Healthy School Lunches to Satisfy Hungry Teenagers

Tips for packing healthy lunches for teens that are tasty and protein-packed so your hungry kids will be satisfied all day long through school and after school activities.

Not. Enough. Food. That’s the message I was getting from my tween/teenage boys about the lunches I was packing for them. Somehow my little dudes have become big dudes, in grownup sized bodies that are still growing, if that’s even possible.

Gone are the days when I can create a lunch of a little bit of this and little bit of that. They need real food, not rabbit food! Add in sports activities after school and they need a mega ton of food in those lunch bags!

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Tips for Healthy School Lunches for Teens

So….as a new school year begins, we’re making a few changes to adapt to high school lunches for hungry teenagers.

• 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.
• We’re adding in more protein-packed snacks to help fill up those bellies both during the school day and during after-school sports.

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

Now if your kids are like mine, they both want completely different things in their lunches, so flexibility is key!

Make school lunches work for your own teenagers by starting with the foods they love best, then testing out some new healthy options and see what sticks.

Start with a Healthy, Protein Heavy Base

We start with either a hearty, protein-filled sandwich or leftovers. 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.

What I love about leftovers is that they almost always include a healthy dose of vegetables. 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!)

Add in Fruits & Vegetables

I also play lunch box cop and make sure they pack some type of fruit or vegetable in their lunch every day! Easy examples include baby carrots, pepper slices, grapes, an apple or banana, dried unsweetened mango…..you get the idea.

Include 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 energy bites, protein bars or granola bars with low sugar and a decent amount of protein (like KIND bars or Clif nut butter bars)
• hummus with vegetables
• grass-fed jerky or beef sticks
• cheese curds or cubes

We don’t usually do sweets in lunches but Justin’s mini peanut butter cups are a nice treat!

Bonus: Pack Food in a Reusable 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 PackIt freezable 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 for you to browse!