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Back to School Lunch Ideas and Lunchbox Notes

August 1, 2018 By Vicky 16 Comments

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I was asked by Carusele to participate in the #SimplyNice campaign, sponsored by Walgreens. Although I have been compensated, all opinions are my own.

Does it seem to you like back to school season just sneaked up on us? One minute I was enjoying the summer and the next minute, I was doing back to school shopping for clothes and school supplies. One challenge that I face at the start of every school year, is coming up with new and exciting lunches for my kids to bring to school. I admit it, toward the end of the last school year I had fallen into a bit of a rut, sending in the same lunches every day. They were easy and I knew my kids would eat them. But the start of a new school year fills me with inspiration, so I came up with some fun lunch ideas that I am excited to share with you. I also made up some inspirational Lunchbox Notes that you can download for free.

Back to School Lunch Ideas and Lunchbox Notes - Need some back to school lunch ideas? Get them here, along with some free printable lunchbox notes for kids. #ad @Walgreens #SimplyNice

I headed to Walgreens to do some back to school shopping. I picked up notebooks, pencils and other school supplies.

walgreens #ad

I also got some delicious Nice!® food and beverage products at Walgreens. Like most moms, I am super busy, so I love that I can find Nice!® products at Walgreens, because I can stock up on them whenever I am there. Nice!® offers healthier snacks that are perfect for filling up lunch boxes. They are always on my must buy list since they are packaged for on-the-go families who are also health conscious.

Nice!® is donating back a portion of sales to the Me to We Foundation during the month of August on purchases made on select items.

Nice! Organics White Cheddar Popcorn
Nice! Organics Sea Salt Popcorn
Nice! Organics White Cheddar Puff
Nice! Organics Teriyaki Beef Jerky
Nice! Organics Original Beef Jerky
Nice! Premium Electrolyte Water 1L
Nice! Premium Iceland Pure Spring Water 1L & .5L
Nice! Magic Mix 9oz
Nice! Fruit & Nut Trail Mix 9oz
Nice! Hikers Trail Mix 9oz

Every purchase gives school supplies to children in Kenya.* You can track your impact by entering 658482 at walgreens.com/metowe

(*Thru 8/23/18, for every specially marked bag purchased, $.06 will be donated to the ME to WE
Foundation, up to $175,000. For more information about the ME to WE Foundation, visit www.we.org.
Purchases are not tax deductible. Not valid in Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands.)

Nice! products at Walgreens #ad

I feel good giving Nice!® items to my family since I know they are healthier than traditional snack foods. There are no PHO’s or trans fats. Nice strives to use real ingredients and has reduced the use of artificial ones. They do this without compromising on flavor. So your kids get the flavors they love and you feel good about providing more balanced food options for them.

My kids love Nice!® Veggie sticks and they come in a convenient 6 pack lunch pack as do their White Cheddar Puffs.

child holding Nice! products

You’ll notice that there is nutritional information found on the corner of the packaging.

Nice veggies sticks

This certainly makes shopping easier, as I can get the calorie information I need with a quick glance. No more standing in the aisle trying to find information on the back of the package.

Nice! products at Walgreens #ad

Walgreens also has a variety of Nice!® trail mixes which we love to take on-the-go for outdoor adventures. They are also great for fueling kids through their busy school day.

Nice! trail mix #ad

child holding Nice! products

When it comes to school lunches, sometimes you just need to change things up a bit to get out of a rut. One way to do that is to prepare and present the food in a new way. Another thing you can do is offer different combinations of items.

The first lunch idea I came up with involves a twist on the traditional ham and cheese sandwich. To make a ham and cheese roll up, take a tortilla and layer it with a few slices of ham, making sure to cover the tortilla. Add some sliced American cheese on top of the ham. Then roll up the tortilla, making sure to keep the ham and cheese inside. Slice into rolls.

You can serve these ham and cheese rolls with some Nice!® Veggie Sticks.

making kids lunch

Add a little treat with these Nice!® Sandwich Creme cookies.

Nice! cookies #ad  packing lunch

You can also switch things up a bit by adding some Nice!® Fruit & Nut Trail mix, especially if nut allergies are not an issue at school.

pouring trail mix

I don’t know about your kids, but mine would be thrilled to open up their lunchboxes and see this.

back to school lunch ideas

Another lunchbox option is to use the same type of tortilla you use for the ham rolls and make Almond Butter and Jam roll ups instead. These could not be easier to make. Simply spread a thick layer of Almond Butter over one side of the tortilla and spread a layer of strawberry jam over the peanut butter. Roll up the tortilla and slice into rolls.

back to school lunch ideas

You can pair these almond butter and jam rolls with bananas, Nice!® Sandwich Creme cookies, and Nice!® Organic White Cheddar Popcorn.

popcorn in a bowl

Having a variety of Nice!® products on hand allows me to mix and match the snacks I include in lunch. Some days, I add the Nice!® Organic White Cheddar Puffs which my kids adore.

kids snacks

They are light and crunchy and I have a hard time not eating them all myself. Hey, Nice!® makes great snacks for the entire family, not just kids. Nice!® products help me to live a balanced life and not go off track with my eating. I am able to indulge without guilt thanks to great tasting Nice!® snacks.  

Nice! White Cheddar puffs

Since I am confessing here, I must say that my favorite Nice!® product is the Magic Trail Mix. What makes it so magical? A brilliant combination of peanuts, raisins, M&Ms, dark chocolate chips and peanut butter drops. Such a wonderful mixing of flavors!

trail mix

As if these yummy lunch ideas aren’t enough to get kids smiling, I created some inspirational lunchbox notes for kids that can really brighten their day.

lunchbox notes

Most kids love getting lunchbox notes. For one thing, they offer a word of hope or encouragement on what could be a difficult day. They are also conversation starters as kids around the table will want to know what the notes say.

Back to School Lunch Ideas and Lunchbox Notes

I have included 30 free printable lunchbox notes that will provide your child with a month’s worth of inspiration!

These free lunchbox notes may not be copied and sold or reproduced in any way. They cannot be changed or altered by you in any way and then sold as your own. If you are sharing these, you must direct people to my website and not to a link for the PDF. Do not store these on your website, on a file sharing website or on Facebook or Dropbox. These free lunchbox notes are copyright Mess for Less.

YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE FREE LUNCHBOX NOTES BY CLICKING HERE.

 Back to School Lunch Ideas and Lunchbox Notes

Back to School Lunch Ideas and Lunchbox Notes - Need some back to school lunch ideas? Get them here, along with some free printable lunchbox notes for kids. #ad @Walgreens #SimplyNice

 

I was asked by Carusele to participate in the #SimplyNice campaign, sponsored by Walgreens. Although I have been compensated, all opinions are my own.

 

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Filed Under: fall, Food Fun Friday

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Comments

  1. Margaret says

    August 2, 2018 at 9:13 am

    Can you make my school lunches? 🙂 These look yummy. I don’t think we have the Nice brand in Canada, but they look to be really good (with a nice selection!).

    Reply
  2. Jen says

    August 2, 2018 at 1:48 pm

    I’ve never heard of this brand! but will certainly be checking it out next time I’m out and about! I love the Rubbermaid Lunchblox that you use – we have them out our house too – they’re the perfect size & I love the lids (not super bulky where water gets trapped after washing!) these are great ideas for lunches – and well rounded. A little treat, veggies & fruits. Thanks for this great post!

    Reply
    • Vicky says

      August 7, 2018 at 11:25 am

      My kids’ favorite parts are the treats! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Paula says

    August 3, 2018 at 6:12 pm

    Cute lunch ideas. I haven’t been to Walgreens in a little while so I haven’t heard of the Nice Products yet, they sound great!

    Reply
    • Vicky says

      August 7, 2018 at 11:24 am

      Paula, there are so many yummy choices at Walgreens.

      Reply
  4. Lynn Armstrong says

    August 3, 2018 at 8:57 pm

    Thanks for all the great lunch ideas! I will look forward to using them once my kids can have lunch at school, I loved the veggie sticks you show!

    Reply
    • Vicky says

      August 7, 2018 at 11:24 am

      The veggie sticks are one of our favorite snacks!

      Reply
  5. Swapna says

    August 5, 2018 at 3:59 am

    Nice! Loved that lunch box notes… Thanks for sharing…

    Reply
    • Vicky says

      August 7, 2018 at 11:23 am

      Swapna, hope you enjoy the lunch ideas and notes!

      Reply
  6. Danielle says

    August 7, 2018 at 10:49 am

    I love all of these ideas for the back to school snacks – the lunchbox notes are super fun as well 🙂

    Reply
    • Vicky says

      August 7, 2018 at 11:23 am

      Thanks Danielle! We are all ready for back to school!

      Reply
  7. Annemarie says

    August 7, 2018 at 11:27 am

    I love stocking up on affordable back to school snacks like these. My kids are much happier when they have variety in their school lunches.

    Reply
  8. Lucy Parissi says

    August 7, 2018 at 12:07 pm

    These ideas are great. Let’s face it, we need all the help we can get to keep lunchboxes exciting. Loving those printable notes too – thanks.

    Reply
  9. Danielle says

    August 7, 2018 at 12:24 pm

    There are so many great ideas here. Popcorn always goes down well in a lunch box!

    Reply
  10. Pam says

    August 7, 2018 at 1:14 pm

    What a lot of great ideas. And, cute pictures too 🙂 I’ll have to check out these products. My neighborhood pharmacy just switched over to being a Walgreens, so I’m sure they’ll have them.

    Reply
  11. Jenn says

    May 9, 2019 at 3:30 am

    This lunch is full of nothing but processed junk. Just because the packaging says veggie or organic, doesn’t make it healthy. Read the ingredient label for more than just calorie count. I guarantee you can’t pronounce most the stuff in it. Instead of puffed, chemically engineered veggie sticks, try putting actual veggie sticks.

    Reply

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Hi, I'm Vicky, founder and content creator at Mess For Less. If you are looking for play and learning activities for kids, kid friendly food, parenting tips and general family fun, you will find it at Mess For Less. I invite you to learn more about me or drop me a note. Thanks for stopping by!
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