Lunch Box Recipes and Snack Ideas

Tasty and nutritious school lunches can be one of parents' biggest challenges. To please the kids and meet the basic dietary guidelines, make them part of the planning and shopping. Within reason, try to accommodate their lunch requests, keeping nutrition guidelines in mind.

A nutritious lunch doesn't have to revolve around a traditional sandwich; consider different pita bread or tortilla wrappings filled with a favorite sandwich meat or salad, meat and cheese kabobs, or a macaroni salad. Salsa and chips, assorted pickles, or veggie sticks and slices with dip make a lunch box bonus sure to please most kids. Fun foods like ants on a log or jiggly gelatin desserts are good choices for the younger kids.

Here are some lunch and snack recipe ideas and links to more sandwich recipes and kid-friendly food.

Recipes

Ham Salad Rolls

Tuna Sandwich Spread

Egg Salad Sandwich

Roast Beef Spread for Sandwiches

Southern-Style Chicken Salad

Chicken Salad With Bacon and Raisins

Cajun Chicken Salad with Pecans

Muffuletta Appetizer Sandwiches

Pigs in a Blanket

Pepperoni Pizza Breadsticks

Garlic Pita Chips

Southern Deviled Eggs

Fresh Salsa Cruda

Light and Easy Summer Slaw

Broccoli Salad

Red Cabbage and Apple Salad

Pasta Salad With Chicken and Bacon

Classic Guacamole with Lime and Cilantro

Pretzel Bites

Fresh Fruit Salad

Apple Salad with Pecans and Raisins

Lightly Spiced Yogurt Fruit Dip

Trail Bars with Chocolate Chips or Raisins

No-BakeChocolate Fudge Oatmeal Cookies

Carrot Cupcakes with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

Chocolate Cupcakes With Malted Milk Frosting

Haystacks

Layered Blondies Recipe

Iced Cranberry Orange Cookies