50 Easy Bento Box Lunch Ideas

By Catherine McCord
July 15, 2015
Credit: Yunhee Kim
Fed up with ham sandwiches day after day? Your kid's lunch will never be boring if you mix and match these 50 ideas to create fun and healthy bento-box combos for school.
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Fall Faves

Credit: Yunhee Kim

This autumnal-themed box includes a turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce, rainbow carrot strips, fig cookies, edamame, pineapple, and pomegranate seeds.

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Last Night's Dinner

Credit: Yunhee Kim

Stretch supper into the next day with leftover chicken with BBQ sauce (if you didn't eat chicken last night, grab two Tyson Honey BBQ Crispy Chicken Strips made with all white meat chicken from the freezer and heat them in the microwave for 2.5 minutes), grape tomatoes, rice crackers, chocolate-covered raisins, and cherries.

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Wheels on the Bus

Credit: Yunhee Kim

Get your kid's lunchtime rolling with mini wheels pasta salad, bell-pepper strips, a hard-boiled egg, chocolate graham crackers, and mango chunks.

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With a Twist

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We don't know a single kid that wouldn't smile opening up a lunch box with a Rudi's Organic Bakery multigrain soft pretzel, green beans with sesame seeds, cheese, trail mix, and berries.

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Pack Smarter!

Credit: Yunhee Kim

Think About Food Groups

If the bento box seems like a puzzle, keep in mind what you need to cover in each lunch: whole grains, protein (such as meat and beans), fruits, veggies, and dairy (such as a side of milk).

Get the Portions Right

Bento boxes come in a range of sizes. Buy one that holds the amount your child usually eats for lunch at home. Or go a little larger so he can eat his morning and afternoon snack out of the bento too.

Practice at Home 

Serve lunch in the bento box for a week before school starts. That way, your child will get experience opening and closing the box. It will also give you a better sense of how much he'll eat so you won't pack too much food.

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Dippin' Delight

Credit: Yunhee Kim

Get dunking with apple wedges with caramel dip, cherry tomatoes and baby carrots, nectarines, feta or other cheese, and whole-grain cereal.

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Healthy Lunch Ideas for Kids

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Cutie Fruity

Credit: Yunhee Kim

Turn lunch into brunch with a blueberry-pancake sandwich with cream-cheese filling, sugar-snap peas, an avocado half with cherry tomato, banana chips, clementine sections, and grapes.

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A Taste of Mexico

Credit: Yunhee Kim

Go south of the border with a box that includes rice and beans, celery with guacamole, star fruit, dried fruit, and melon balls.

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Picky-Eater Pleaser

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Any kid will look forward to feasting on a waffle grilled cheese, broccoli with dip, banana with mini chocolate chips, crackers, and blackberries.

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Protein Power

Credit: Yunhee Kim

This box packs a punch with quinoa salad, sliced chicken sausage, dried mango strips, yogurt-covered raisins, and kiwi.

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