Help! Need school lunch ideas for a Teenager.

ymarq84

Hello,

I have a teenager that hates school lunch. He has decided to pack his own lunch since he is 14 I allow for him to make his lunch. But found that he makes the samething over and over.

I need Healthy/fun ideas for lunch so that I can put together a schedule for him and hit the grocery store to buy what he will need. Thank you!

DespinaDV

Season an extra chicken breast in the oven the night before. Put salt, pepper, oil, lemon, basil, oregano, and some chillies. Once the chicken is cookies, slice it up in strips. You can then use this in either a salad or you can put it in a wrap filled with veggies and light mayo.
Take a can of mixed beans, drain out all the water. Add salt, pepper, oil, vinegar (balsamic if you have), finely chopped up: pickles, onions, red bell peppers, radishes, and carrots. Mix is up and you have a bean salad. you can even use the same thing but drain out the sauce and put it in a wrap.
Take a can of tuna. Mix in salt, pepper and finely chopped: tomatoes, onions and lettuce. You can eat it as a salad or eat it in a wrap or bun.

Hope this was helpful!!!

ymarq84

Despina, those are some great ideas. Not to mention that he loves beans I think he will really like the beans salad and wraps.. Thank you!

DespinaDV

No problem! I make my own food at home too and sometimes I need to get creative

shaumom

Bento boxes are tremendously fun (great website to order things for them here: http://en.bentoandco.com).

You can make regular ones or decorative ones, and very day it's going to be different. This is a good site with information, recipes, that sort of thing - http://justbento.com/handbook/bento-basics

Also, there are just some cool bento boxes to use...like this one, which looks like a giant lego block:http://en.bentoandco.com/collections/kids/products/block-bento?variant=49232482

My daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease and had to go gluten free, and these have been a life saver, truly.

Oh, and some ideas for just how elaborate some of these bentos can get!
http://bentoanarchy.blogspot.com
http://www.smosh.com/smosh-pit/photos/24-tasty-cartoon-character-bento-boxes

geneticsteacher

My son has eaten the same packed lunch for 8 YEARS. Oh well, he is healthy.

brightsideofpink

Its hard to go wrong with variety, and if he's packing his own lunch, keep it simple. My kids are smaller, but I like to buy and pack things that are easy to take as much or as little of as we want. Grapes, grape tomatoes, cheddar cheese slices, pepperoni, those miniature pita pockets, bananas, clementines (mandarins are fun too), nuts. If he likes hommus, Costco sells 18-packs of individual size hommus. Laughing cow cheese wedges or Babybel circles. Go-gurt (yogurt in a tube) is a staple in my fridge. Pack 2 for his age, lol. Peanut butter can be easily scooped into little containers. A slightly more sophisticated pb and j: sunbutter and pumpkin jelly. Mmmm. I've also cooked up fun quesadillas the night before and then cut them into wedges- still tastes yummy cold. Pasta or chicken salads.

laughinggypsy

Good ideas! Shaumom-Thanks so much for the bento links! We just started whole 30 and things are really stressful at my husbands work, so I'm trying to pack my him filling, whole 30 compliant lunches. THe bento seems to make it fun! Headed over to pinterest to see other bento ideas!

MyChocolateDiet

some people like to eat the same thing over and over. it seems like they find it comforting or something. if he's only doing so out of convenience, or lack of ideas, he'll take to your suggestions. don't be surprised or hurt if he sticks with his own version of lunch, some people find comfort in the same thing everyday.

That being said, wraps are an easy idea that stand up to being in a cold lunchbox if you include a partially frozen water bottle. roll a tortilla with a little meat cheese lettuce and sauce. babybels are good in lunchboxes too and bananas and almonds or other nuts are nice to find in a lunchbox.

Good luck.

shaumom

OH goo

laughinggypsy wrote: »

... I'm trying to pack my him filling, whole 30 compliant lunches.

Oh that is a tricky diet - I'm very close to that diet myself. I think the challenging part at first is just how much THOUGHT you have to put in, you know? I never realized how much thought I did NOT have to put into my meals, until I suddenly couldn't use any of my old recipes!

And if you hadn't seen it, there are these adorable mold for hard boiled eggs, since those are allowed on your diet. You peel them and put them in the mold when still warm, and they warp to fit them. They are seriously cute and just kind of fun.

http://justbento.com/handbook/bento-decoration-techniques/fun-japanese-egg-molds