During the school year, I take my lunch to work every day. Not only is it cheaper than getting takeout daily, but bringing food to work helps me stay “on track” with my nutrition goals.

My kids also take their lunches every day. California public schools offer free breakfast and lunch to all kids, but my kids don’t like the offerings, and that’s ok with me.

Here are my top tips for packing a tip-top lunch- a lunch that gets eaten!

1. Invest in an insulated lunch bag. I have this one and it’s awesome. It keeps everything at the correct temperature.
2. Speaking of temps- Blue ice is ok, but these flexible ice sheets are better. You can wrap them around stuff in the lunch box/bag that needs to stay cold.
3. We have various-sized thermoses, perfect for keeping hot food at the best temp. To really keep hot food hot, I recommend pouring boiling hot water into the thermos and putting on the lid to let the inside heat up. After 10 minutes, dump out the hot water, pour in the hot food, and screw the lid on tightly. These 10-ounce thermoses are perfect for kids lunches. Spaghetti, soup, mac n’ cheese, and leftovers of most types work really well in these containers. My daughter loves Sanrio, and she has one of these with Kuromi.
4. My son loves Smoothies, and to keep them cold and frosty, I use an insulated bottle like these. Much like prepping a thermos for hot food, keeping smoothies frosty, prep an insulated bottle with ice old water (with cubes)for 10-15 minutes. Dump them out, pour in the smoothie and screw the cap on. I include a boba straw with his lunch.
5. I like salads for lunch, and with a container like this one from Contigo, all of my salad “parts” stay fresh and the lettuce doesn’t get wilty or gross.

In case you are wondering what my kids and I have for lunch, here are just a few examples:

Boy child: Smoothie (contains fruit, greek yogurt, fairlife milk), chips or pretzels, granola bar, fruit snack, protein cookies.

Girl Child: Something hot (usually chicken noodle soup or mac n’ cheese), apple slices, chips or pretzels, cookie, fruit snack, cheese stick.

Me: Meal Prepped lunch (2 ounces meat, 4-6 ounces of veggies, 1/2 cup starch), Salad with 2 ounces of meat,  or a frozen entree with at least 15 grams of protein, 2 small clementines or 1 orange cut-up,  1 cup of veggies (carrot sticks or celery), serving of guac or hummus, can of fizzy water.  My morning snack is a cup of Greek yogurt and 1 cup of fruit.