5. Plan school lunches

Try these tricks to make meals that are equal parts efficient (for you) and enjoyable (for them)—and avoid the sandwich rut. Involving the kids is the best way to get them to actually eat what you pack.

Plan together and ahead

Pick an hour over each weekend to plot out the menu for the coming week. Schedule this in the family calendar.

• Keep a running top-ten (or -five) list of their favorites that you can build on. Then research online or your cookbook collection for other ideas, adding one or two more at a time.
• Give each day its own identity—kids love Taco Tuesday, so why not extend the idea to Meatball Monday, Veggie-Wrap Wednesday, Thirsty Thursday (think protein-packed smoothies), and French Fry Day (using oven-baked fries and pesto-mayo for dipping)? This is where their creativity can really come into play.
• Write or print out the menu at the beginning of each week as a reminder to you—and to give the kids something to look forward to.
• Finally, kids love to pick out their own lunchboxes (and reusable water bottles); look for one with separate, insulated sections for hot and cold items.

Make use of make-aheads

Factor in any big-batch cooking you plan to do for the whole family and mine those items for lunchbox additions.

• Meatloaf or meatballs from Sunday night’s dinner can become a grinder (or sliders) for Monday’s lunch; leftover pork roast and your own quick pickles are the makings of bánh mì sandwiches; extra roast chicken can be shredded for taco or burrito fillings, or sliced and added to green salads (putting some homemade dressing in a jar for last-minute tossing).
• Some items—such as chickpea balls for falafel—can be cooked the night before, refrigerated, and allowed to come to room temperature in the lunchbox (or quickly reheated in the a.m.). Add hummus, olives, and pita bread for a mini mezze spread.
• It’s also possible to use only store-bought items: Create a “fancy” cheese platter with a few different cheeses along with crackers and crispbreads (or nuts, if allowed), sliced salami, honey-mustard, and fresh or dried fruit.

Think inside the box

Even picky eaters will find Japanese bento boxes hard to resist. The kids will like that the different foods don’t touch and will enjoy the box’s many cute compartments.

• If your lunchbox doesn’t come with inserts, use silicone baking cups or food-storage containers. Include little notes or pictures to entice kids to explore the contents.
• Use cookie cutters to form sandwiches or quesadillas into fun shapes for the “main,” or make pinwheels with cheese and salami or favorite wraps.
• Fill the remaining pockets with grapes, berries, apple slices, carrot coins, broccoli florets, or cherry tomatoes.

Martha Must

Packed lunches don’t require eco-unfriendly disposables. Along with reusable containers you can tuck in a cloth napkin—and for an extra surprise, use washable fabric markers to send along a message each day.