Posted on by Jenny

3 Flavor-Themed School Lunch Ideas ( + Kroger gift card giveaway!)

Kroger MIU collage

 

Guess what? My big kids start back to school ONE WEEK from today! Guess who’s excited?? THIS GIRL! You guys know how I am…I’m a happier mom when we’re on the school schedule and Jonah and I have our “alone” time. We’ve had a fun summer, but I. Am. READY.

So, when Kroger came to me asking if I’d like to be in on a back-to-school lunch-making challenge, I was all for it. My engine was already revved up! Now, I am not very creative with school lunches, but that’s pretty much because my kids are p-i-c-k-y, especially Sophie. So instead of designing my delicious, nutritious, affordable school lunch ideas around a cutesy theme, I designed them around FLAVOR. Flavors that I KNOW my kids will eat. And so, I present to you:

Lunches collage 2

Of course I made all of these ideas with ingredients I bought at my local Kroger, at a price that’s nice! I’m still enjoying their fuel points I earn for purchasing and loading their easy-peasy digital coupons  (you can click right there to load some – you’re welcome!) to my Kroger Plus card to help me save too. Another thing I love about Kroger? My kids’ school receives 4% back on my purchases as part of the Kroger Community Rewards program. A BIG bonus!!

So anyway. You know I love Kroger. (Especially when there’s a mega-event, right?!?!) Here are the school lunch ideas I made for my kiddos based on their favorite flavors.

Berry Bonanza

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My kids, they love the berries! Here’s what I used for this lunch.

Kroger Brand Yogurt & Berries rice cakes $1.39

Old El Paso flour tortillas $1.97

Kroger Brand creamy peanut butter $2.00

Polaner All-Fruit spreadable raspberry fruit $2.69

Driscoll’s blueberries $2

Driscoll’s strawberries $2.50

And here’s how it turned out:

Berry Bonanza Collage

I sliced the strawberries, left the blueberries whole, threw in some rice cakes, and made a peanut butter and raspberry wrap. Yum! A very fruity twist on the regular PB&J, with lots of sweet fruit and a crunchy flavored rice cake treat.

Next up? The kids’ very favorite flavor of all:

Peanut Butter Blitz

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For this lunch I used:

Kroger Brand Round Top wheat bread $1.00

Kroger Brand bagged apples  $3.99

Kroger Brand peanut butter $2.00

Kroger Simple Truth brand lemon-yogurt covered almonds (sooo GOOD) $3.79

Kroger Brand celery hearts $1.49

Here’s how I created a Peanut Butter-themed lunch!

PeanutButterBlitz

For this lunch I made a classic peanut butter sandwich (PB only is Sophie’s favorite!), added in some crunchy celery smothered in peanut butter, sliced apples, and a container of peanut butter for dipping. A sweet bonus? Simple Truth lemon yogurt-covered almonds – a different kind of nut flavor, but one that both my kids devour! I love the products from the Simple Truth line!

And now, for my last creative lunch idea:

The Cheeser Pleaser

I personally adore cheese and I am very suspicious of anyone who doesn’t! Here’s what I used to put this lunch together.

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Cheez-it crackers $2.88 (only $1.88 after the mega-event, HOLLA!)

Hillshire Farm honey ham lunch meat $3.99

Kraft American cheese singles $2.99 ($1.99 after the mega-event!)

Old El Pasto flour tortillas $1.97

Kraft string cheese $3.49

Kroger Brand baby carrots $1.49

Here’s how I put together these cheesy treats:

Cheeser Pleaser

This is pretty much as simple as it can be! I made a wrap sandwich out of the tortillas, ham, and cheese singles. The string cheese stands alone as do the Cheez-its (one of Sophie’s main food groups, by the way), and I added the carrots because they were orange and healthy. This is a very cheese, crunchy, satisfying lunch!

So, what do you think of my school lunch creations? I think they’re simple and tasty – just the way my kids like them! I hope you really like them and will re-pin them by clicking here (this goes directly to the pin) – because I’m in a contest with other bloggers to win a $250 Kroger gift card, and the blogger with the most re-pins wins! You have to re-pin the original pin I linked to. Pinning it yourself won’t count, so please re-pin and help a sister out! The contest ends August 16th so please re-pin me now! 🙂 Thank you!

To further entice you to visit Kroger for you school lunch needs, I’ve got a $25 Kroger gift card giveaway! Here’s how to enter:

1) Leave a comment on this post telling me what YOUR favorite school lunch was as a child

2) Re-pin my pin (click here to re-pin – don’t create a new pin!) and then come back to this post and leave a separate comment letting me know you did so.

It’s that easy! The giveaway will end August 16th as 5 pm –  happy entering and re-pinning!

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95 Replies to “3 Flavor-Themed School Lunch Ideas ( + Kroger gift card giveaway!)”

  1. My favorite lunch was peanut butter & jelly sandwich and Doritos. I was very picky too and always had the same sandwich everyday!

  3. My school lunch: turkey and cheese on a bun, fat-free trolley cakes, pretzels and a diet coke. So healthy…

  9. My favorite lunch back in the day was PB&J (crunchy, of course) & Lay’s chips :). Classic…and easy to make, but not necessarily the most nutritious :).

  13. My fav lunch was bologna w mustard and frito chips inside for crunch! Still love it, but can’t eat bologna much anymore due to sodium.

  15. My favorite lunch was toasted cheese sandwiches and the salad bar we used to have in high school. I was not a big fan of taking my lunch! My brother on the other hand, had a PB&J every day of his school life from kindergarten to 12th grade.

  24. My favorite lunch was a ham & cheese sandwich with chips. I would always open the sandwich up and put some of the chips on the sandwich. YUM, YUM, YUM!! I love your berry lunch, looks tasty!

  25. I pinned it…..oh wait, who am I kidding, I don’t have a Pinterest and it is better that way!! 🙂

  30. I repinned. This will be my first year regularly packing lunches for my oldest. Yikes! My favorite school lunch was also the reason for my childhood obesity: ham and cream cheese roll ups.

  32. I repinned! This will go great with the printable lunch box Bible verse cards I was pinning earlier today!

  40. I rarely packed as a kid, but always loved it when we had a field trip and my mom went to the store and got me special lunch-packing treats. My kids always pack. One of their long-time favorites is a tortilla shell, spread with refried beans, topped with taco sauce and shredded cheese; roll it up and slice.

  50. I am very sure that I don’t comprehend the difference between a Pin and a Re-pin, being an ignoramus, but I followed your link and I will share your post. Don’t enter me for the giveaway though because we don’t have Kroger. Just double enter someone who really needs it. 🙂

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