School starts this week for students all over the country, and many of us are also filtering, reluctantly, back into regular work schedules after summer vacations. To make the transition back into work, school, and busy days a little easier, here's a roundup of great snacks for your lunchbox.
TOP ROW
• 1 Crunchy Granola Bars - Make your own granola bars.
• 2 Veggies Stored in Dip - No need to sacrifice dip for the sake of neatness!
• 3 Old-Fashioned Cheese Straws - Can also be cut into fun cracker shapes.
• 4 Cream Cheese "Tarts" With Wild Blackberry Honey - A sweet treat.
• 5 Radishes with Cream Cheese and Chives - Packed in a little Tupperware, these are satisfying and refreshing.
MIDDLE ROW
• 6 Pickled Carrots - Tangy and healthy.
• 7 Yogurt Swirled with Peanut Butter, Honey, and Graham Crackers - Swirl in a cup and pack the crackers separately.
• 8 Dried Fig and Nut Bars - Another twist on granola bars.
• 9 Spicy Oven-Roasted Chickpeas - A handful of these will beat the snack cravings.
• 10 Olive Oil Granola - Marvelously addictive; bring a small bag.
BOTTOM ROW
• 11 Rosemary Roasted Cashews - A great afternoon pick-me-up.
• 12 Peanut Butter Popcorn - Just yum.
• 13 DIY Hummus - A good dip to go with those veggies.
• 14 Milk and Honey Peanut Butter Balls - Another yummy peanut butter treat.
• 15 Peanut Butter and Fruit Sushi - One last peanut butter snack; a fun treat.
Need something to carry all your favorite snacks? Check out this post from earlier today:
• Packing a Lunch? 10 Cool Lunchboxes and Bags
What are your favorite snacks to stash in your lunchbox?
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These are really inspiring! I think I'll give the granola bars and cheese straws (like my grandma used to make) a try and start taking my lunch to work more.
Hi - I was really excited to see your list. Then totally bummed. If I gave my 3rd grader half of the snacks on the list I would never hear the end of it. Plus her school encourages "peanut free" whenever possible due to kids allergies. I guess when I read back to work, back to school you meant kids. Obviously I was wrong.
Pickled carrots?
Chick Peas?
Radishes?
REALLY?? Do you have kids? Are you serious?
Kris, I used to eat all of that stuff as a kid. Ok, maybe not pickled carrots, just regular pickles. I have always loved veggies. :) I guess turning vegetarian at 7 will do that to you.
Kitchn editors, is there a veggie dip roundup? I would love some new dip recipes to try.
I would have happily lived on all that stuff when I was a kid except maybe the chickpeas, and that's only because I didn't know what they were until I was around 20. I have always loved pickled carrots. Also pickled beets. . . yum . . . but they do stain.
This is definitely a list meant for kids AND grownups. :-)
Kris, I had the same thought, and I have pretty good eaters. Radishes? I'm battling a full-court press to allow lunchables into my house, not to mention cheetos. That's not enough ammunition!
The hummus is a good one, though. The chickpeas might work if I can find a non-chili oriented recipe (this is my salt eater, not my sweet eater.) Nuts are good, too.
Both of mine love pickles, capers, and olives but won't touch beets or pickled carrots yet.
Deb
My kid would eat all of that, but I can't send peanuts, and in fact the cashews would be frowned on. Boy would she love the cashews! Thing is with mine, she'd love it all Week 1 and declare she didn't like it Week 2 and wonder where it was Week 3. But that is typical. I can always count on her love of hummus, though.
I was excited to see the list, but I concur with previous posters... many classrooms have a "no nuts" policy.
My son would love this; however, who has the time to make these snacks during the work week?!!
The sandwich sushi is adorable. I love radishes and butter (I know!). Which can be kept at room temp more than cream cheese.
I'm a big kid and I love the idea of all of these snacks. Kids are only picky if they are raised to be picky.
Hi Faith and friends, I'm sorry if my comment seemed harsh.
My daughter is not picky. In fact, she's quite the foodie for a 7-yr old. The camp she attended this summer had a menu that was prepared by Alice Water's (Chez Panisse.) She raved about the food.
I'm always looking for new lunch box ideas. I'm going to try the hummus and see how that goes.
The challenge with kids lunches is two-fold. They don't have much time for lunch so it has to be quick and easy for them to eat. It has to be something they are familiar with. New/strange lunch box items go untouched. If they don't like it, they won't eat it. And that's all they get - for the whole day. I don't want her to be hungry.
Thanks for all the feedback.
-Kris
These sound great (most of them) for grown ups to bring to work but I guarantee if you pack pickled carrots, cream cheese honey tarts or anything like that in your kids school lunch, they're hiding it, throwing it away or trading it at school. Stick to a cookie or piece of fruit- something they'll actually eat. Love lots of these for my own lunch though!
Well it certainly does apply to college students (such as myself) for sure :-D
I've been looking for stuff to take to class and all of this is right up my alley!
Some good ideas - but I don't know about the schools in your area - but we are a completely nut free school (much to my irritation - but that is another story). Too many of these snacks have peanut butter or nuts in them - no go for school I am afraid!