New Generation Sack Lunch. 22+ Ideas for the "Main Course"

Okay, I am completely guilty of packing the same old, same old sack lunches for my son. He doesn't really care for sandwich meat, and since his school has no way of heating up a meal, I have to resort to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and honey sandwiches as his "main course". Well I did a little research and found some new ideas to put in kids' school lunches. I can't wait to try them out!

1.  Cookie cutter sandwiches that add to the fun of eating a sandwich. I cut my son's sandwiches in rectangles and triangles and sometimes two pieces and sometimes four just to mix it up. Here is a spin on that:

Though it does waste quite a bit of the sandwich. That is the drawback, but right now my son is so burned out on PB&J he doesn't eat ANY part of it, so something is more than what he is eating now.
2. Another cookie cutter sandwich, but this one doesn't waste so much. The Two-toned sandwich. Makes it a little more fun to eat I think. This came from Family Fun. They used a medium sized cookie cutter and a small one to make this. Love it. And you can use the other pieces for another sandwich for another child or put it on the back of the sandwich so both sides are decorative. You can also make it easier and just use one cookie cutter.

3. Here's another idea: Sandwich on a stick.

Some ideas: meat, cheese, lettuce, croutons, grape tomatoes, pickles, olives, and bread.
4. This one is kind of gross to me, but heck if it gets your kids to eat it and makes it fun why not, right? Sandwich Art. To make this you pour a little milk into a few cups and add a few drops of food coloring to each cup of milk. Then you paint your picture (or your kids) with the colored milk with CLEAN paintbrushes and then toast the bread. Interesting, huh?

  

5. Blossom sandwiches. Again another twist on the cookie cutter sandwiches. This one is specifically for PB&J's.

 6. Sandwich Wraps. If your kids like sandwich meat. The wraps in the picture below have: ranch dressing, BBQ sauce, lettuce, cheese, avocado, olives, bell peppers, turkey, and cherry tomatoes.

7. Pinwheel Wraps. A little simpler than above and cut into smaller pieces. I have a recipe I found a long time ago that had this same idea but for the "filling" they used peanut butter, honey, and granola. Sounds pretty delish to me!

 8. Pasta Salad. If your kids like pasta salad.

 9. Peanut Butter & bananas. I have had a lot of people tell me about this, but I haven't been brave enough to try it myself. A lot of people I know seem to like it, so I'm going to add it. You can try other blends too like, pb & apple slices, raisins, honey, or pretzels.

 10. Yogurt with berries and granola. Super healthy! Easy to keep cool in a lunch box.

Other ideas that I don't have pictures for:
11. Sandwiches in pita bread. You can make a pb&j in a pita or put the usual meat and cheese, or you could do something like chicken salad.
12. Bagels. I actually put bagels in my son's lunch every now and then. You can put regular or strawberry (or any other available flavor) cream cheese on it, or make a bagel sandwich. Again I saw a picture of someone making a bagel into a pb&j. Change it up: Use mini bagels.
13.

Forgot I had this picture. Crackers and cheese/meat buffet.
14. Fruit Kabobs, or a mix of fruit and cheese cubes
15. Celery sticks with peanut butter and raisins (Ants on a log)
16. Soup in a thermos
17. Salad (Fruit or veggie)
18. Muffins with butter and jelly
19. Noodle Soup Cups. If your school provides a faucet for hot water. This one is a little iffy for little ones though.
20. BBQ chicken sandwich, cold
21. Egg Salad Sandwich, Tuna Sandwich, BLT's, banana bread...
22. Okay and I just thought of this one as I was typing: Fresh Fruit Smoothie in a thermos. Think it would stay cold enough until lunch in a thermos? Probably. Again, super healthy and kids love smoothies. Try it out!

Well there you go. 22+ sack lunch ideas to try out with your kids if they're getting bored with the usual. Maybe the next post will be on sack lunch SIDES. Those are easier with a much bigger selection than the main though. I would like to hear from YOU. What do YOU pack in your kids lunches? Share with us!

External Sources: http://familyfun.go.com/back-to-school/back-to-school-lunches-snacks/
                        http://recipes.familyeducation.com/slideshow/lunch/66587.html