Five easy non sandwich lunch ideas

I've been packing school lunches now for 6 years - I started when my two oldest were 18 months and going to a little developmental toddler preschool a couple days a week, and now they are almost 8.  In that time, I've tried a LOT of different lunch containers and lunch packing strategies.  There are a lot of good lunch containers out there, and I would definitely still recommend many of them.

Listen, I am busy.  I've got four little kids, two cats, a husband, and a mountain of laundry that never seems to go away.  I've got way better things to do with my time than carefully treating cut apples to keep them from browning.  It's funny though, the things that never occur to you until other people mention it.  I've been putting apples in the lunches since the beginning of lunches, and never really given it much thought. They're just apples.  I cut them, they eat them. 

VALENTINE'S DAY IS COMING UP, AND WOULDN'T IT  BE FUN TO PACK A LITTLE EXTRA LOVE IN THE LUNCH BOX?

To help you plan ahead, I've pulled together the lunches I made for Valentine's week last year. All of these lunches were super quick and easy to make, with just a few extra little tools and accessories. You don't have to make any special foods - you can make any food look fun and special. With a few cutters, picks, and baking cups, you can add lots of little heart shaped touches to what would otherwise be a normal lunch.

This is the one place to look for all of the lunches I have packed since the beginning of the current school year - a full year of school lunches, plus lots of adult lunches mixed in as well.  You'll see all my lunch ideas here, including breakfasts for lunch, nut free lunches, gluten free lunches, non-sandwich lunces.