Snack ideas for lunch boxes to add variety
If you have to eat away from home every day, it’s too easy to pack the same thing, but that can become boring pretty fast. Here are some suggestions for adding variety to your daily lunch box.
Sandwich
Instead of the basic sandwich, use a sandwich wrap, tortilla wrap or pita bread. Or take crackers with cheese.
Fillings are where sandwiches can get interesting. There are a lot more options than just peanut butter and jelly. The basic choices are meat, cheese, tuna or egg. Then to that you can add lettuce, cream cheese, mayo, mustard, tomatoes, onions.
If you are making sandwiches for children, it’s fun to occasionally use cookie cutters to make them into fun shapes. It does waste a lot of bread though. Or cut the crusts and cut them into little pieces.
Cold foods
Many of the foods we eat hot can also be served cold. It may take an acquired taste to get used to it, but pizza and macaroni cheese are two that can easily be put in a lunch box.
Soup
If you want something warm at lunchtime, then soup in a thermos is a good idea. Here again there is a large variety in soups you can consume. There’s tomato, French onion, minestrone, potato soup and many more.
Snacks
For fruit and vegetable snacks there are carrots, celery, grapes, oranges, apples. Bananas don’t do very well in a packed lunch as they often can bruise easily. If you cut apples in the morning, they are brown by lunchtime, so I usually pack the apple complete and then add an apple cutter. While this is fine for an older child or adult, I wouldn’t give one to a younger child. Also oranges are a bit messy, but you can pack an orange peeler.
There are many commercial snacks that are made for lunch boxes. Many come in 100-calorie packs and are just the right size for finishing up a meal.
Drink
The best liquid you can drink is water. I put half a bottle of water in the freezer in the evening and then in the morning fill up the remaining space with water. That way the drink stays cold until lunchtime.
Variety
Just remember to go for variety, then you won’t get bored with eating the same thing for lunch every day.
Calphalon Easy Grip Apple Slicer
