A reader asked on the Facebook fan page if I had any idea for packing kids lunches.Since it is back to school season, I’d like to share the sites I’ve come across since starting this site. Some of the kids are very much geared to kids, but other ideas can be adapted for any age. Now is a great time for adults and kids alike to renew their lunch packing ways!

Full disclosure: I don’t have kids, only nieces and nephews, but I shunned school cafeterias for 12 years so I’ll start by sharing how I helped my mom grocery shop for foods to make up my packed lunches.

We used index cards in which I would write down foods that I would eat if they were packed in my lunch (as I got older I packed my own lunch but my parents always bought the groceries) and she would make suggestions of foods so that I was eating balanced meals. The reason this worked for us is that whatever she bought, she knew I was going to eat so no wasted money and I knew I always had a lunch I would enjoy.  At anytime, I could update my cards or put foods on hold if I had too much repetition. For me, having a say in my lunch was great!

Check out the Kids’ School Lunch Idea article for examples of how parents are using ideas similar to what my mom and I used. While you are there, check out the back to school lunches and snacks recipes for ideas of what to put in the lunch besides sandwich, fruit, vegetable, treat.

For those parents, looking to encourage lunch packing over school lunches, use the Lunch It Punch It card to help create an incentive for your lunch packer. Since two weeks can be an eternity for a school kid (and has nothing to do with pay cycles), I might come up with a kids’ card so they can pack four days and eat out on the fifth.