Packing vegan school lunches seems to strike either anxiety or grief with parents – or a bit of both. It’s understandable, between school allergy issues, eating a vegan diet, and individual weegan food preferences, it can feel like all too much. A little planning goes a very long way.
I’ve written about vegan school lunches a couple of times. Here you can get my top 10 recipes, and here more baked goods for those lunchboxes (bonus: nut-free)!
Today I want to highlight my 5 TOP TIPS plus more recipe links to make you a pro at packing plant-powered lunches! You will be. I promise. #protips
So, here are my 5 tips to help get you 0rganized to pack plant-powered lunches:
1. Batch Cooking and Baking. I talk about batch cooking in some detail in Plant-Powered Families. It’s not just helpful for planning dinners, but also for packing lunches. The benefits apply to both ingredients/individual foods and specific recipes.
Are you…
Baking potatoes? Bake another 5-6 spuds. You can use them in lunches – sliced in sandwiches, cubed to dip in hummus, mixed with veggies or beans as a salad, added to a thermos soup, etc.
Making hummus? Do at least a double batch. Refrigerate and freeze portions so you don’t have to make it every week.
Cooking pasta for dinner? Make extra and use another day in a lunch (many ideas in PPF).
Making snack cookies or muffins? Double batch and freeze some for next week. This will save you time in the long run, and you’ll get into a groove with some regular lunch fixes that your kiddos love.
2. Lunchbox Picks. What will work best for you to pack your vegan school lunches? We’ve had some discussion on this in our PPF FB group. The bento-style boxes are popular, below are some options.
LunchBots This is my first year trying out LunchBots! We will be using the Bento Trio, which looks like a perfect size for elementary kids. My PPF group raves about LunchBots, so I’ll have a new post coming up with info – and a giveaway – stay tuned.
Planetbox A little more expensive than some, but durable and easy to wash. I have this one myself, and now trying out the LunchBots kit.
YumboxLots of buzz in my PPF group about this Yumbox as well. I haven’t tried it. Have you? Share your feedback if so!
Older Children & Adults
The bento lunchboxes work best for younger children, in my experience. Older kids (ages 11+) do not want anything that is cute or noticeable. For our older girls, I opt for plain oil’ziploc or glad containers. They are BPA-free now, and the variety of sizes makes it easy to pack sandwiches, muffins, fruit, etc. I also pack hubby’s lunch, and send him off with 5 or 6 containers including the ziploc and also containers I repurpose from salsas, vegan yogurt, and the like.
Water Bottles
Having two or threeBPA-free water bottles per kiddo is also very helpful. Many times bottlesare left behind in the classroom. I like to fill the girls’ water bottles the night before. It saves just another few minutes in a frantic school morning!
*After writing this post I stumbled on the coolest water bottles – at Winners. Actually, Charlotte found them. She’s at that age where some water bottles are just ‘not cool’… anything with patterns or worse, flowers! What I like about these copco bottles is that they are compact, fit in backpack side pouches easily, and yep, they are BPA-free. Also, they unscrew about 1/3 of the way down for easy cleaning, and also to add ice cubes or citrus slices! And the attached cap is brilliant.
3. Keep It Simple. Kids love their favorite foods, and lunch times at school are not the time I “experiment” with new foods. Unless the girls ask to try something in their lunches, I stick to the foods I know they’ll love and eat. Why?
Because they have very little time to eat (about 10-15 minutes), and I want them to actually eat! I prefer to use dinner hour and weekends as times to work in some new food choices or work on those picky food tendencies. So, keep it simple for yourself and your kiddos. You’ll save yourself some money – and a lot of stress.
4. Rotate Key Recipes. On that note of keeping it simple, make a list (either on paper or mental notes) of some key recipes to rotate weekly for your vegan school lunches.
As the school year progresses, you may want to freshen up the recipes with some new ones you’ve discovered and the kids really enjoy. But start now with a list of some favorites.
Some of our favorites? Chickpea Nibbles (PPF, recipe also here), Simplest Marinated Tofu (PPF, recipe also here), muffins and snack bars, Super Cheesy Sprinkle (PPF) and plenty ofhummusrecipes!
Also don’t hesitate to rely on some quick fixes for weekly rotation. Some of ours: *Amy’s Baked Beans (stir in another cup or more of cooked beans, stretch that sauce!), whole-grain fig/fruit bars, and nut-free veggie burgers.
*Side Note: I often make sandwiches with the Amy’s Baked Beans (+extra beans). Put a layer between whole-grain bread, add a slice of Daiya cheese if you like, voila! Baked bean sandwich.
A weegan favorite: Chickpea Nibbles!
5. Kitchen Gadgets and Appliances.There are a couple ofkitchen appliances that make my daily food prep (and vegan school lunches) easier.
Alarge capacity food processor. I have a Breville, it’s 16-cup and BPA-free. I don’t think you need a 16-cup, but at least a 12-cup (and preferably 14). This is how I triple, and even quadruple, batches of hummus. I also make double batches of veggie burgers and protein power balls (also from PPF, nut-free for school!).
A very good blender. Preferably high-speed. I use aBlendtec.and I’ve had it for about 8 years now.Yes, it’s more expensive than a standard blender. But, it does a heck of a lot more! I use mine daily (usually 2-3 times a day), for morning smoothies. Then, I use the twister jar for things like sauces, salad dressings, chia puddings, nut butters, and the nut-free super cheesy sprinkle the girls love so much. We lost power recentlyfor a full day, and I felt lost without my Blendtec! I use it in many recipes throughout PPF,as well as here on the blog. If you don’t yet have a Blendtec, stay tuned – giveaway coming up! 🙂
I hope these tips help you get a little more organized for the school year. Please share any tips for packing vegan school lunches that will help others!
x Dreena
