Getting back to school and back to routine can be a tough transition after the lazy, hazy days of summer. All of a sudden, there are a million commitments and appointments. Figuring out what to make for lunch day in and day out is just another factor. At Farm Boy, we want to make things easier for you, by providing a curated selection of products and recipes we think you’ll love.
Lunchtime doesn’t have to be difficult. These back-to-school lunch ideas are quick, convenient, and can be made with items found at your neighbourhood Farm Boy – and always at excellent value. Below, you’ll discover some surefire success for your little ones’ lunchboxes, helpful tips and hacks, plus bonus back-to-school breakfast recipes.
Blog Overview
- Create easy, convenient, budget-friendly lunch ideas shopping at Farm Boy.
- Discover simple, no-cook back-to-school lunch ideas kids will love.
- Many recipes can be prepped ahead of time or made in minutes on busy mornings.
- Create a balanced back-to-school lunch by incorporating protein, whole grains, healthy fats, fruits, and vegetables.
- Find ready-to-enjoy items at Farm Boy’s Chef’s Market at an excellent value.
- Back-to-routine and back-to-school is stress-free when you can find everything you need to feed your family at Farm Boy!
Back-to-School Lunch Ideas
The below back-to-school lunch ideas are the main component of your kid’s lunch box. Add more wholesome, nutrient-dense snacks you know they’ll eat for extra heft. Fresh fruits and sliced veggies, dips, crunchy snacks like pretzels or popcorn, and something to drink are all excellent, easy additions you can find at Farm Boy!
Kid-cuterie
Kiddos will love a charcuterie-style lunch (and you’ll love how easy it is to prep). Visit our Farm Boy Deli and Cheese Shop to pick up items for a mini charcuterie that’s kid-approved. To keep things simple, choose one meat, one cheese, one type of cracker, and something fresh, like fruits and/or chopped veggies. You know your kid’s palate best – choose item syou think they’ll like that hit all the food groups.
Tip: Use a bento box lunch container to keep items separate. No bento box? No problem! Reusable silicone muffin liners work just as well and are flexible enough to fit any lunchbox.
Shopping List Suggestions:
- Baby carrots, cucumber coins, cherry tomatoes.
- Assorted berries, grapes, raisins.
DIY Pizza Lunchables
Who doesn’t love pizza for lunch? While cold pizza from last night’s takeout is always an option, let the kids get crafty with their lunch. As a bonus, making it themselves may make them more inclined to give it a try. Pack pizza toppings you know they’ll enjoy and reusable utensils for sauce spreading. Use our pre-shredded cheeses for even easier prep.
Tip: Small resealable containers with lids prevent messier ingredients (like pizza sauce) from spilling.
Shopping List Suggestions:
- Pepperoni, olives, mushrooms, bell peppers.
Wraps & Rolls-Ups
Sandwiches are great (more on them below), but sometimes the key to making a meal feel fresh is to serve it in a different form. Wraps and roll-ups are an easy, convenient lunch option that can be modified with different fillings. Try a vegetarian wrap with hummus, lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Or, roll up the classic ham and Swiss by layering it all in a tortilla and slicing into pinwheels.
Tip: Smaller hands fare better with wraps cut into pinwheels, while teens and bigger kids can handle a supersized stuffed tortilla.
Shopping List Suggestions:
- Farm Boy™ Naturals Sliced Black Forest Ham
Shaped Sandwiches
Transform a standard sandwich into something more fun with the help of a cookie cutter. Classic sandwich fillings like chicken salad, seed butter and jam, or turkey and cheese are a lot more enticing for little appetites when they’re shaped like hearts or stars.
Tip: Adjust portion sizes based on the hunger of your child. Supplement the sandwich with favourite foods like fresh fruits, yogurt drinks, or something sweet like chocolate-covered pretzels.
Shopping List Suggestions:
Egg & Cheese Mini Muffins
Breakfast doesn’t have to be limited to morning hours. Just like breakfast for dinner is always a fun treat, so is breakfast for lunch. Make your own egg and cheese mini muffins ahead of time and customize the fillings based on your kids’ tastes. Chopped veggies, meats, and different cheeses are all great additions that provide extra protein and nutrition.
Tip: Whip these mini muffins up the night before and store them in an airtight container in the fridge. They also freeze great in a freezer-safe bag. Simply warm in the microwave or allow to come to room temperature.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease mini muffin pan.
- In a bowl, stir together 2 beaten eggs, ½ cup cottage cheese, ¼ cup shredded cheese, and grated/chopped veggies and/or meat of choice.
- Spoon into mini muffin tin, filling to the top.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden at edges and set.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Remove from tin with knife or spoon and serve.
Shopping List Suggestions:
- Shredded/chopped broccoli, spinach, butternut squash, sundried tomatoes.
- Minced sausage, bacon, or ham.
DIY Yogurt Parfaits
Another breakfast-for-lunch option that’s good for little kids is a DIY yogurt parfait. A convenient, easy, no-cook option that can be whipped up on even the busiest of mornings and customized to suit your kiddo’s tastes. Choose a high-protein yogurt option to keep them feeling fuller for longer.
Tip: Use silicone muffin liners or small containers to keep toppings separate. Allow your child to mix and match their parfait and enjoy!
Shopping List Suggestions:
- Fresh berries, bananas, kiwis, mangoes, peaches.
Farm Boy™ Grab-and-Go Bowls or Farm Boy™ Globally Inspired Bowls
An incredibly convenient choice that can handle a growing kid’s appetite. Inspired by international cuisines, our ready-to-enjoy bowls are prepared fresh by our chefs daily. That means you don’t have to fuss over cooking, chopping, or plating – we’ve done all the work for you. These bowls can be enjoyed hot or cold, which makes them a stellar choice for lunchboxes. With vegetarian, chicken, beef, and seafood options, there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
Kid-friendly varieties include: Farm Boy™ Blackened Chicken Bowl, Farm Boy™ Globally Inspired Fiesta Chicken Bowl, and Farm Boy™ Taco Bowl.
Farm Boy™ Bistro Boxes
With all the prep work done for you and packaged in a convenient four-compartment box, our Bistro Boxes are an excellent choice for back-to-school lunches. We craft them fresh in the Farm Boy Kitchen using Farm Boy favourites our customers know and love.
Our Garden Fresh Bistro Box contains our beloved Eda-Yummy Spicy Kale Edamame Dip, Parmesan & Garlic Baked Pita Chips, and fresh cucumber and grape tomatoes. Our Protein Bistro Box will help anyone hit their macros with hard boiled eggs, cheddar cheese, grilled chicken breast, and our Parmesan & Garlic Baked Pita Chips.
Hacks for Easy Back-to-School Lunches
Use leftovers. Leftovers for dinner can be a bit boring. But leftovers for lunch? That’s a whole different thing. If you have a thermos or other type of insulated container, leftovers can easily be stored in backpacks for kids to enjoy the next day. Pastas, curries, soups, and stews are all much more exciting when they become tomorrow’s lunch.
Have a weekly schedule. There’s nothing more annoying that having to decide what to make your kids for lunch the next day. Rather than try and create a new idea every day, make a weekly meal schedule and stick to it. Kids thrive in routine, and what is back-to-school if not a return to routine? If you kid is okay with it, you might even be able to get away with making the same thing every day (at least, for a little while).
Freeze items for DIY ice packs. Don’t have space in a lunchbox or bag for an ice pack? Think smarter, not harder. Freeze fruit pouches or juice boxes to act as ice packs that serve a dual purpose. By the time lunch rolls around, they’ll have thawed out enough to enjoy while keeping everything else cool.
Don’t stress over perfection. The idea of a perfectly packed, aesthetic lunch box is tempting. Sometimes, though, the meal your kid loved one day is now loathed the next. Don’t stress out trying to create something amazing. Instead, make a lunch box that combines the foods you know your kid will eat. They don’t have to go together to do their job. A mish-mash of items that tick the boxes of protein, veggies, and carbs is all you need.
Bonus: Back-to-School Breakfast Ideas
When back-to-school hits, the mornings can be hectic. Instead of scrambling for something to eat, check out any of these easy breakfast ideas. Most can be made ahead of time and grabbed on your way out the door, or whipped up in a few minutes.
Carrot Pecan Bran Muffins
When you’re really pressed for time, reach for this muffin recipe. Easy and convenient, bake them a day or two before and store them in an airtight container. Keep them on the counter for a few days or freeze them for a couple months.
Muffins get a bad rap as a breakfast food, but this wholesome recipe is great for kids. Bran is a highly nutritious source of fibre that help you feel fuller for longer. Carrots are a good source of B vitamins and vitamin C, while also naturally sweet. Made with hemp hearts, this recipe is also a great source of omega-3s, minerals, and protein. For smaller hands, bake them in a mini muffin tin.
Suggested Farm Boy Products: Farm Boy™ Bran Muffin Mix, Farm Boy™ Organic Ground Cinnamon, Farm Boy™ Ground Ginger, Farm Boy™ Virgin Cold Pressed Sunflower Oil, Farm Boy™ Raw Pecans.
Wild Blueberry Baked Oatmeal
Prepared with hand-raked wild blueberries from Nova Scotia, this baked oatmeal recipe is a wholesome breakfast and snack. Nutty, sweet, and juicy, this dish lets you enjoy the summer superfruit any time of year.
We used minimally processed sweeteners in this recipe – like our Amber Maple Syrup and Organic Applesauce – and loaded it up with sources of fibre, iron, protein, and vitamins. For a convenient on-the-go option when school starts, cut this baked oatmeal into bars. Wrap them in parchment paper and freeze in a resealable bag or container and grab as needed.
Suggested Farm Boy Products: Farm Boy™ Organic Milk, Farm Boy™ Amber Maple Syrup, Farm Boy™ Organic Coconut Oil, Farm Boy™ Organic Applesauce, Farm Boy™ Organic Large Flake Oats, Farm Boy™ Organic Ground Cinnamon, Farm Boy™ Chia Seeds, Farm Boy™ Walnuts, Farm Boy™ Frozen Wild Blueberries.
Banana Sushi
This is a fun snack or simple breakfast that takes five minutes to whip up and requires no heating. We’ve suggested cashew butter in this recipe, but you can use peanut butter or a nut-free option like Farm Boy™ Sunflower Seed Butter. A source of protein and healthy fats, this recipe is also just sweet enough without leading to a sugar crash late morning.
You can even prep this recipe for lunchboxes. Simply slice the banana into rounds, but keep the rounds together with some plastic wrap. This will prevent the banana from browning. For some extra fun, add some naturally-coloured sprinkles!
Suggested Farm Boy Products: Farm Boy™ Whole Wheat Tortilla, Farm Boy™ Cashew Butter, Farm Boy™ Chocolate Hazelnut Spread, Farm Boy™ Chia Seeds.
Coconut Chia Pudding Breakfast Bowls
For a light, easy, make-ahead breakfast recipe, try these chia pudding breakfast bowls. This plant-based dish is best prepared the night before. You can even make it in individual jars with a separate container for your preferred fruit toppings.
Ideal for busy mornings, these bowls will start everyone off on the right foot. The chia seeds in this recipe are a source of protein, fibre, and heart-healthy fats. Switch things up by swapping the fresh berries for other fruits like kiwi, mango, banana, and more.
Suggested Farm Boy Products: Farm Boy™ Organic Coconut Milk, Farm Boy™ Chia Seeds, Farm Boy™ Amber Maple Syrup, Fresh Berries.
