With back to school around the corner, it’s almost time to think about packing snacks and lunches again (EEP!). Even though I’m a nutritionist, I still enjoy seeing what other people are packing in their kids' lunches. I figured if I enjoy getting inspiration from others, you might too. With that in mind, I’m sharing some principles for building a snack/lunch box and some ideas you can try here.

To make everything nut-free, sub the peanut butter for sunflower or pumpkin seed butter as that’s a prerequisite for school lunches these days.

Sophie is a particular eater, and while what she eats ebbs and flows, I *try* to make sure there’s always fat, protein and veggie in each snack/meal that I pack for her in her lunchbox.

Here are some protein examples:

• Cheese strings
• Grated cheese
• Meat sticks
• Deli-meat slices
• Hard boiled eggs
• Cut up BBQ chicken

Here are some fat examples:

• Hummus
• Pumpkin seed butter or sunflower seed butter (instead of peanut butter for nut-free option)
• Sliced avocado
• Cheese
• Dairy-free or Regular Yogurt (mix in some hemp and flax seed for extra fiber)

Then, the easy part is adding the carbs because kids love these foods:

• Fruit (apple slices with lemon juice, orange slices, berries, halved grapes, banana)
• Crackers (Mary's Crackers or Simple Mills)
• Rice cake sandwiches (with seed butter or avocado
• Bread (gluten free if needed)

And for veggies, I rotate between snap peas, cucumber, halved cherry tomatoes and bell pepper slices.

Here are 9 different snack/lunch combinations:

**You can click here to download this recipe bundle with images.**

1. Baby carrots, grapes, pumpkin seed butter, cheese slices
2. Snap peas, pear slices, chickpeas
3. Deconstructed tacos: Corn tortilla strips, mashed avocado + lime juice + salt and black beans, corn, cheddar cheese mixed
4. Scrambled eggs, grapefruit slices, avocado slices (with lime juice)
5. Pancakes (see recipe below), applesauce, cucumber slices
6. Cucumber slices, blackberries, hummus
7. Hardboiled eggs, avocado slices (with lime juice), cucumber slices, cheese cubes
8. Mini pitas (filled with cheese slices, turkey breast slices) and hummus with carrot sticks
9. Crackers, hummus, cheese cubes, turkey breast slices (rolled up)

Next week I’ll be sharing our favourite packaged kids' snacks that aren’t too high in sugar, so stay tuned for that!

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