Heavenly Homemakers

Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting

5 Lunches I Packed for My Kids’ First Week of School

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Since I share all the other food we eat at our house, I thought it might be fun to share the lunches I packed for my kids’ first week of school.

First, here’s why I pack a lunch for my kids to take to school. This works best for us and I feel good about what they are eating each day.

5 Lunches I Packed for My Kids’ First Week of School

Monday I packed them a container of cottage cheese, a peach cup, a baggie of pistachios, and a fun Bobo’s muffin from Costco. This can all be put together ahead of time. In the morning before they put their bags into their backpack, I throw in an ice pack to keep everything cold.

Tuesday they were thrilled to see that I was sending Leftover Mac and Cheese rewarmed and put into thermoses with grapes and a chocolate cupcake with hidden spinach.

Wednesday I made Cream Cheese Salsa Dip which I put into a container and sent along with a baggie of tortilla chips, carrots with dip, and an applesauce squeezie.

Thursday was leftover Tuna Salad that we’d eaten a few evenings before (I made extra that night for this purpose!). I sent a container with crackers for them to eat with their tuna, plus a container of grapes. For Kiya, I sent a chocolate cupcake with hidden spinach. Brayden has become obsessed with cucumbers this summer so I sent him a baggie of sliced cucumbers.

On Fridays last year we started having Fun Friday Lunch. This is the only day I send a sandwich and chips with the kids. Usually I add a sweet treat on Fridays too.

This week, I intended to make Homemade Uncrustables but didn’t get to it. So instead I made a regular PBJ for Kiya and a Turkey and Cheese sandwich for Brayden. I put a few Fritos into snack-sized bags for them, plus sent them a peach cup and a Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar.

It was a fun week of lunches and the kids came home with empty lunch boxes each day! Well, empty except that I ask them to put all their trash back into their bags to bring home so that nothing gets accidentally thrown away (like ice packs and spoons) and so that I can see what they ate and what is working!

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Easy Hot Food to Pack in School Lunches

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Are your kids ready for a variety in their lunchboxes? Here are some easy options for hot food to pack in school lunches!

My school kids aren’t big sandwich eaters, so I’ve already gotten creative as I pack their school lunches.

Here are some of the non-sandwich cold lunch options I often send with them. I’d already done the cost breakdown for these when I originally put together this list here, so I left the cost estimates just for fun. Notice how it saves a lot of money to pack a lunch for school!

1. Bean and cheese quesadillas, carrots, strawberries $1.78

2. Cheese and crackers, summer sausage, grapes, spinach cupcake (no frosting), cottage cheese and pineapple = $2.49

3. Pumpkin muffin, cottage cheese and pineapple, clementine, almonds = $1.43

4. Tuna salad with crackers, fruit cup, cheese stick, spinach cupcake (no frosting) = $1.83

5. Chips with cheesy bean dip, grapes, spinach cupcake (no frosting)  = $1.43

6. Leftover pizza slices (with spinach “hidden” on top), clementine, banana = $1.34

7. Bagel with cream cheese “sandwich”, ham, apple = $1.72

These lunches have worked great for my kids! But a few weeks ago, I picked up some nice thermoses at Costco, so now I have the option of sending a hot lunch too. I love the variety this adds to my kids’ lunchboxes. I also love that they can eat leftovers for their lunches, which cuts down my prep time!

Easy Hot Food to Pack in School Lunches

I put these items in a saucepan the night before, then warm the food while my kids are eating breakfast. I transfer the hot food to their thermoses and send them on their way. Hours later at lunchtime, the food is still hot. Amazing!

Here are some of their favorites that I’ve sent so far:

1. Beanie Weanies with grapes and a muffin

2. Mac and Cheese with a fruit cup and a banana

3. Chili with a little bag of cheese and a little bag of fritos for them to add to their chili, plus a clementine or fruit cup

4. Taco Soup with a little bag of cheese and a little bag of fritos for them to add to their soup, plus grapes

5. Chicken Noodle Soup with a spinach cupcake (no frosting) and an apple

6. Spaghetti with a cheese stick and mandarin oranges

7. Tomato Soup with a straw to slurp it up :) plus a cup of cottage cheese with pineapple

8. White Chicken Chili with a little bag of fritos for them to add to their chili plus fruit cup or grapes

9. Ham and Cheesy Potato Casserole with grapes and a muffin

Extras for lunch boxes

  • Notice how my kids’ lunches are short on veggies?? Yikes, I know. They don’t eat raw veggies and I have to give them dips and ketchup to get their hot veggies down at home. So we work on veggies at dinnertime and eat as many of these smoothies as we can! :)
  • These spinach cupcakes sort of get some veggies in them during school lunch, so I make them and baggie them individually for the freezer.
  • Also, when I make any soup, I add a lot of veggies to the broth. So they are getting veggies that way if they take soup in a thermos.
  • Need muffin recipes for your kids’ lunchboxes? My kids love it when I send a muffin. Here’s a huge muffin recipe list.
  • Fruit cups (peaches, pears, or mandarin oranges in 100% juice) cost more than canned fruit, but I do appreciate the convenience they provide for school lunches. Also, when I add up the cost of any meal I pack for the kids, it still costs less than a school lunch typically costs. So the splurge is worth it.

What hot lunches do your kids enjoy at school?

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Easy No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars (Low Sugar!)

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I originally created these Easy No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars as a fun option for all of us to include in a lunch box. How was I to know they would also be great to eat for breakfast?

Some things simply can’t be helped. Before I knew what was happening, I had my morning coffee in one hand and a plate with one of these bars in the other. I was in my recliner before I realized, “How did I get here? Who gave this to me? What am I supposed to do with this thing? Eat it? For breakfast?”

There was nothing I could do.

I had made them the night before and slid them into the fridge. I spotted them when I reached in for the half-n-half to embellish my coffee to perfection. I saw the bars. Oats, peanut butter, uh…chocolate. Yes, it did sound a lot like breakfast.

When in need, a person can justify just about anything, am I right?

Well, you look at those and tell me you could resist choosing to eat one with your morning coffee. Especially when trying to make such an important decision BEFORE drinking the said coffee. No one can make good decisions before drinking the coffee.

Though I decided rather quickly that eating these with my morning coffee was actually a brilliant idea. So apparently I can make good decisions before coffee when there is chocolate involved.

I have now made the decision for you. Go ahead. Eat these for breakfast with your coffee. It’s a perfect way to start the day.

Easy No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars

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Easy No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars (Low Sugar!)
 
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Serves: 18
Ingredients
  • ½ cup butter (1 stick)
  • 2 Tablespoons brown sugar, sucanat, or honey
  • 3 cups whole rolled oats
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips (semi sweet or milk chocolate is fine too, but will add to the sugar content)
  • ½ cup natural peanut butter
Instructions
  1. In a saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar together until smooth.
  2. Add rolled oats and stir over medium heat for about 30 seconds until oats are toasted in the butter/sugar mixture.
  3. Press half of the oat mixture into a 8x8 inch or 2-quart oblong baking dish.
  4. Set the remaining mixture aside.
  5. In another saucepan, stir the chocolate chips and peanut butter together over medium heat until melted and smooth.
  6. Spread chocolate mixture over the oat mixture in the pan.
  7. Sprinkle remaining oat mixture over the chocolate.
  8. Refrigerate for 2 or more hours.
  9. Cut into bars and serve.

After you eat these for breakfast, consider also packing one for lunch. That is, after all, the original reason I created these. Details, details.

More great additions to your lunch box:

Pssst! Want more recipes like this one that include only five or fewer ingredients? This is for you!

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19 Non-Sandwich Lunch Box Ideas – Free Printable!

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Sick of sandwiches? No problem. Here are 19 Non-Sandwich Lunch Box Ideas you can make and pack quickly! Most of them can be packed in jars. It’s fun and economical!

Need supplies? Here’s a resource list!

Back to School Lunches in a Jar – FREE Printable!

Want to make these ideas even simpler? Download our FREE Back to School Lunches in a Jar printable for handy access! You’ll love having easy access to all these great lunch ideas and recipes. Join us here and grab your free download right away! Click here to sign up to receive your free printable or enter your email address in the form below:

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Lunch in a Jar: Fruit Cheesecake Parfaits

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If starting up a new school year is a bit of a bummer to you, these Fruit Cheesecake Parfaits will make it all better. After all, if you know you’ve packed this for your lunch box, you have so much to look forward to!

Sometimes I exaggerate (i.e. My house is always clean!!). But when it comes to these Fruit Cheesecake Parfaits, it is no exaggeration when I say that this is my all-time favorite food and I cannot get enough. And by the way, is there such thing as a clean house when there are people living within its walls? I don’t think so. No matter. We have Fruit Cheesecake Parfaits. Life is good and crumbs on the floor represent happiness.

You’ve heard me talk about these Strawberry Cheesecake Parfaits. You already know how much I love them. When strawberries aren’t in season, I cry a little bit.

The fact that these can be packed and taken in a lunch is a huge perk. Another perk is the fact that you can sweeten these with either stevia or regular sugar – whatever you and your family prefer. (I make batches of both as my children aren’t stevia fans.)

Add to these perks that you can make a Chocolate Cheesecake Parfait version and now we’re all completely overjoyed.

These parfaits can be made with any variety of your favorite fruit that is in season: strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, bananas, or peaches. Make them in 8-ounce jars to take on the go as needed. Perfection!

—-> Did you see the fun list of supplies and jars I recommend for packing lunches? <—–

I’ll post this recipe again here for your convenience. Enjoy how fabulous this makes your lunch box!

Fruit Cheesecake Parfaits

Lunch in a Jar: Fruit Cheesecake Parfaits
 
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Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 2½ cups heavy whipping cream
  • 8 ounces softened cream cheese
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 Tablespoon real maple syrup
  • Liquid stevia to taste (I use about 20 drops) (Use a few Tablespoons of sugar if you prefer.)
  • 1 -2 pounds fresh, sliced strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, bananas, or peaches
  • *Add 3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder if you would like a chocolate version of this cheesecake parfait!
Instructions
  1. Place all ingredients (minus the fruit) into a blender.
  2. Whip until smooth and creamy.
  3. Spoon mixture into jars, bowls, or cups - layering them with sliced fruit.

Great additions to your Fruit Cheesecake Parfait Lunch in a Jar Idea

Have you tried this Fruit Cheesecake Parfait recipe yet? What’s your favorite fruit to use with it?

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Lunch in a Jar: Mini Crustless Quiche

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If we can bake Quick Bread in a Jar we can certainly bake Mini Crustless Quiche in jars. Check this out!

Surely your first question is: “If I bake quiches in jars, then pack them in a lunch, won’t they taste weird since they are cold?”

You would think so. But these quiches actually taste good cold. Or, if you have the ability to rewarm them, that’s great too. <— Laura states the obvious.

Just like so many Lunch in a Jar ideas we are sharing this month, these Mini Crustless Quiches can be made to order. Add or exclude whatever your family likes. It’s super easy to line up several jars and fill them using an “assembly line” method.

If you have cooked meat, put some in each jar per people’s preferences. If the kids won’t scream too loud about it, add some fresh spinach. Crack in 1-2 eggs per 8-ounce jar (1 if you have a lot of add-ins, 2 if you are more focused on eggs than meat/veggies/cheese). Add in any goodies you like: onions, sweet peppers, shredded cheese, cooked sausage, cooked bacon, chopped ham, leftover chicken – the options are only limited to your preferences and what you have on hand!

I recommend 8-ounce wide mouth jars for each Mini Crustless Quiche as they are easier to clean afterward. But truly, any 8-ounce jar will work!

—-> Did you see the fun list of supplies and jars I recommend for packing lunches? <—–

Lunch in a Jar: Mini Crustless Quiche

Lunch in a Jar: Mini Crustless Quiche
 
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Ingredients
  • 1-2 eggs per 8-ounce jar
  • 1 Tablespoon heavy whipping cream or milk per jar (optional)
  • Sea salt and pepper to taste
  • Add in options:
  • Cooked Sausage Crumbles
  • Cooked Bacon Bits
  • Chopped Ham
  • Shredded Cheese
  • Chopped Onion
  • Chopped Sweet Pepper
  • Torn Spinach Leaves
  • Leftover Cooked Chicken
  • Your choice!
Instructions
  1. Crack 1-2 eggs into each 8 ounce jar.
  2. Add cream or milk, salt and pepper, plus any add-ins you like.
  3. Use a fork to scramble the contents together in the jar.
  4. Place jars on a cookie sheet.
  5. Bake for 30-40 minutes in a 350 oven until contents in each jar have puffed up and cooked until the middles no longer "jiggle."

 

Even my pickiest kid loves these – even with the spinach!! Score!

What are your additional suggestions for Add-Ins for these Mini Crustless Quiches?

Great additions to your Mini Crustless Quiche Lunch in a Jar Idea

Consider adding any of the following to your lunch box along with your Mini Crustless Quiche

We’ve got 10 super fun Lunch in a Jar ideas to share this month – perfect for your Back to School lunchbox! Subscribe here so you won’t miss a post!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Lunch in a Jar: Burrito Bowl

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Today’s “Lunch in a Jar” idea might sound like a strange one. But trust me when I say that a Burrito Bowl packed in a jar and taken on the road or for a work or school lunch is extremely tasty!

It’s also wonderful because it’s a great change of pace if you’re tired of sandwiches or other “normal” sack lunch foods. We’ve found that a Burrito Bowl packed in a jar tastes great hot or cold. So if you have a way to warm up your food at work or school, go for it! But if not, this Burrito Bowl will still taste great as is!

The beauty of the Burrito Bowl is that it can be made per each person’s preference. Not a fan of olives? (Me neither.) Leave them out. Love extra spice? Go nuts with the salsa or hot sauce! Everyone can build their Burrito Bowl the way they love without any extra effort!

Lunch in a Jar: Burrito Bowl

Here are the food items we like on our burrito bar:

  • Salsa Chicken
  • Seasoned Hamburger Meat
  • Brown Rice (seasoned with chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and a splash of lime juice)
  • Black Beans and or Pinto Beans
  • Salsa
  • Guacamole
  • Sauted onions and peppers
  • Mixed Greens or Spinach
  • Shredded Cheese
  • Tomatoes
  • Olives
  • Corn
  • Sour Cream

Each person can fill their bowls or jars any way they like. Stir it together and you’ve got a great meal. Make several jars ahead of time to pull out and pack to go as needed!

—-> Did you see the fun list of supplies and jars I recommend for packing lunches? <—–

Great add-ins to your Burrito Bowl Lunch in a Jar

We’ve got 10 super fun Lunch in a Jar ideas to share this month – perfect for your Back to School lunchbox! Subscribe here so you won’t miss a post!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Lunch in a Jar: Tuna Salad & Crackers

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It’s one of the most basic, simple foods. But still, Tuna Salad & Crackers is one of my favorite lunches to pack in a jar and take on the road.

You might remember that I shared our favorite Tuna Salad recipe last month when talking about these Tuna Salad Wraps. I’ll share the recipe again below, just to make it simple for all of us to quickly stir together tuna salad!

Lunch in a Jar: Tuna Salad & Crackers

Lunch in a Jar: Tuna Salad & Crackers
 
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Serves: 1-2
Ingredients
  • 6-ounce can tuna in water, drained
  • 3 Tablespoons mayonnaise (I use Hain Safflower mayo)
  • 2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish
  • Dash of sea salt
Instructions
  1. Mix tuna, mayo, pickle relish, and salt until well combined.
  2. Transfer to 4 or 8 ounce jars to pack in lunches.

Send along your favorite crackers with the jar of Tuna Salad. Crackers are great tuna scoopers! I love this lunch with a side of fresh fruits and veggies!

Our Favorite Ingredients to use in Tuna Salad:

Best Jars to use for Tuna Salad in a LunchBox:

  • 8-ounce wide mouth jars
  • Or these 8-ounce wide mouth jars
  • Tiny 4-ounce jars for smaller appetites


—-> Did you see the fun list of supplies and jars I recommend for packing lunches? <—–

Great add-ins to your Tuna with Crackers Lunch in a Jar

Not a fan of Tuna Salad? Use this same idea but make Chicken Salad instead!

We’ve got 10 super fun Lunch in a Jar ideas to share this month – perfect for your Back to School lunchbox! Subscribe here so you won’t miss a post!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Lunch Box Scripture Cards FREE Printable!

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Want to remind your family of God’s Truth throughout the day? Yes! That’s why we created these Lunch Box Scripture Cards for you to use!

I’ve become convinced that filling our homes, our cars, our walls, our pockets, and yep, even our lunch boxes with scripture is a huge game changer as we seek Truth and comfort throughout our days.

These scripture cards are completely free, and yours to use in whatever ways you can think of to encourage people. We created them especially for you to put in your family’s lunch boxes so they can be encouraged throughout the day. But I bet you can come up with plenty of other ideas to use them for encouraging people too!

So enjoy! Get access to these (and many other free printables) here.

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Super Moist Flourless Brownie Muffins – Perfect for a Lunch Box!

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Would someone please stop me from eating all of these Flourless Brownie Muffins?

Just kidding. I’d actually like to keep eating them.

And also, I can let the kids eat all the Flourless Brownie Muffins they want because there is no reason to hold back on these. Want a brownie for breakfast? Sure! Want three more brownies? Okeedokee. Ran out and need to bake more brownies? Shucks, don’t mind if I do.


It’s been so interesting to me since I posted these Super Moist Flourless Brownie and Super Moist Flourless Peanut Butter Brownie recipes. SO MANY people have had trouble with them turning out dry and crumbly. (This is the opposite of moist – what in the world?! I am baffled.)

I’ve been trying to trouble shoot and solve the mystery of this, because these recipes turn out great for me every single time! Is it my oven? It can’t possibly be that my oven works in these recipes and all other ovens don’t. Is it the temp? The time?

I do believe it’s the time. I shortened the baking time in the instructions, hoping that will make a big difference. I believe the trick to turning out perfect Super Moist Flourless Brownies is to pull them out of the oven when they are slightly underdone. If they bake too long, they will become dry and taste like burned nut butter. Meh.

So during my time of tweaking and trouble shooting, it occurred to me that I should try baking this recipe in muffin cups. Perhaps that would turn out Super Moist Flourless Brownie Muffins, I thought. Maybe if this recipe was baked in muffin cups, we could bake them for less time and avoid drying out our brownies.

Well, as it turned out, once again these Super Moist Flourless Brownie Muffins turned out perfect for me! So perfect, in fact, I had a difficult time staying out of them. “I just want one more. I can quit any time…”

As for baking time on these Super Moist Flourless Brownie Muffins, I’m going to recommend 12-15 minutes. They may look slightly underdone when you pull them out. But this is what will keep them gooey and delicious!

Super Moist Flourless Brownie Muffins

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Super Moist Flourless Brownie Muffins - Perfect for a Lunch Box!
 
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Author:
Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups (12-ounces) Peanut Butter or Almond Butter
  • ½ cup honey
  • ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 eggs
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
  1. Stir all ingredients together until well combined.
  2. Scoop batter into 12 paper-lined muffins cups.
  3. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 12-15 minutes. (Remove them from the oven when they are just slightly underdone so they come out moist!)

I felt this recipe was worth sharing in the middle of my Lunch in a Jar series simply because these Super Moist Flourless Brownie Muffins are perfect for your Back to School Lunchbox! They are filling, nourishing, and fun!

Other Lunch Box ideas shared so far in this series:

Great add-ins to your Fruit with Dip Lunch in a Jar

We’ve got 10 super fun Lunch in a Jar ideas to share this month – perfect for your Back to School lunchbox! Subscribe here so you won’t miss a post!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!