Last year, our kindergarten program was a half-day thing so we didn’t really have to worry about lunches. This year we dove into the whole full-day school routine and I decided to document the lunches I’m putting together in the hopes that it helps someone like me. I spent a lot of time perusing Pinterest (you can check out my bento idea pins here) and that helped me a ton in terms of getting a bit more creative than a sandwich every day. Our school doesn’t have any nut restrictions so we don’t have to worry too much about that but I think it would be fairly easy to modify most ideas to accomodate such issues.

Day 1:

For the first day I sent carrot sticks and hummus, a wrap with mayo, prosciutto, and lettuce, kiwi berries which were randomly in stock at Trader Joe’s, and raspberries. I don’t have a hot food container that actually keeps things hot til lunch yet so for the time being I’m sticking with cold lunches. Because of that, there are only a few veggies Margaux will eat raw so you’ll see a lot of carrot sticks, cucumbers, and tomatoes, ha!

Day 2:

The second day I decided to send DIY lunchables. At the top you’ll see grape tomatoes and sliced cucumbers. In the second container I have cut up Applegate ham and Tillamook cheese, plus Vea crackers. Last we have a crowd favorite: strawberries.

Day 3:

Our first week was a short one so there were only three days to plan for. On our last day I sent cucumbers, tomatoes from the garden, carrot sticks, plain yogurt with cut up strawberries (I tried to make it look like polka dots, that was a fail, ha!), a small cup of granola, and a mini stroopwafel for dessert.

I feel like I did pretty good for the first week! I’ve been making the lunches the night before so I don’t have to worry about throwing something together in the morning and it’s kind of streamlined our routine. We use a Goodbyn Bynto box and have had it for about 2 or 3 years and it’s still going strong. I love the size of the sections and it fits in Margaux’s lunch box which is nice. I also bought a small set of Re-Play utensils that fit nicely in the bento box. For snacks I’ve been sending a peeled clementine because they’re quick to eat in short recesses.

Do you share your kiddo’s lunches on Instagram? I’d love to see them! Tag me @hiplushellophoto so I can take a peek! <3