A week's worth of homeschool lunches...

Even homeschool moms have lunch ruts! It's easy to fall back on staples like peanut butter and jelly, chicken nuggets or mac and cheese. But one of the often unforeseen benefits of homeschooling can be that you can ensure your kids eat nutritious meals and snacks (and that what you pack isn't being peer-pressured into the trash). My poor mother packed a banana for me probably every day in elementary school, little did she know, we used them as phones for an hour then threw them away. I still have many mac and cheese days around here, and we pack lunches for field trips and outings, but here's a sample of what we'll typically have for lunch during a normal at-home homeschool week.

Wild rice with snap peas and oranges


Homemade turkey noodle soup with whole wheat crackers


Black bean and rice wrap-ups with pretzels and cottage cheese


Don't forget to change stuff up every so often and make breakfast for lunch! Here my kids enjoyed fried eggs with silly-face toast (peanut butter on toast with bananas and raisins for the face) and a side of oranges.


Tomato Soup with grilled cheese sandwiches (don't forget--goldfish crackers can jazz up tomato soup too!) If you don't have crackers on hand, even some shredded cheddar on top will do. And don't be afraid to change up the sandwiches with different kinds of cheese, or adding thin slices of turkey, ham or bacon.


Cheese Tortellini with garlic english muffin and side of carrots. I make my own garlic toasts often, just butter and lightly dusted with garlic powder. This invites for turning anything, from an english muffin to a bagel into a tasty, pasta accompanying bread.


Hope this helps or inspires other lunch ideas for your kiddos. Also, I've found that changing up the plates and bowls from time to time make the same old foods twice as fun for preschoolers. Feel free to share some of your favorite lunch combos as well.