Bento Box Meals: Easy & Simple School Lunch Ideas

Last week, our oldest started full days at preschool. He’s still attending three days a week, but instead of a 4 hour schedule, he is now there 7-8 hours on school days. We’re taking a gradual approach to a full time school schedule as he prepares for Kindergarten this fall.

With the start of the new year and new school schedule, I’ve made it a priority to get better at packing good meals for his school lunches. Believe me when I say that the craze of the holidays made me super lazy as a mom. No lie, he survived on pizza days and a ton of prepackaged snacks and meals. You know I’m all for flexibility and options to make my days a little less crazier. But, I love the new meal prepping routine I’ve been able to add into our lifestyle for myself and kids.

The older boys love their bento box meals and I love putting these meals together. It’s super easy for me to pack with leftovers and foods we have in stock regularly. I try to add in a fruit, veggie and a protein in every meal. My go to for additions for drinks and a snack is the boys’ favorite Horizon Organic milk and cheese cutouts.

We stock up on Horizon Organic milk and cheese during our weekly or bimonthly grocery trip at our local Meijer. The boys get so excited to pick out their favorite cheese snacks and milk flavors. I love how convenient it is to add wholesome cheese and milk to the school lunches.

The best part of putting these bento box school lunches together is that it takes minimal effort. I scoop out different foods from dinner leftovers, slice up a fruit or two and add in the Horizon Organic cheese shapes. I pack up the bento box and drop in a Horizon Organic milk in his lunch box and we’re good to go for the day. Here are a few different combinations in a typical bento box:

Bento Box Meal #1:

Chicken Nuggets, Macaroni, Horizon Organic Cheese Shapes, Clementine & Bananas, Peas & Carrots

Bento Box Meal #2:

Chicken Nuggets, Horizon Organic Cheese Shapes, Seaweed Rolls with Rice, Peas & Carrots, Apples, Cucumbers & Tomatoes

Bento Box Meal #3:

Bananas, Apples, Clementines, Ham & Horizon Organic Cheese Shapes, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Hard Broiled Eggs

Bento Box Meal #4:

Horizon Organic Cheese Shapes & Chicken Nugggets, Cucumbers & Tomatoes, Peas & Carrots, Apples, Hard Broiled Eggs

Bento Box Meal #5:

Hardbroiled Eggs & Ham, Seaweed Rolls with Rice, Apples & Bananas, Tomatoes, Horizon Organic Cheese Shapes

Keeping up with our overall better eating habits is a key goal of mine this year. As I’m focusing on healthy and delicious meals for the whole family, I like setting myself up for success. I swear and I’ll say it again that it is super easy to create different bento box meal ideas for school lunches. The boys get excited about eating their different bento boxes and I love that they’re eating healthy foods at home and at school. The visual appeal of the bento box lunch is so great for (picky) kids to enjoy good, wholesome foods.

Make sure to pick up your kids’ favorite Horizon Organic milk flavors and cheese shapes at your local Meijer. Let me know what different combinations you come up with for bento box school lunch ideas!