As a registered dietitian, I want to send my soon-to-be first grader off to school with a healthy lunch. However, I know that if I don’t keep lunch interesting, all the healthy stuff will get traded for Oreos!
To help with packing, I am listing out healthy & budget friendly options for brown bag lunches. These options are also relatively easy; no carving a carrot into a swan! 
Healthy, Low Cost Lunch Ideas
Entree Ideas:
- The classic pb&j as well as pb& honey sandwiches
- Nitrate free lunchmeat & cheese sandwiches
- Cottage cheese and fruit
- Homemade muffin with a side of string cheese
- Tic-Tac-Toe
- Cold Pasta Salad with veggies & cubed cheese
- Hummus & Vegetable Wraps
- Egg Salad Sandwiches
- Tuna Salad Sandwiches
- Ants on a Log
- Celery filled w/ Cream Cheese dotted with Dried Cranberries
- Asian Chicken Salad Wraps
- Hard Boiled Egg
- Hummus w/ Whole Grain Pita & Carrots/Green Peppers to dip in it
- Marinated Vegetable Pasta
- Cream Cheese & Sliced Strawberry Sandwich
- Couscous Salad w/ Leftover Chicken & Vegetables
- Leftover Cubed Chicken w/ BBQ Sauce to dip in
- Peanut Butter & Banana Roll Up
- Pita Pizzas
- Fruit Roll-Up
- Chicken Salad
- Babybel (or other cheese) and whole grain crackers
- Chicken Kabobs w/ Peanut Sauce (or BBQ sauce for the less adventurous)
- Entree Salad such as Greek Salad, Caesar
- Cheese Sandwich
- Fruit & Yogurt Parfait
Side Dishes:
- Unsweetened Applesauce
- Carrot Sticks or Shredded Carrots
- Whole Fruit like Bananas, Apples, Oranges, Clementines, Pears, Plums, Peaches
- Olives
- Cut Veggies w/ Dip
- Dried Cranberries, Apricots, Apples, or Raisins
- 100% Fruit Leather
- Fruit Salad
- Raw Veggie Kabobs
- Raw Fruit Kabobs
- Trail Mix
- Cut Fruit w/ Yogurt Dip
- Yogurt
- Canned fruit in light syrup or fruit juice
- Dried Fruit mixed with an Unsweetened Cereal (such as Cheerios or Rice Chex)
- Side Salad w/ Favorite Dressing
- Corn Salad
- Fruit Cut into Wedges such as Apples, Oranges, Peaches
- Grapefruit Half
- Homemade Granola Bars
- Secret Message Bananas
What is your favorite foods to pack in your kids lunches?
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Where do you find nitrate free lunchmeat?
Hormel makes one that I buy at my regular ole’ grocery store.
the only thing on that list my kid would eat is PB&J
Hang in there Jan! He will turn around!
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