Mom Struggle: Snack + Lunch Ideas for the Kids

A while back, I shared my struggles with packing lunches for the kids. Most days, it feels nearly impossible to pack anything that’s not a freaking breakfast bar and strawberries. As much as I wanted to avoid the hot meal and needing to cook/prep anything, I succumbed to it. I found myself joining the “cooking chicken nuggets at 6a.m. club.” But to do that every single day would slowly become a lot.

So this weekend, I dove back into all of your suggestions and we used lunch time as a small little taste testing opportunity to find some new meals+snacks we all liked. I turned this into a charcuterie board, blindfolded game that the kids were at first excited about, but the blindfolds were off after bite one. All trust was gone. BUT we did actually find some winners!

Our kids are so picky when it comes to snacking and lunch. Dinner time- they are rockstars. But I am not cooking a rotisserie chicken for lunchboxes (shit! I’m not even cooking that for dinner- hello, Costco!). I convinced them enough to try some new deli meats and cheeses and we got places, phew!

So I’m sharing with all my other struggling Moms, here are the ideas that hit the best in our household!

Pinwheel Turkey and Cheese Rolls

These were surprisingly a hit! Nothing fancy! Just some deli turkey, white american cheese, lettuce, and a little bit of mayo wrapped up on a flour tortilla. Easy enough to make the night before and store in the fridge to pop into lunchboxes.

Corn Dogs

Okay, there is absolutely nothing healthy about this one. But I found some frozen corn dogs at Target and those bad boys are microwaveable. So when in a pinch, a quick 60-second thaw in the microwave and the kids loved them (obviously! 🙄)

Salami and Cheese Mock Lunchables

This one I really had to hype up! That we were making our own lunchables- which instantly excited them. So they were willing to try some salami with provolone, again, some turkey with cheese, and next time I’m going to try a ham and cheese.

Only one of our kids liked them, but, Costco does sell a healthier version lunchable pack which we buy and those are super tasty!

Hummus with Cucumbers, Carrots, or Crackers

Our kids go back and forth on liking and not liking hummus. So we retried it again this time dipping some other foods into it. Cucumbers were the biggest hit, then carrots, and then crackers. I think if I tried a different cracker I may get a better result. But a wins, a win.

Honestly, thank you ALL for all of your suggestions on what the heck to pack for these kids. I am going to try even more in the following weeks because I desperately needed to pack more than a damn breakfast bar again!