Healthy School Lunches for Hungry Teenagers

Healthy, protein-packed lunches that will satisfy hungry teenagers.

So….as a new school year begins, a few changes are in order around here.

1. The kids will be much more involved in packing their own lunch. I’ll still be there to oversee things and maybe help chop some apples, but I want them to own it.
2. More protein-packed snacks to help fill up those bellies.

RELATED: Coolest Reusable Snack Bags for Back-to-School

Now if your kids are like mine, they want completely different things in their lunches, so flexibility is key! Here is our starting point. Make it work for your own kids by starting with the foods they love best, then testing out some new healthy options and see what sticks.

A healthy base

We start with either a hearty sandwich or leftovers. What I love about leftovers is that they almost always include a healthy dose of vegetables. My guys aren’t huge sandwich fans, so I try to mix it up with interesting bread alternatives like a tortilla, a pretzel bun or a wheat roll. In a pinch we use packaged soup. (I’m always on the hunt for healthy soups my boys actually like that are preferably not in a BPA-laden can – so if you have any suggestions let me know!)

I also play lunch box cop and make sure they pack some type of fruit or vegetable in their lunch every day!

Protein-packed snacks

High protein snacks will help fill them up, provide brain power and fuel them through they day and into after-school activities. Here are a few of our favorites:

• hard-boiled eggs
• Justin’s nut butter packets with banana, apple slices or pretzels
• nuts or trail mix
• Stonyfield Organic YoKids Squeezers (freeze them ahead and they will still be cool by lunchtime)
• homemade power bites or granola bars with low sugar and a decent amount of protein (like KIND bars or Cliff Z-bars)
• Justin’s nut butter snack pack with pretzels for dipping
• hummus with vegetables
• grass-fed jerky or beef sticks
• cheese curds or cubes

We don’t usually do sweets in lunches but the chocolate hazelnut butter in the Justin’s snack packs is a nice treat!

A functional lunch bag

You’re gonna need a pretty big lunch bag to hold enough food to satisfy a hungry teenager. You’ll also need to keep the perishable foods like yogurt, eggs or cheese cool, especially if anything is being held for an after-school snack. The solution? A freezeable PackIt lunch bag that will keep food or drinks cool for up to 10 hours, without added ice packs. Genius idea!

How has lunch packing changed as your kids have grown older?

Hey – I’ve got plenty more healthy lunch ideas, reusable lunch containers and lunch gear ideas where these came from!

*Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Stonyfield and I received product samples from Stonyfield, Justin’s and PackIT to be able to show you their products. There are a few affiliate links meaning that if you make a purchase, I may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting Mindful Momma if you do!