I am a busy mama. Probably like you. And because I am a busy mama of over 8 years now, I have realistic expectations about how I can love my littles best.

There are only a few must-haves on my daily mental checklist in regards to parenting:

1. Pray
2. Laugh
3. Look my kids in the eye
4. Eat good, healthy food

I don’t even do those few things perfectly but a mama can dream right? And for the sake of full disclosure, my standard of good, healthy food runs the gambit. I am not perfect nor are our lunch boxes but we are making steps toward healthier options (i.e. we did pb&j every.single.day. last school year.) Anyone else?!

My lunchbox goals are: simple (i.e. Can I make 3 of these in under 15 minutes) + healthy.

Lunchbox Routine

Step 1. The perfect lunchbox.

• My favorites are from Easylunchboxes.com. I love them. We have used them for an entire year now and I still love them. So we ordered another set this year since I have 2 in school every day. Just in case I forget to wash the dishes all week we still have a few ready to go.
• Silicone Baking Cups: If you need to divide the big space up a bit, I have found that silicone baking cups make the perfect addition to the lunch box. Right now I only have pink heart versions leftover from Valentine’s Day, but the boys haven’t complained yet so I guess they’re good with that…

Step 2. Protein.

• Peanut Butter Packs + Apples / Celery / Crackers: This is my kids FAVORITE new thing. They are seriously obsessed. FYI organic apples DO NOT turn brown. Promise. And they are yummier. So there’s that.
• Turkey & Cheese Roll-ups
• Pepperoni + Cheese + Crackers (Those Applegate Turkey Pepperoni’s are SO good!)

Step 3. Vegetable.

• Carrot Sticks | Cucumber Sticks | Snap Peas | Pepper Sticks (Surprisingly my kids like all of these options so I rotate them. To keep things interesting.)

Step 4. Fruit.

• Grapes | Applesauce | Peach Slices | Blueberries (They love fruit so whatever is on sale they get that week.)

Step 5. Grain.

• Crackers

Step 6. Extras.

• Yogurt
• Goldfish
• Pretzels: I’m just saying. For fun, you should try gluten-free pretzels. They will change your life. SO good. We don’t need to be gluten-free but I am a massive fan of these pretzels.

To Drink.

• Water (unless it’s a special occasion and then they may get juice.)

MORE IDEAS.

For more lunchbox ideas, I pinned a few here!

I would love to hear from you! What do you pack in your littles’ lunch boxes?!