Share some of my favorite teen lunch box ideas!
Hi, friends! Are you OK? I hope you have had a pleasant morning so far. I’ve packed up this week with podcast interviews and customer calls – we’re here – because the pilot is at home, can take over home school duties.
For today’s post, I want to share some lunch box ideas for teenagers. I make girls’ lunch every day and I love putting them together. Liv’s school offers hot lunches, a takeaway restaurant from different fast food restaurants, but it’s very expensive (like Chick-Fil-A $20) and they don’t even keep food until they provide it to their kids. So, I’ve been making food at home for quality and cost reasons.
Last year, I sometimes opened Liv’s lunch box to wash it, and a lot of them still sit here.
“Why don’t you have lunch? Are you not hungry at lunch time?”
“I’m a little hungry, but sometimes I really don’t want bagels or sandwiches…I’ll love a meal.”
“A meal? What do you mean?”
“Like ramen, chicken, salad or something like that.”
This shocked me. I’m still packing her “little kid’s lunch”. Don’t get me wrong, they still look good and have a lot of delicious and healthy parts, but she wants an actual meal instead of a bagel or a PB&J. For me, it was a huge light bulb moment because I felt the same way. I don’t like eating the same cold stuff every day, and at lunch I usually prefer *meal* rather than bagels or pb&j.
[And for the friends out there who might be wondering why she didn’t pack her own lunch, she was dancing 10+ hours a week last year across town and had hours of homework each night. It’s also one of those things that I’m happy to do for them – I enjoy it!]
I started asking her for lunch and took her to Costco and I went with me to pick out what looked good to her. Now, I let her *eat lunch meals* still as fast as making PB&J or bagels, but they are more satisfying and enjoyable.
Here are some things in the rotation:
Teenagers’ lunch ideas
main course:
Pasta Salad
This is the best pasta salad in the world that you can enjoy all week in advance.
Chopped salad with homemade dressings
Liv likes chopped salads, and usually I add different types of vegetables, protein (such as leftover chicken or thinly sliced deli turkey), chickpeas, edamame, Poshi artichokes or asparagus, grated cheese, olives, vegetables, vegetables and homemade dressings.
Jennifer Aniston Salad
We all love this salad and it’s easy to put on top for grilled chicken for lunch.
Egg bites
These can also be made in advance and frozen. We all love these Mediterranean egg bites or these Starbucks imitate egg bites.
Ramen or burdock
She loves ramen and doesn’t mind eating it cold/room temperature, so I’ll put it in a glass container the night before.
Thin sliced grilled chicken, dipping sauce and rice
I often prepare meals for chicken or meatballs and then wrap them in lunch with ranch or barbecue sauce.
Wontons with olive oil and grated cheese
Pre-cook wontons, top with olive oil, then grated Parmegiano Reggiano.
pizza
Summary and pack a few pizza very easy
Leftovers
It’s funny because I used to hate leftovers as a kid, but the girls love them. Sometimes after dinner I would ask Liv what I could pack her for lunch and she would ask if we had any meals. If we do this, I just pack up. She wants to pack up and have something like lunch, like lasagna, tortillas, papaya, chili or fries and stir-fry.
Greek Bowl with Pita Bread
Rice, chicken, hummus, Greek salad, grape leaves and pita
side:
Homemade energy balls
fruit
Since we all love snacks, I will wash, chop and prepare plenty of fruit in a week. I usually buy seasonal stuff, so recently it’s berries (strawberry, blackberry, raspberry), grapes, several types of melon and pineapple. I dip the berries in vinegar and water for 2-5 minutes and then dry them completely before storing them in a glass container. I also chopped melon and pineapple and stored in a glass container.
Astringent
Chips – Boulder, Siete or Jackson’s is The Go-Tos, but she also sometimes likes Taki or Trader Joe’s CopyCat Taki’s
Dried fruit or fruit strips
Poshi Vegetable Pack
Thin sliced vegetables with hummus
cheese
Yogurt with fruit
Homemade cookies, brownies, bar or some dessert chocolate
I’m trying to reduce the amount of snacks we buy, but we can still get snacks and pantry on Thrive Market<-My link saves you 40% on your first order.
So, tell me, friend: What do your teens like to have lunch? What is the hot lunch Situtaiion at your school?
At preschool classes in Liv in San Diego, they offer the best hot lunch options. You can order sushi (!), akai bowl, Caesar salad, soup, sandwiches, and it’s ridiculous.
XO
Gina
