School Lunches and Snacks

My son started first grade yesterday (we start school really early in our county). After a summer of having the time to make fun/more involved lunches at home, it was time to start packing a lunch box again. Last year, I packed the lunches for the first part of the school year, then I decided I really wanted a few extra minutes of sleep, so my husband took over packing the lunch box. I know that my whole day is easier if I get up before the kids, so this year, I'm back on lunch duty. For the last few years, my son has had a snack schedule for his class. This year he needs to bring his own snack every day. My daughter goes to school twice a week and also needs to pack a snack, so I'll post some snacks with my list of lunch ideas. I try to do a mix of store bought and homemade things in lunches. It is exhausting to do everything homemade, even though I'd really like to. Baking the bread, roasting the chicken, making the dips, baking the cookies, making the crackers, and cutting all of the fruit take time. I try to find a balance because time in the kitchen (cooking and cleaning dishes) is time I'm not spending playing with the kids or doing other housework (have I mentioned that I have a messy house?).  My kids are fine with Publix whole wheat bread, so I tend to use that for sandwiches...but they love my homemade cheese-its and energy bites, so I'll take the time to make those. When my son started losing his baby teeth, sending whole apples and plums in his lunch was harder. If grapes, blueberries, or oranges aren't in season and he's tired of carrots, I'll send in applesauce (store bought).  I've checked Pinterest for lunch ideas and have even pinned a few things...but honestly, most of them are too much work at 6:15 in the morning. The bento boxes are cute, but really expensive (my son sometimes throws away his lunch containers). I still use ziploc sandwich bags for most things. I did find some really inexpensive ziploc divided lunch containers at Target and they fit in my son's lunch box.  OK, here's my list of lunch ideas. I hope this helps some of you that are looking for new ideas!

Lunch in the picture- carrot chips, no-bake energy bites, ham and cheese roll-ups, and 2 wedges of laughing cow cheese.

Lunch Ideas:
Homemade lunchables- stacks of crackers, lunch meat, and cheese cut to match the size of the crackers
Soup in a thermos- we tried this yesterday and it didn't leak!! Use canned or homemade (our favorites are chicken noodle and turkey soup)
Rollups- lunch meat and cheese of your choice. I packed 6 roll-ups today
Tuna salad and crackers (if your school doesn't allow plastic knives, just send a spoon)
Crackers with peanut butter
Peanut butter and apple wrap- I haven't made this one yet, but my son enjoyed it in a Publix Deli kid's meal
Hard-boiled egg, peeled (my son likes these with ranch dressing)
Peanut butter and jelly sandwich- it's easy and often overlooked when packing lunches
Sandwiches made with leftover roasted chicken, turkey, or roast beef
Note about sandwiches- Sometimes I take my son to the store to pick out the deli meat, cheese, and bread. It gives him some freedom, and ownership in his lunch, and it shows me that he's willing to eat things I'd never thought of.

Snack/Side Ideas:
Homemade crackers- I have quite a few variations on homemade-cheeze-its (King Arthur Flour Cheese Pennies (my favorite), my variation on cheese pennies (different cheese and flours), cheddar cheese crackers (mixed grains), and homemade cheeze-its (similar to cheese pennies, but with less butter).
Chocolate peanut butter energy bars (similar to KIND bars)
Fruit and nut bars (similar to LARA bars)
No-Bake energy bites- I have my kids convinced that these are dessert
Carrots and ranch or carrots and peanut butter
Applesauce- I recommend this one if you are making homemade
Carrots or pretzels with laughing cow cheese- my son's favorite snack
String cheese
Chex Mix-I love the recipe on the back of the box, but double the amount of sauce