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61,000 Healthy School Lunch Ideas


By Elizabeth Berman, R.D.N., L.D.N. at Acton Medical Associates
10/7/2021

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Never run out of lunch ideas for your children with this handy mix-and-match lunch guide from Elizabeth Berman, R.D.N., L.D.N. at Acton Medical Associates.

Pick a food from each of the group for a healthy and delicious lunch. With this guide, there are more than 61,000 lunch combinations! Bookmark this page or download this PDF and never again will you have stress about a lunch idea. Also, read below for tips on packing and prepping your next lunch.

Main Entrée

  • Cheese and whole wheat crackers
  • Cream cheese and veggie pin wheel
  • Pizza tortilla roll up
  • Hummus and whole wheat pita
  • Deviled eggs and whole wheat crackers
  • Friend rice with edamame and veggies
  • Chili with beans and lean meat
  • Whole wheat waffle with sun butter and jam
  • Greek yogurt parfait with cereal and fruit
  • Sandwich Thin “build your own” pizza
  • Oatmeal fruit muffin
  • Re-fried bean and cheese quesadilla
  • Peanut butter and banana tortilla “sushi” (roll up and slice into rounds)
  • Veggie, chicken and cheese kabobs
  • Low sodium deli meat and cheese wrapped around bread sticks

Fruit

  • Apple — try freeze dried or apple sauce
  • Banana or banana chips
  • Berries such as blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries
  • Cherries
  • Dried fruits such as raisins, dates, figs, apricots, craisins, prunes
  • Grapes
  • Kiwifruit
  • Mango
  • Melons such as cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelon
  • Oranges such as clementines, mandarins and tangerines
  • Papaya
  • Peach or nectarine
  • Pear
  • Plum
  • Pineapple
  • Pomegranate

Vegetable

  • Broccoli
  • Cauliflower
  • Carrots such as shredded or baby carrots
  • Celery
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Cucumbers
  • Fresh salsa
  • Green beans
  • Jicama
  • Kohlrabi
  • Pickles
  • Peppers — try different colors
  • Salad
  • Snap peas
  • Steamed mixed veggies
  • Zucchini or summer squash

Snack/Treat

  • Cheese stick
  • Cookie or baked good
  • Dry whole grain cereal
  • Guacamole or hummus
  • Low-fat pudding
  • Mini muffin
  • Mini chocolate
  • Popcorn
  • Pretzels
  • Rice rolls or rice cakes
  • Roasted chickpeas
  • Roasted edamame
  • Tortilla chips
  • Teddy Grahams or Bunny Grahams
  • Whole grain Goldfish
  • Yogurts

School Lunch Tips

  • Use an ice pack to keep foods cold.
  • Try “build your own” options which keeps food fresher.
  • Pick treat foods occasionally so that they do not become “forbidden fruits”.
  • Prep fruits, veggies and other snacks ahead of time to avoid a stressful morning.
  • Have a snack station in the fridge and pantry with pre-portioned healthy snacks.

Health Works Here Podcast

Listen as Liz Berman, RDN, LDN, a nutritionist with Acton Medical Associates, explains how to use food to boost your immune system.

Subscribe to the Health Works Here Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and wherever podcasts can be heard.

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