Back to School Kid's Lunches
To avoid boring sandwich complaints
My kids go back to school on Monday and this week has been crazy with open houses, sports camp and getting our last minute school clothes & supplies because my husband planned a camping trip this weekend. Eek!
I’m obsessed with office supplies and since school supplies is kind of the same, I get really excited about taking my kid’s school list to the store and picking out things.
This year Target had a bunch of cute bento boxes, and little containers (you’ll see the raccoon holding pizza containers in the video below). The Cat & Jack brand was also really affordable compared to similar items on Amazon. If you haven’t checked out their stuff, you may want to make a special trip this weekend.
I got really inspired to make new lunch ideas after buying all the stuff and I’ve had a Back to School series going on social media. Make sure to check it out. It’s on Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Facebook and Youtube Shorts.
If you don’t have social media, don’t worry because I’m sharing some of the ideas today!
Back to School Lunch Ideas
Let’s start with my little one’s favorite, the DIY Pizza Lunchable. After there was some interesting chemicals found in store-bought Lunchables last year, I’ve stopped buying them.
Leah loves them, so we came up with this version of making them from home. They take 5 minutes and I pack them into a bento box, so it’s seriously like the store-bought version.
I use those Mini Naan breads from Stonefire and she said they taste even better! Win.
Next up are these Monster Cookie bars, which make a great afternoon snack or pack them in lunches for a little treat. They have peanut butter, oats and mini chocolate chips, which give them the best chewy texture. It’s like chocolate chip cookie meets brownie.
These are a one bowl recipe that only takes 10 minutes to prep, then pop them in the oven for 20 minutes.
My kids also love these Charcuterie sticks, which you can find variations in the video listed below. I have an adult version of Charcuterie sticks on the blog, but these are a kid version.
There’s no recipe, I just alternate salami or pepperoni with a cheese, like mozzarella or Colby. Cheddar cheese loves to break, so I don’t recommend it, unless it’s not very crumbly.
I also do veggie sticks with carrots and cucumbers with ranch and fruit sticks with grapes. You can put any of your kid’s favorites on these, which I love.
The Video
That’s it for this week. Wish me luck camping. I’ll be trying to catch trout and won’t have wifi for the weekend. Will I survive?
My husband said I could go to the coffee shop up the road, but I’ll have to hitch a ride with someone 😂 Our camper is attached to the truck, so unless I take the whole set up, I’m not going nowhere.
Happy Back to School Season and let’s chat next week.
Monster Cookie Bar Recipe
Makes: 16 Squares
Time to Make: 1 hour, 30 minutes (includes 1 hour cooling time)
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons salted butter
⅔ cup all purpose flour
⅔ cup old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup Jif Peanut Butter
½ cup mini m&ms
*You also need an 8x8 pan and parchment paper.
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bit of vegetable oil on the bottom of the 8x8 pan and line with parchment paper. Melt the butter in a pan or in the microwave and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, stir flour, oats, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt, and baking soda until combined.
Into the dry ingredient bowl, stir in eggs, vanilla extract, and warm melted butter.
Add in the peanut butter and stir to combine. Then, toss in the mini m&ms and stir until mixed well.
Plop the cookie dough over the parchment lined pan and use another piece of parchment paper to push it into an even layer in the pan. Make sure to push it into the corners well too. Note: If you don't use the parchment paper, it will be extremely sticky on your hands and hard to flatten into place.
Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
Allow the cookie bars to cool for 1 hour before removing from the pan.
Once cooled, carefully remove from pan and use a large knife to slice into 16 equal squares. Serve and enjoy! These taste great with milk.
Substitutions:
If you can't find mini m&ms, the regular size are fine too.
I highly recommend a peanut butter like Jif or Skippy for this recipe, as sometimes the natural versions don't provide the same texture when baking. I have not tested natural versions for this recipe.
Expert Tips:
Make sure the butter is cooled to avoid cooking the egg when adding it to the bowl. You want it cooled off, but still warm and pourable.
The dough is sticky, so using parchment paper on the bottom of the pan will help it from sticking. Also, save a piece to push down the batter into place and work it into the corners. This is a lifesaver and I always use it when making cookie bars and rice krispie treats.
Leave the parchment paper higher than the batter on at least one of the four sides of the pan for easy removal.
Don't use a 9x13 dish. This recipe is for an 8x8 pan and cookie times will differ for a smaller or larger sizes.
Allow the cookie bars to cool for an hour before removing from the pan and slicing into squares or they will crack.
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