Put Your Best Hand Forward: Back to School Lunch Ideas Kids Will Love

Nothing beats a home cooked meal, and the same goes for a home-packed lunch! Surprise your little ones with these back to school lunch ideas to keep lunchtime interesting. With meals this good, you’ll find yourself doubling the recipe to make extra to bring to the office!

Caprese Orzo Pasta Salad

Toss together cooked bowtie pasta, mini mozzarella pearls, cherry tomatoes, chopped basil, salt, and pepper. As a dressing, try fresh pesto, olive oil, or balsamic glaze depending on your children’s taste buds! For protein, we like adding chickpeas or some extra grilled chicken from last night’s barbecue!

Baja Bowls

Over a bed of mixed grains, add arugula, roasted corn, black beans, chopped red onion, cherry tomatoes, diced avocado, feta cheese, and green goddess dressing (Trader Joe’s has our heart)! If you have picky eaters on your hands, swap out the feta for cheddar and the arugula for romaine.

Poke

Make a kid-friendly version of poke with jasmine rice, edamame, carrots, avocado, cucumber, green onion, and ahi tuna. For picky eaters, simply skip the tuna and deconstruct their favorite veggie sushi roll! As a dressing, mix together soy sauce and mayo or snag some store-bought “yum yum” sauce! 

Fried Rice

Making your own fried rice is easy: combine peas, chopped carrots, onions, and soy sauce with day-old jasmine rice (yes, day-old, trust us!). Want something even easier? Grab a bag of fried rice from the freezer section of the grocery store and boost it up with a scrambled egg or some teriyaki chicken. Pack in a thermos to keep it nice and warm until lunch time!

Finally, a packed lunch isn’t complete without hand sanitizer! Clip-on an OLIKA Hand Sanitizer Keychain to their lunch boxes to make sure they’re sanitizing before snacking. While you’re at it, toss an OLIKA Spray Hand Sanitizer into your office desk drawer to lead by example!