We just started the second quarter of school here in Hanover County, VA. I made it through 9 weeks of packing school lunches for my four kids. Do I love it? No. But, I am here to tell you that it is worth it and it doesn't have to be hard. Here are my guidelines:

Choose a protein source
Choose a vegetable
Choose a fruit
Choose a carbohydrate (preferably one with fiber) if one didn't already go with the protein source
Add a small treat

Here is what that looked like in my youngest's lunch today:

Cheese stick
Tomatoes (yes, I know this is technically a fruit)
Blueberries and Blackberries
Tortilla Chips
A few chocolate chips

And Here is what that looked like in my older kids' lunches today:

Quesadilla
Tomatoes (yes, I know, still a fruit)
Blueberries and grapes or Blackberries
I use a high protein and high fiber wrap to make quesadillas
A few chocolate chips

Bonus: healthy fat: guacamole to dip the quesadilla in!

Why aren't all of the lunches the same? Because I want my kids to actually eat their lunch and Jeremy does not like and will not eat the tortillas that I use for everyone else, but I am pretty sure that he will eat a cheese stick and chips. Alexa will eat Blackberries (sometimes), but not grapes or blueberries. I will update this post when they get home from school with a picture of what they actually ate. Trying to keep it real for y'all!

I like to add dips when I can because they are fun and encourage the kids to eat the other things packed. I honestly don't always pack a treat, but they sure do love it and it makes the lunch feel special when I do!

As you can see, packing school lunches does not have to be complicated. Throwing a cheese stick, some tortilla chips a fruit and a veggie into a lunchbox really couldn't be any easier! The Quesadillas take a few minutes to prep, but really not much and I know exactly what my kids are (and aren't) eating! Trying to limit the additives, colors, flavors and preservatives over here!

My lunch packing skills are not perfect. My kids don't eat perfectly. My kids can be picky and will refuse to eat certain things. But, they can't eat what I don't offer them and they will eat healthy foods if they are hungry and available. So, those are my goals: offer healthy foods, limit access to less healthy foods and make sure to provide options that I know they will eat.

To my great surprise, both of my younger children came home with completely empty lunch boxes! I even asked if they threw it away and the answer was , “No, I ate it all!” 🎉