Healthy, Packable Foods for School Lunches

I found this list on another site, but I wanted to repost it here for my own reference.....

Healthy, Packable Foods for School Lunches

(and others who eat away from home)

• Of course, anything from my Healthy Snacks to Go eBook (shameless plug)
• Cut veggies with dip
  • Veggie ideas:  cherry tomatoes, carrots, pea pods, cucumbers, cauliflower or broccoli spears, celery, fresh green beans, colored peppers,
  • Dip ideas:  hummus, homemade yogurt dip or yogurt cheese dip,ranch dressing, even ketchup if it’ll get them to eat their veggies!
• Apples and natural peanut butter (kids love to dip!)
  UPDATE: please remember that peanut allergies are very, very serious. The peanut allergen goes airborne, so many who suffer from a peanut allergy cannot even be in the same room as a peanut product. There is a list of substitutes and peanut-free ideas in the comments. If someone in your child’s classroom has an allergy, be sure to protect their health by abstaining from peanuts at school.
• Frozen peas
• Homemade yogurt (with frozen fruit and/or granola in it)
  We eat yogurt every day with lunch, and it is packable!  That’s one reason I love my glass storage containers in the 1-cup size.
• Fresh fruit, whole or cut depending on the child
  • Bananas, oranges, apples, pears, plums, melon, grapes, cherries, strawberries, peaches, nectarines…try to stick with what is more or less in season and watch the Dirty Dozen list.
• Dried fruit
• Homemade whole grain muffins/quick breads
• Hard-boiled egg with salt and pepper (cut in half is easier to handle)
• Sandwiches (on 100% whole grain bread or homemade):
  • Natural peanut butter and raw honey
  • PB and jelly (I made honey-sweetened freezer jam this year; just be sure to watch the ingredients for high-fructose corn syrup if you buy it)
  • PB and banana
  • PB and pickle
  • Leftover roast chicken or turkey
  • Egg salad, chicken salad, or tuna salad (even try canned salmon like tuna if the kids like it)
    Be sure not to serve tuna more than once a week or so because of chemical build-up.
  • Cream cheese and jelly
  • PB and cream cheese
  • Son’s new favorite:  cream cheese with strawberry slices and raw honey (peaches are good too!)
    • I actually use yogurt cheese instead of cream cheese in all of the above sandwiches
  • BLT (low- or no-nitrite bacon is best, regular stuff is a compromise food)
  • Bean spreads (search for recipes that used mashed beans as a sandwich spread – a great way to get protein in without breaking the bank or dealing with lunchmeat nitrites/nitrates)
  • Try making a wrap to switch it up, but watch the tortilla ingredients for trans fats.  I make my own homemade tortillas.
  • Cold burrito or refried beans with guacamole or salsa on a tortilla. (I used to think cold refried beans were gross, but then I realized that people don’t even question eating cold refried beans in so many tex-mex dips with tortilla chips.)
• Cheese and whole grain crackers or homemade wheat thin crackers
• Cottage cheese with various mix-ins
• Homemade “lunchables” – a reader idea from Llama Momma – stack crackers, cheese slices, and meat slices for the child to assemble with apple slices and cream cheese dip.
• Leftovers that can handle the “thermos” treatment:
  • Homemade soups
  • Homemade mac-n-cheese
  • Many casseroles
  • Spaghetti and other pasta dishes
  • Stir fry with brown rice
  • Of course, heat on the stove before packing in the thermos.  Not that I would use the microwave anyway, but mic’d food just doesn’t hold the heat long enough, no matter what.
• Potato salad
• Cold grain salads (GNOWFGLINS has an example; I tried making one with whole spelt and balsamic vinaigrette that was delicious – it’s in both theHealthy Snacks to Go eBook AND the Family Camping Handbook)
• Cold bean salad (same idea as above – you know me and beans!)
• Leftover homemade whole wheat pizza
• Homemade granola bars
• Homemade applesauce or storebought natural (no sugar) applesauce.  Addcinnamon for your kids to sweeten it up a little without adding a sweetener.  My kids also like cinnamon-applesauce stirred into their yogurt.

Working Moms’ Acceptable Shortcuts (or, Compromise Foods for “Sometimes” Lunches)

• Natural applesauce single cups
• Goldfish crackers, only the “Made with Whole Grain” version (they’re very good!) UPDATE: I now know that those Goldfish have MSGs…so…make your own call on that.
• Pretzels, as long as there isn’t HFCS or trans fats in the ingredients
• Boxed cereal and milk
• Canned fruit cups (? Maybe ?)
• Store granola bars…but be wise about reading ingredients
• Plain yogurt with fruit in it or organic yogurt cups
• Pita bread and hummus
• Lunchmeat, as an occasional thing unless you get nitrate-free meats
• string cheese and real cheese slices (pre-sliced)
• There have to be more items for this list…help me out, busy mommies!

Unacceptable items (or, This Counts as Dessert if you Pack It!)

• Potato chips
• Lunchables
• HFCS-laden yogurt cups and Gogurts (sorry, I know kids love these, but they’re not worth it!)
• “Fruit Snacks” (this stuff is candy!!!)
• Fruit Roll-ups and similar (see above)
• Little Debbie anything
• Pudding cups (is there any “real food” in pudding cups?)
• Jello cups (ditto)
• Processed cheese slices or cheese and cracker packages
• Processed beef jerky
• Storebought cookies
• Pop-tarts
• Pastries, crescent rolls, biscuits from a can (trans fat alert!!)