I know how busy and intense the transition from lazy summer days at the pool to adjusting back to the 6:30 am wake up calls can be…so I thought I’d help out by sharing a different lunchbox idea each day this month.
What’s In Today′s Lunchbox?!
- Corndog Muffins – send them heated up in a food thermos to stay warm until lunch
- Horizon Organic Cheese Shapes
- Cole Slaw
- Ketchup or BBQ sauce for dipping
Disclaimer: These ideas are just a small part of the total food eaten throughout the day. Some have smaller amounts of protein and/or green veggies than others, but you can balance that out with serving more protein or green veggies at other meals/snacks. Feel free to adjust these ideas to fit your family’s needs.
Erin’s Favorite Lunchbox Packing Tools
When it comes to packing lunch boxes for the 3 older dudes, I need sturdy that will last ALL year and into the next! Which is why I recommend the following…
- Lunchbox Love Notes for your kids
- Easy Lunchboxes System & Easy Lunchboxes, Little Dippers
- Thermos 2 pack, 10 oz. containers
- Rubbermaid Blox
- Laptop Lunches Bento-ware Bento Lunch Box
- Bentgo All-in-One Stackable Lunch/Bento Box
- Lunch boxes – LLBean & Lands End
Free Lunchbox Printables
- Complete School Lunchbox Ideas List (perfect for your fridge!)
- Weekly Lunchbox Planner (perfect for your household binder and/or fridge!).
Pin all of the Lunchbox ideas to share and save for later!
Happy lunch packing y’all!!!
Amy says
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Jaime says
Hi Erin– I just came across your website from another blog and am so happy I found you 🙂 I was hoping you can give me some instruction (or a link to a past post) about how you keep the kids’ lunches cold? I love the washable containers you use, but I’ve ALWAYS been ice-pack challenged… BTW, we already bought our lunch packs; they are insulated but don’t have the built-in ice packs.
Thanks for your time– and your blog!!
Jaime
Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom says
Hey Jaime,
I use flat/small ice packs to keep lunches cold and thermos for hot items. (For the purpose of these series, I photographed everything in the Easy Lunchboxes, but some of the hot items I would send in a thermos!). I really like the ice packs that come with the Rubbermaid Lunchblox sets because they are super thin and can fit in most lunchboxes.
Also, if I’m sending muffins from the freezer, I don’t usually include an ice pack because it will keep everything cool as it thaws.
Hope that helps!