cookbook: Everyday Lunches to Go

Grilled Chicken Salad – Cheap Packed School Lunch Idea

Salads are great to send for school lunches. You can switch the vegetables around easily to whatever your child is likely to eat. If you want to add salad dressing, it’s best to have that off to the side if you have a small container your child can manage to open without spilling everywhere.

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, grilled and sliced
8 cups lettuce, torn (Spinach or romaine are good, not all kids will eat them. Iceberg lettuce may be safer.)
2 peeled, segmented and chopped oranges
1 sliced cucumber
1 sliced red bell pepper
1 sliced carrot

Combine all ingredients in salad bowl. Separate into lunch servings for each child or day.

Recipe Books You May Enjoy

Healthy Eating for Kids
Lunch Boxes and Snacks
The Just Bento Cookbook: Everyday Lunches to Go

Mess Around With the Basic Sandwich – Cheap Packed School Lunch Idea

Your basic sandwich can be a very affordable school lunch idea, but they get boring quickly. It’s important to switch things around so your kids don’t get too tired of eating the same thing over and over again.

This doesn’t have to be difficult. Something as simple as switching from your usual bread to pita bread, a bagel, or wrapping the ingredients in a tortilla changes things a lot.

You can also change the cheese. Don’t just stick to cheddar or American cheese. Mozzarella or provolone can work well, some kids love Swiss cheese, even a sprinkling of feta if the other ingredients will hold it in well enough will work.

You can go outside the usual ingredients too. It doesn’t have to all be lunch meat, cheese, lettuce and tomato, or peanut butter and jelly. Think about all the options you get at sandwich shops such as Subway and have a little more fun making sandwiches while keeping the price reasonable.

If your kids are old enough and the ingredients aren’t too hard to manage, you can even keep the bread and other ingredients separate to ensure that the bread doesn’t get soggy before lunch. This can make a big difference in how the sandwich tastes.

The most important thing is to not get stuck completely in a rut with your child’s lunches. Little switches make a big difference.

Recipe Books You May Enjoy

Healthy Eating for Kids
Lunch Boxes and Snacks
The Just Bento Cookbook: Everyday Lunches to Go