Lunchbox Makeover: DIY Lunchables

Last year on my kids’ first day back to school, and after stocking up on a bunch of their favorite lunch choices, I asked them what they’d like for lunch on their first day of school.

“Pizza Lunchables!”

Umm…that wasn’t one of the options. Honestly, we don’t do Lunchables all that often, because they’re usually kind of expensive compared to the amount of food you get, and they’re not exactly the most stellar nutrition. I’ll grab them on sale occasionally though, and the kids think they’re a fun treat. So before saying “no” to their request, I thought I’d see what I could come up with.

Final product: bagel thins, shredded cheese, sauce, and pepperoni packed in this cool 3-Compartment Collapsible Lunch Kit, (plus an apple, carrot sticks, a brownie, and water) for my daughter (pictured above).

For my son, we used a few other containers and some snack-sized zip-top baggies for the pizza ingredients (you don’t need a fancy-schmancy new container to pull this off!), and finished off the meal with a juice box, yogurt stick, frozen blueberries, and cookies.

Problem solved, with more fruit/veggie content and less cost–and all with ingredients I had on hand!

We did something similar with lunch meat, cheese, and crackers while we were on our long road trip (we got a little “sandwiched-out” at lunch time after a few weeks!). I sliced cheese and cut turkey breast cold cuts into cracker-sized pieces, and the kids had fun assembling their little cracker sandwiches while we drove. We’ll be adding that idea to our lunchbox repertoire this school year as well!