Back to school can be tough! But, lunch packing doesn’t have to be! 🙂 You can pack something nutritious that your family will love in just minutes with these healthy lunch ideas!
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Snack:
A perfect, satiating snack for school lunches is trail mix. Trail mix is SO versatile, especially when it’s homemade! You can add whatever you want, and really monitor the ingredients.
Here are a few of our favourite trail mix components:
Nuts:
Nuts and seeds can be a really great source of healthy fats, protein, vitamins & minerals! They’re also delicious, and easy to snack on! Our favourite nut mix is Wilderness Family Mixed Nuts, containing almonds, cashews & walnuts. All varieties are sprouted, raw & organic. Sprouting nuts helps to increase their nutrient bioavailability as well as enhance overall digestibility!
Dried Fruit:
Dried fruit mixed can be combined with nuts to create a delicious trail mix, or enjoyed on their own! Our favourite dried fruit mix is Level Ground Exotic Mix. It is a mix of golden berries, coconut chips & dragon fruit, providing just enough sweetness, and loads of healthy fats to help keep the sugar rush under control… their teachers will thank you for that! 😉
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Lunch: Cheese & crackers are one of our go-to packable lunch meals.
This easy lunch idea can be made into an extremely well-rounded meal for your kids or yourself, and is a breeze for you to throw together before your busy work day! You can’t go wrong with this one! It is all about sourcing for this one though, so we’ve put together a list of our favourites & why!
Cheese:
Cheese is delicious… and it is also an amazing source of healthy fats, vitamins such as Vitamin B12, Vitamin K2, & Vitamin A, and minerals such as calcium, zinc & selenium! Certain types of cheese, generally the raw varieties, also contain healthy probiotics that support gut health!
One of our very fav cheeses is Golden Ears Havarti. This artisan cheese is one that we prize both for its superb quality and its smooth taste. Golden Ears Havarti has a rich cheese flavour (that isn’t so strong that kids can’t handle it), and it is made from 100% grassfed dairy. It’s also very local to us, coming from Maple Ridge, B.C.
Another amazing option, is L’Ancetre Cheddar Cheese. L’Ancetre is made ins Quebec and sourced from seasonally pastured cows! It is a raw cheese, meaning that it hasn’t been pasteurized, so it has all of the great gut health benefits in tact, and it is also naturally lactose-free.
Crackers:
One of our favourite crackers are Mary’s Organic Crackers!
They’re super crunchy, gluten free & are full of nutritious ingredients! Mary’s Crackers are made with organic brown rice, quinoa, sesame seeds & flax seeds, making them a great source of fibre, healthy omega-3 fats, & essential minerals. They’re also NUT FREE, which makes them great for packing in school lunches!
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Another favourite cracker choice, that is PERFECT for anyone with general grain sensitivities, or who prefers a lower carb option is the Kitchen Table Crackers. They’re made from cheese and milk cultures and contain zero carbohydrates! No need to worry about nuts or gluten :). They’re also super crunchy, delicious, filling and promote sustained energy all day, with no sugar crashes.
Meat:
Grassfed meat, particulary meat sourced from grazing herbivores, is a fantastic source of so many essential nutrients. Aside from being an excellent source of protein, red meats also contain high amounts of vitamin b 12, iron, omega 3 fats, & healthy saturated fats! As with anything, it’s all about the sourcing… making sure that the meat you’re consuming, comes from healthy animals will ensure that it is a healthy food option!
Our favourite meat for a cheese and cracker platter is the Island Bison Garlic Coil. The Garlic Coil is full of flavour, and is a definite crowd favourite! Island Bison is a farm right on the Island, and they have Bison, Water Buffalo, Beef & Heritage Pork. They pasture their animals year round & have exceptionally sound ethical, environmental, and traditional farming practices. The meat that is produced from these well-kept, happy animals is of the highest quality – you can taste, and feel the difference when you eat it!
Fermented Pickles:
Who doesn’t love pickles? Pickles are the best when paired with a healthy cheese & cracker platter. Finding pickles that are fermented will ensure that they have all of the fantastic probiotic benefits that they’re meant to!
Bubbies Fermented Pickles are our very favourite option. These pickles are super crunchy (which is majorly important), they’re fermented, and they contain NO nasty chemicals or additives!! So many reasons to love them :).
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Healthy Treat: Gel-O Gummies! 🙂
Another fantastic lunch idea is the ever-versatile collagen-rich gel-o or gel-o gummies! Made from grass-fed gelatin, they’re super satiating, packed full of healthy nutrients & are definitely a well received “treat” by kids of all ages! Click on the picture link below to see the full recipe & a how-to video for these amazing gummies!
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We hope these super easy, healthy lunch ideas provide a little help in deciding what to pack for your child’s school lunches this week! Stay tuned for more healthy lunch ideas throughout September!
Please share any ideas you have… we love quick & nutritious food that we can take on the go 🙂 .
