How to pack lunch the day before. Pack lunch ahead of time. Pack lunch the night before. Make ahead lunch for kids. Make ahead school lunch.

After a long day at school, kids need a pick-me-up that’s both delicious and nutritious! Discover a collection of easy after-school snack ideas that will keep their energy levels up and their taste buds happy. Perfect for fueling homework sessions or unwinding after a busy day!

You may have also heard me talk about how much I believe in "everything in moderation".  We don't follow any specific kind of "diet", other than eating just real food.  (I don't consider that a diet though, I consider that to just be normal.)  Because we don't have any food allergies or specific food intolerances, there isn't anything that we can't eat.  We are omnivores, who eat all real foods, in moderation. But moderation to me means that we don't eat all the things all the time, and we shouldn't eat all the kinds of things at every meal. So even though I don't have to for a dietary reason, you will still find me fixing meals for my family that are gluten free, grain free, nut free, dairy free, meat free, etc.  I believe in doing this to provide variety for my kids, and I think it's good for them to learn that they can have a great meal even if it doesn't include bread, or dairy, or meat, etc.  

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.

I get lots of questions about the products I use to pack our lunches, so I thought it might be helpful if I gathered up all my favorite items in one post.

I think one of the most important aspects of easy lunch packing is to have products and containers that are consistent and reliable. While it is fun to have a nice variety of accessories, if you want to be quick and efficient in your lunch packing, choosing a reliable set of stuff that you can use day in and day out is going to be your best bet. 

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.