Make Ahead Lunch Ideas for Kids

The first few weeks of back to school can be overwhelming, especially if you have to balance preparing your kids’ lunch, ensuring that they are fed, and getting everyone ready for the day. Due to the morning rush, it can be hard to come up with fresh kid-friendly lunch ideas day after day. Here are kid healthy lunch ideas. So, how do you ensure that you prepare a healthy lunch for your kids with minimal time and effort?
While preparing lunch for your kids in the morning can be time-consuming, why not plan ahead of time? To achieve this, you can;

Here are kid healthy lunch ideas.

  • Create a weekly lunch menu
  • Come up with a grocery list and shop during the weekend
  • Stock up your freezer or,
  • Prepare your kids lunch the night before

With that in mind, check out these quick and easy lunch ideas that you can make the night before.

Black or Pinto Beans (freezer-friendly)

Dry beans are time-consuming to prepare and cook. First, you have to soak them for 12 hours to ease digestion, then wait for hours for the beans to be cooked on a slow-cooker or stove. However, with an electric pressure cooker (instant pot), your beans are ready in under 90 minutes, with no soaking required. Due to the morning rush, you can prepare the beans the night before.
Once the beans are cooked, spoon them into freezer bags and store the bags flat in the freezer. Comes morning, all you have to do is to reheat the beans. You can place them in warm water (while in the bag) to allow them to defrost. Then pour them into a saucepan and warm over medium heat. Serve them with rice, shredded cheese, tortilla chips, and salsa.

Veggie Spaghetti Sauce (freezer-friendly)

This sauce can be made over the weekend and enjoyed throughout the week for lunch or dinner. It can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days and in the freezer for 3-4 months. After defrosting and reheating, add cheese. Then reheat the sauce in a saucepan over low heat and mix it with pasta noodles. Finally, pack the spaghetti sauce and noodles in a thermos.

Soup in a Thermos

Chinese Mandarin Pasta Salad

This easy Chinese Mandarin Pasta Salad can be made the night before, and is ready in just 20 minutes. It can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days in an air-tight container. It is easy to make and the perfect lunchbox option for busy weeks. It is entirely vegan then topped with Chow Mein noodles for added crunch.

Mac N Cheese Muffins

These muffins cups are family-friendly (including kids.) They are fun to eat and packed with flavor, making it difficult for kids to notice they are filled with veggies. They can be made ahead of time, packed in lunch boxes, and reheated. You can make pasta with melty cheese, blended vegetables, and a nice crumbly crisp topping to make it tasty.

Sandwiches

Every kind of sandwich can be made the night before, and the best lunch idea you could think of. To avoid making the bread a soggy mess, keep the sandwich made the night before in a freezer, especially peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. For meat and cheese sandwiches, keep the condiments in containers or in between the meat and cheese. This way, the condiments don’t touch the bread, and the sandwich can be eaten at lunchtime with no prep work required.

Breakfast Cupcakes

These breakfast cupcakes can be customized, so everyone is happy! You can refrigerate them and reheat them well in the microwave. Once reheated, wrap them in a foil and put them in an insulated sandwich sack to retain their warmth till lunch.

These make-ahead lunch ideas are a fun way of making your kids look forward to lunchtime. Waking up to prepare lunch for your kids and breakfast as well can be overwhelming. Preparing your kids’ lunch ahead of time or the night before is a better way to take this time-consuming task off your to-do list.
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