It’s that time of the year again! For many of us in Ontario, school starts next week! Some schools have already started their school year, but Little One goes back after Labour Day long weekend. This may sound a bit crazy, but I’m super excited about back to school bento box lunches! You’ve had two months of not seeing my daily kids’ bento box posts on Instagram! Well, September is here and let the Instagram bento posts begin! Sorry, not sorry! 🙂
Little One and I enjoy making healthy lunches together.
Some things I think that are helpful in sending kids to school with healthy lunches:
- Lots of colourful fruits and vegetables. Little One knows she needs to “eat a rainbow” every meal, every day!
- Being creative!
- Letting your kids help out with choosing what they’d like to have for lunch. Give them a few items to choose from and let them select. By giving them the choice from what your few suggestions, you’re ensuring that they’re not choosing to have S’mores or jelly beans for lunch!
- Let your kids help with the prep! I know that you probably just want to get everything done quickly, but I find that when Little One creates her own edible masterpiece, she’s more apt to eat it all because SHE made it. Maybe it’s just her, but she’s fiercely proud of her creations and kitchen concoctions!
- Back to school food organization! Make sure to have different containers with cut up veggies or fruit ready to go.
- Pack lunches in bento box or food containers with snap on lids. I’ve recently given away all my old containers and sold a bunch at a yard sale recently and I replaced them with Snapware containers.
SNAPWARE® | BENTO BOX LUNCHES IN A SNAP
- A great bento box contains a variety of foods and also contains items from the basic food groups. I make sure Little One’s lunches include vegetable, grain, protein, fruit and dairy.
- Nothing’s worse than packing a great lunch and it gets all soggy from moisture or wet items touching dry items. I use silicone muffin liners as dividers to keep items from touching each other. I also use little containers to put dips or hummus in so they don’t spill all over the rest of the food. Small containers for yogurt or homemade applesauce are a good idea too.
- People think I spend a long time on making Little One’s lunches. I fool everyone all the time. We use cookie cutters to make shapes (veggies, fruit, bread, cheese, etc). Plus, most of the time it’s not even me making them! I get Little One to do all the shapes with the cookie cutters! She’s six years old and able to help make her lunches!
I’ve found that Snapware’s airtight food storage containers are perfect for Little One. They’re light weight and come in a variety of different sizes and shapes.
- Snapware Total Solution Plastic 3.01c/712mL Small Short Rectangle
- Snapware Total Solution Plastic 5.02c/1.18L Small Medium Rectangle
- Snapware Total Solution Plastic 8.39c/1.98L Medium Short Rectangle
- Snapware Total Solution Plastic 1.34c/317mL Small
Medium Square - Snapware Total Solution Plastic 5.35c/1.26L Medium Short Square
- Snapware Total Solution Plastic 1.21c/286mL Small Short Round
- Snapware Total Solution Plastic 2.01c/476mL Small Tall Round
- Snapware Small Rectangle Ice Pack 2 pack
- Snapware Medium Square Ice Pack 2 pack
Airtight lunch containers are a must. You don’t want any leaky mess in your kid’s lunchbox or school bag, do you?
Check out some of the helpful tips for packing lunches that Snapware has to share!
Here are a few bento box ideas for Little One’s back to school lunches!
I asked my six year old to help me put together some Back to School Bento Box Lunches for the first week of school. This is what she came up with. She selected all the menu items. As you can see, she loves cucumbers (it’s in all of her lunches). I was actually surprised with her selections because usually Little One is not a sandwich or bread kind of kid. She generally prefers noodles, rice dishes, potato dishes, soups, chili or sushi for her school lunches.
What would you pack for a tasty bento box lunch?
Follow and connect with Snapware on Social
Web: http://worldkitchen.com/snapware
Twitter: @WorldKitchenLLC
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Snapware
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{giveaway}
To help you prepare some tasty, healthy, fun bento box lunches for your kids now that they’re back to school, we’re giving away (thanks to the great people at World Kitchen/Snapware) (1) Snapware®Total Solution™ 16-Pc Glass And Plastic Boxed Set to one lucky Life on Manitoulin reader.
To enter, simply use the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway open to residents of the U.S. and Canada.
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You may also be interested in:
- 16 Back-t0-School School Lunches
- Healthy Kids’ Lunchbox Ideas
- 6 Bento Lunch Tips
- 5 Quick & Easy Bento Lunches for Kids
- 5 Easy Halloween Bento Lunches for Kids
Disclosure – I received products from World Kitchen to facilitate this post. As always, all thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are honest and my own.
Thanks for sharing such a beautiful information with us. I hope you will share more information about Bento Box Lunch in a Snap.
Great post! Thanks for sharing!
Deconstructing their faves, it’s a good idea to let the, put together the elements as they want.
tuna or egg salad sandwiches
My granddaughter loves deli sandwiches (ham or turkey, cheeses, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, etc.) along with raw vegetables for her lunch.
I learned to pack it tight,,
my kids love carrots, pizza , granola bars and yogurt
My son loves ham rolls. In fact, he’ll love anything if it’s in a mini kabob style!
One of my kids love bread anything, and the other one likes soup or noodles.
I learned to pack it tight
Pack it tight. This is good so stuff doesn’t get all messy.
I learned that it is best to FOLLOW THE FORMULA by including a variety of foods.
I learned to put the ingredients separately to let the put their lunches together on their own!
He loves sandwiches that he makes himself…. ok more like the “secret” ingredient he adds to the turkey, lettuce and cheese sandwich
My son likes to have turkey pepperoni and cheese in his lunch.
I learned about picking a theme, which is something I hadn’t thought about with these lunches.
I learned that you should deconstruct their favourite things and let them put their lunch how they want to..
My kids love if I include a gogurt!
They’re an easy way to use up leftovers.
Pack it tight to avoid your creation getting damaged.
Compartmentalizing, remember to use four basic food groups for starting choices, and making the meal both healthy and fun are all important!
Dinosaur or sushi sandwiches are favourites of my grandchildren when I make their lunches. Next time I look after them I am going to try these bento ideas for a change.
I learned you should deconstruct their favourite things and let them put their lunch together. I am sure it would be a lot more appealing than just a sandwich.
My daughter loves to eat fruit salad made freshly together by her and I for lunch. She is so proud to look and find what fruit we have in the fruit bowl, fridge and freezer. She is such a good helper and likes to wash the fruit. She is so independent and tries to cut it into bite-size pieces with her cutlery…alas, not very sharp. I get in trouble if she doesn’t find a treat in her lunchbox.
My niece loves meat/cheese kabobs, pickles, applesauce and homemade cookies in her lunches right now.
I learned to pack it tight so that the food does not move around and also to use silicone muffin tin liners to put messy items like dip in.
I leaned to pick a theme!
my son likes sandwiches,pizzas and wraps,,hes a pretty boring guy.lol
I learned to PACK IT TIGHT so things don`t get too messy.
I learned to pack it tight!
Mine loves meatballs 🙂
Looks are everything! Cut food into fun shapes 🙂
I would pack sushi rolls, apples/grapes, cheeses, and avocado. My kids love these.
Add the four basic food groups—vegetable, grain, protein and fruit
One tip I learned for making Bento Box Lunches in a Snap is to use cookie cutters. I am going to try this because I think my daughter will be suprised and it will make lunch a litlle more fun!
chicken and dumplings with celery and carrots on the side with ranch
Pack it tight and silicone dividers work and portion control
my niece loves fruit and veggies
pack it tight!
Pack it tight
I like the idea of starting with a lunch that features their favorite meals deconstructed.
I leaned to pick a theme and to pack it tight
pack it tight!
Pack your ingredients tightly together so they don’t move around.
My kids love wraps, all different kinds, from chicken Caesar to egg salad
I learned that for messy items such as humus, use a silicone muffin liner to help from creating a huge mess
I learned their portion controlled!!! My son loves any kid of fruit!!!
Pack it tight!
Looks are everything!
My youngest loves fruits, cheeses and yogurts a lot! The teen likes anything chocolate lol!
Wow, I learned their portion controlled.. that’s pretty awesome!
I learned that looks are everything.
My little like likes when I make little jelly sandwiches with cut out shapes.
One tip I learned is to pack it tight so things don’t get sloshed around. I love making Japanese bento style lunches for my little one. Getting some more inspiration and ideas from you as well.
Lots of great tips! I learned to used muffin papercups as dividers.
Awesome lunches C! Little One sure knows how to make a healthy and aesthetically pleasing bento! Great job!
Thanks, my friend! Thought of you guys the other day and really need to catch up soon! Miss you!
I love the “PICK A THEME” tip. I think animal shapes for Sophie’s snack would be a great idea.
She loves fruit and veggies!
I learned to use paper or silicone muffin cups as dividers
PACK IT TIGHT – I was always wondering how do they not fall apart 🙂
I know, right?! 🙂 What an amazing tip!
Pack it tight so it doesn’t get all messy!
My 6 year old has been taking cheddar cheese, bacon, grapes, water, a pudding cup and bell pepper. He’s super picky!
That sounds delicious!
I learned to pack it tight
Pack it tight! That way your lunch isn’t squashed or sloshing around.
I learned that I need to pack it tight, so the food doesn’t move around and ruin the presentation!
I learned that kids love to take apart their food. Give them a head start with a lunch that features their favorite meals deconstructed…so they can re-create it as they wish.
So neat!! Love that tip! 🙂
My child love to eat salad and cheese and crackers.
I learned to pick a theme!
Looking forward to the first month of lunches. The rest of the year could be scary!
I learned that packing it tight and picking the right container are important!
Thank you for the opportunity!
Prepping your veggies/fruit is so important.
You’re welcome, Heather! Thank you for visiting the blog! 🙂