This week is “Back To School Week” at 1 cup Awesome. The last two days we’ve posted remakes of some of our favorite school lunches. But we know school lunches today may not be as great as we remember them. The sad fact is that the quality and nutrition of the food in most schools is incredibly poor. Because of that, we are all for sending a cold lunch with the kiddos since we know exactly what’s in it. Today, we thought we’d recap some of our past Food Face-Off Fridays’ and 5 Favorite Things to help you pick the best items for your child’s cold lunch.
We found these items on our 5 Favorites lists and thought they would be perfect for the lunchbox!
Peanut Butter Pretzels, PopChips, and Chobani Champs yogurt
Or if you’re looking to go the homemade route, check out these goodies!
We also tried our hand at homemade fruit roll-ups. They are super simple and only require a few things.
Homemade Fruit Roll-Ups
1 cup fruit preserves (we used strawberry)
3 tsp cornstarch
Preheat oven to 225°F. Line a medium baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly spray the parchment with cooking spray. Mix preserves and cornstarch. Spread the mixture out on the parchment as thin as you can, creating 8 x 12 inch rectangle. Bake for an hour. Cool completely. Trim the parchment and cut into strips using kitchen shears. Roll up!
These turned out really well…very sweet and tasty! Next time we’ll try to get the preserves spread out even thinner. Ours were a tad thicker than you would expect fruit leather to be. Give it a shot! They’re so fun and easy to make!
Of course the best options for lunch boxes are fresh fruits and vegetables. They’re always ready to go! But when you need to stock up on all the other stuff (anything with a label) pull out your smartphone and put the Fooducate app to use. This app is amazing! It will give each product a grade based on nutrition and ingredients, then give you other healthier alternatives. It is awesome!!!
Hopefully this helps you pack school lunches that your kids love and that you can feel good about. Good luck!
Were you a hot lunch or cold lunch kid?
Whhaaaaaat!? Homemade fruit roll ups?! Love it!!!
I know, right!!!
Ooh! Can’t wait to try those fruit roll ups!
We’re at a nut-free school, so that limits snack and lunch options a bit. I KNOW my kids would flip for the fruities, though!
Oh wow…hadn’t even thought about nut-free schools. My, how times have changed. Marley is just now entering school, so these new realities are about to hit us!
We were always cold lunch kids but we could get hot lunch once a week. Had a choose wisely when the menu for the week came out. Thought we were such nerds bringing cold lunch every day, but now I appreciate it!
Will have to try these fruit strips. I made mine with real strawberries blended up and agave nectar. Both super easy, healthy and cheaper than the store!!
That’s funny. We both grew up hot lunch and our parents didn’t really want us bringing food from home. Just the opposite of your family.
I love your blog. It is filled with so many great ideas. Thanks so much!!!!
You need to write a cookbook. I’m not kidding. Esp one for kids- I love these ideas.
Just found your website, and fell in love. I have a second grader that I pack lunches for everyday because of the unhealthy school lunch choices. I have seen homemade fruit roll up recipes before, but it called for a dehydrator.. This one is easy peasy! Thank you!
Thanks Sarah! So are so glad you love our site! We did have a friend make them and she used waxed paper instead of parchment paper. So just be sure to use parchment paper and they should turn out great!