Making school lunches for kids is a daily struggle for parents. Parents can be making up to 200 lunches per year and then multiply that if you have more than one kid. That’s a lot of lunches! There is a lot of time that goes into preparing them and cleaning up the lunches at the end of the day. It’s like a never ending cycle…
I have good news for you! If you are a parent who struggles with making school lunches. There are ways that we can make preparing lunches easier and have lunch bags comes home empty at the end of the day. Nowadays there are so many new tools that are available.
Here I will show you my favorite lunch tools and the sites where you can go to for lunch ideas!
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Cents and Family’s favorite school lunch tools
Bento Boxes
Bento lunch boxes make it easier to pack food. Instead of using many small containers to hold different items, these bento boxes make preparing lunches much more efficient. Let’s cut out the time from having to hunt down the right lid for that container! Not only are they compact, but they also make the food look so yummy to eat! They are great for the environment as we are supporting less disposable packaging.
Here are my 3 favourite bento boxes:
YUM BOX
These Yumboxes comes in so many beautiful colors and tray designs! The trays or inserts come in as a 4, 5 or 6 compartments. We love the 4 compartment trays as it is easier to pack larger food items such as sandwiches. If you want to fit in smaller items then use silicone cups inside the compartment. The trays are interchangeable (with the tapas containers) and the boxes are leakproof. The Yumbox is dishwasher safe on the top rack. We do find the Yumbox slightly heavier than the other bento boxes below (something to consider if you have a little one that has a heavy backpack to carry).
Little Lunch Box Co
I love this one piece bento box. No extra tray like the Yumbox, so it’s one less thing to keep track of. There are many different colors and designs to choose from. I’m sure you can find one that your kid will love. This bento box has 2, 3 or 5 compartments. Unless noted on the product, it is top shelf dishwasher safe. TIP: storing the container with a closed lid can cause mould growth – hence keep the container dry and open when storing it.
Plastic Bento Lunch Box Food containers
If your kids tend to lose things or aren’t very responsible, these plastic bento boxes may be the ones for your family. They are lightweight and cheaper. Although they may not be leak proof compared to the other 2 bento boxes.
Use Mabel’s Labels to personalize the lunchboxes and other school items so that they don’t get lost or mixed up.
Other lunch tools:
Silicone cups
Use reusable silicone cups inside the bento boxes to create extra compartments and to minimize messes/spills. They are freezer, microwave, oven-safe, and dishwasher safe.
Thermos
Hot lunches are a good option too!
Tip #1: Pre-heat the Thermos with hot water to keep the food to stay warmer longer.
Tip #2: Don’t put the lid on too tight. Ensure that your kid is able to open it themselves.
Sandwich Cutters
No kid can so no to eating cute shaped sandwiches. There’s something about making food fun that seems so appealing to kids.
Ideas for School Lunches
Now that you have an idea for lunch tools, here are my favorite websites to get inspiration and ideas for school lunches:
Megan’s Instagram page @ Lunch Box Mom
Megan is a bento queen! She makes fun and healthy lunches for her 2 kids. I love her ideas!
Jill Vera from Organizational Toast
Jill has the right formula to make the best healthy lunches:
Protein + Carbs/Starch + Fruit + Vegetable = Complete Lunch
She gives you the master list of school ideas: Back to School Lunch Box Ideas
Devon from Mama Cheaps
She offers 17 awesome lunchbox hacks that make packing lunches efficient. Great ideas!
17 Insanely Clever Lunchbox Hacks for Packing School Lunches
Holley from Holley Grainger
Holley has an amazing list of 125 healthy recipes for lunch! 125! Check them out at:
These ladies make it seem so easy (and fun!) to make lunches! Good luck and cheers to another year of making school lunches!
You may also like:
8 Tips to Prepare Your Child for School
9 Steps to Effective Meal Planning
Back to School Organization Ideas
Love these tips! Will definitely be doing the bento boxes when my daughter gets older! Thanks!
Great post, Minda! These all look like amazing products, almost makes me want to send my kids to school instead of homeschooling so we can use some of them. 🙂
Lol! Fun products indeed! You can always use the bento lunch boxes when you take the kids out for the day or for lunch in the park 🙂
Great tips and products! If you have right stuff for lunches making them is so much easier!
Yes! Having the right tools makes making lunch easier (and more fun!)
All greta tips Minda. I am having hard time coming up with lunch ideas with mu kindergartener so this post is really helpful.
I had always had a hard time coming up with lunch ideas too! Thank goodness for the inspiration from the ladies on social media 🙂