Revamp School Snacks and Lunches

When I started thinking about winter and what to plan for the cold months, I immediately thought about food. Okay, so are you tired of making and packing school snacks and lunches? Do you hate putting the same thing every day? Do you feel like sandwiches are boring? This holiday season that is exactly how I felt after I have made lunches and 2 snacks daily for two months.

I started searching online for some new ideas. I concluded that most moms out there suggest making food more visually appealing and most of all nutritious. And no, I don't have time to make these:

or these:

First of all, I did invest into a few key items that would make lunches and snacks look more fun.
Here they are:

1. Foogoo Food Jar/Thermos

2. Bento Lunch Box

3. Fun Lunch Bag

Second, I accumulated lots of ideas on what to put into these jars/containers. Some ideas are from a book called "Superfoods for Babies and Children" written by Annabel Karmel. (Excellent, highly recommend this book to parents from newborn up to school age.)

Mini Snacks:

• mini cheese
• chunks of raw vegetable or fruit
• mini yogurt or yogurt drinks
• mini packs of dried fruit or raisins
• cereal and dried fruit bars
• individual portions of fruit puree
• for winter, include vitamin C-rich juice like cranberry or orange

Hot Foods for Thermos

I usually put what was left from dinner, so when making dinner I always keep in mind 5-year old friendly lunch for next day.

• macaroni and cheese
• pasta (whole wheat or rice noodles) and ground meat (beef, turkey, chicken)
• soup (chicken noodle, vegetable, tomato, so on)
• long grain or brown rice and cubes of meat of ground meat plus steamed or sated vegetables (corn, peas, beans, carrots, etc.)
• other combos of grains (buckwheat, quinoa, millet)  plus veggies or meat
• white fish or salmon with grains
• pelmeny (only people from Eastern Europe will know ;)

Sandwich Fillings

• egg, tuna, or chicken salad
• cream cheese and cucumber
• sliced turkey or ham with cheese
• grilled chicken breast with avocado and tomato
• ham, swiss cheese, and cucumber
• hummus with grated carrot or cucumber
• turkey and sweet relish

Sandwich bread options: variety of bread (French, Italian, raisin), bagels, mini pita pockets, tortilla roll-ups.

What about you? Any items you invested in to make lunches more fun? What do you pack?