25 Easy Lunch & Snack Ideas For A Busy Homeschool Mom

Are you tired of wondering what to feed your kids for lunch? Or snacks? You’ll love this list of our top 25 lunch and snack ideas for kids!

A good friend of mine called saying, “I get so tired of making lunches every day. It is always the same thing day in and day out! I need ideas!”

Sound familiar? I know as a busy mom who works full-time and homeschools, I’ve gotten tired of making lunches and snacks for my kids.

Lunch on the table for kids

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Our Solution To “What’s For Lunch?”

One thing that really saves me time is creating a list of “food” ideas that the kids can make!

That friend and I grabbed a cup of coffee and our own gluten-free snacks – because food makes everything better and had a brainstorming session.

We came up with a list of hot lunch ideas, cold lunch ideas, and snacks our kids can make on their own with little to no help from us!

And to save YOU time, I am sharing the list of great lunch and snack ideas below with you. ♥

How To Use This Lunch & Snack Idea List:

As a busy working mom, there are days I just don’t have the time to stop and make lunch for my homeschooled kids.

And if you’ve been homeschooling for any length of time, you know those kids are always hungry!

Let me show you how to spend less time in the kitchen:

  1. Grab a notebook or open a word document
  2. Go through the list below and write down any ideas you think your kids would like to make
  3. Show the list to your kids
  4. Let them pick 1-2 new lunch ideas to try this week
  5. Double check that you have all the ingredients you need

Bonus: Make sure your kids are comfortable cooking in the kitchen.

Now, when the kids are hungry just point the to list and let them do the cooking.

Easy Hot Lunches Ideas For Kids:

1. Chicken strips with cut up fruit and veggies. When making supper, cook extra chicken breasts for this purpose. Saving time later! Also highly recommended are real chicken bread from Costco. My friend swears by these but I have yet to try them.

2. Quesadillas or gourmet grilled cheese. Just add in your favorite fun toppings, flip in the pan and you are done!

3. Kraft dinner served with cut fruit and veggies. Or switch it up with Cauliflower Mac and Cheese Recipe (Grain-free!)

4. Baked beans (canned or homemade) and toast.

5. Bagels and cream cheese and soup (Canned or homemade).

6. Think breakfast for lunch: Whole wheat pancakes, Johnny Cakes, or scrambled eggs with chopped fruit or canned fruit salad (aim for no sugar or dye), garlic toast, and cooked meats like bacon, ham, sausages, etc.

7. Italian meatballs with different sauces. You can make extra when making for supper or buy premade meatballs. Serve with rice and veggies. Switch up the meatballs by choosing turkey, chicken, beef, and or pork!

8. Individual-sized casseroles: Such as shepherd’s pie, lasagna, meatloaf, and or macaroni and cheese. I love having these on hand for “emergency days.” You can throw them in the oven to reheat before lunch. The kids can eat when ready, which is perfect for those self-led learners.

9. Mini pizzas are always a win, use pita bread, naan bread or mini pizza crusts. Provide a variety of toppings such as mushrooms, pineapple, shredded cheese, and sauces. Let them make their own creations and pop them in the oven for a quick cook.

10. Mini-burgers on slider buns, top with your veggies of choice or homemade french fries!

Food bar lunch ideas cold

Easy Cold Lunch Ideas For Kids:

Cold lunches are awesome because it feeds your kids and you don’t have to heat up your kitchen! 

These are also great lunches for when you head back into the homeschooling season.

And when the super hot weather hits, check my full list of cold lunches here 25 Cold Lunch Ideas Perfect For Your Picky Kids.

11. Sandwiches don’t have to be boring.

Instead of making the same sandwich day in and day out, let your kids get creative and mix and match! A few ideas are:

  • tuna and grapes
  • cucumber and ham
  • peanut butter with dill pickle (yes, this is my son’s favorite)
  • almond butter and jelly
  • egg salad with relish
  • and chicken salad, to name a few.

These can be made the day before and easy to grab and go.

12. If you are tired of sandwiches, try stuffed pitas with tuna salad and chopped grapes and walnuts. Or tortilla rolls filled with swiss cheese and bean sprouts.

13. Bento lunch ideas for kids. Not familiar with this idea? “Bento” is when you use a single-portion box-shaped container to hold a home-packed meal. You want to aim for a combination of whole grains, protein, fruits, veggies, and dairy.

Pro tip: If you are a working mom and your child is taking this lunch to child care, let them practice opening and closing containers at home.

When choosing your box, choose one that will hold lunch and snacks. These are great for children that like to pick at their food.

What goes in the box?

Great question! Anything your child likes but the key is colorful, cute and texture which is how you keep it from being boring. This mom explains bento beautifully. Or follow our Pinterest board here for ideas! 

14. Muffin tin lunches are similar to Bento lunches but for days at home. Boiled eggs, add in cut fruit and veggies, cheese, crackers, hummus, etc.

Lunch ideas your kids can make

Easy Lunch Ideas For Kids -Food Bars

15. If you are home, you may prefer to quickly pre-chop, slice, and cook the food and set up self-serve bars for busy kids.

 A few food bar ideas are:

  • Build your own sandwich – including meat, spreads, veggies like tomatoes and lettuce, condiments, etc.
  • Build your own pizza: again pitas, spreads, toppings pre-cut, and shredded cheese
  • Or a picnic plate: cut-up veggies, meat that is rolled up or sliced, cheese, fruit, hard-boiled eggs, pasta salad, potato salad, broccoli salad, etc.

Bonus lunch idea:  OR break up the same old stuff try doing a mini cooking class with the kids on a geographic location or culture, make something special or new ingredient. I like using Around The World Stories to learn about other cultures and cook.

Easy Snacks Ideas For Kids:

Snacks are one of those “things” my kids are always doing. Growing kids need snacks to keep their energy up between meals.

 I love finding recipes for healthy snacks my kids can make.

Easy Snack Ideas Young Kids Can Make:

  1. Vanilla Greek yogurt with frozen blueberries and protein granola
  2. Applesauce with string cheese and carrot sticks
  3. Healthy muffins (homemade or bought) with fruit. These Pumpkin Muffins look amazing!
  4. Chunk cheese and graham crackers
  5. Animal crackers and yogurt
  6. Goldfish and sliced apples with nut butter
  7. Hard-boiled eggs
  8. Granola bars or energy bars
  9. Bean crackers and cream cheese
  10. Trail mix
  11. Popcorn

As you can, see once the ball gets rolling ideas can really flow. I hope this quick list gives you a starting point. Are your kids grain free? Grab this list of Snacks Your Kids Can Make! 

Time & Money Saving Tips:

Look, I work full-time and homeschool my kids full-time (yes, it’s possible), so I have to find opportunities where I can save time, and one of the best ways I found to save time is with these tips!

1. Cook extra when preparing for supper. Think rice, chicken, meatballs, etc., and use them for lunch the next day or snacks.

2. Wash and pre-cut all fruit and veggies ahead of time if possible. I like to save time by meal prepping ahead of time. 

3. My Instant Pot is helping me save money on groceries by making enough to cover lunch the next day. Use the tools you have and make them work for you!

4. When choosing your veggies or fruit, pick foods that are easy to eat on the go, such as:

  • Mini carrots
  • carrot sticks
  • cherry tomatoes
  • grapes
  • dried fruits
  • and nuts

These are all great ideas for filling “snack” needs.

5. To lessen the amount of sugar or dye, trade juice for fruit-infused water. Either toss some cut fruit in a pitcher of water or use an infusion bottle to make fruit-infused water.

6. To save money invest in water bottles for the kids and skip the juice packs for 2-liter bottles and refill your kids smaller travel bottles. Look for something like these 6-pack leak-proof water bottles for kids.

Lunches and snacks can be easy as 1-25!

Other Resources you might be interested in:

Teaching our children to cook not only saves us time but teaches our children valuable life skills. So give it a whirl!

Take care, 

Jen!

PS. If you want your children to cook but don’t have the time or desire to teach them be sure to check out Kids Cook Real Food.  It’s a cooking class for kids ages 2-older teen. We love it. Read my full review here: Homeschool Cooking Curriculum We Love – Our Experience With the Kids Cook Real Food Program.

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list of snack and lunch ideas for kids

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