The kids have only been back in school for a short while now and I’m already asking myself, “what am I going to send for lunch tomorrow?” Any other moms out there struggle with this as much as I do? My daughter will be three this fall but we’ve already had good practice packing her lunch each day for school since she moved from the infant room to the toddler room last year. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that we have the freedom to pack her lunch and that I know what she’s eating each day, but some nights, it’s a task. We typically do a Bento style lunch each day with silicone cupcake holders. They are small and offer great variety.

Here are some of our favorite healthy, toddler-size lunchbox meals.

lunch box ideas bento healthy lunch

Main dish:

Ham & cheese sandwich (on bread, pita, or Hawaiian roll)
Sun butter & jelly (on crackers, a wrap, or bread)
Sun butter & banana sushi bites
Turkey & cheese pinwheels
Pepperoni, cheese slices & crackers

Veggies:

Red & green pepper sticks
Snap peas
Carrot sticks
Green beans

bento box lunchbox ideas healthy

Fruits:

Red, green, or champagne grapes
Apple slices
Mandarin orange fruit cups
Applesauce
Blueberries
Watermelon & melon cubes
Strawberries

Fun stuff:

Cheez-Its
Pirate Booty
Craisins (all flavors)
Yogurt covered raisins
Pretzels
Chips
Yogurt covered granola bites
Veggies straws
Cheese cubes
Annie’s fruit snacks

lunch box ideas bento healthy lunch

I am always looking for new and fun ideas for the lunch box, so please share yours in the comments!

Happy lunch packing!

2 COMMENTS

  1. hi Kendra! Grate post. I am in the same boat since my son just started Kindergarten 2 weeks ago. We are currently using Planet box as his lunch box (www.planetbox.com). Its a stainless steel lunch box with compartments. What i love about is that there are no lids, no plastic, no mess. Its great with portion control. Im planning to do a post about it soon from our experience with it. For ideas im using a book from Annabel Karmel about lunch boxes that offers great ideas.

    • Joanne – I will have to look into the Planet Box. It sounds great!! I’m looking forward to your post. Thanks for the heads up about the book as well.

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