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6 Easy Lunch Box Hacks for a Lunch Box Refresh

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Have you hit a lunch box wall? Need new ideas for school lunches? Here are 6 simple lunch box hacks that will give you a total refresh for your child’s lunch box!

We’re 3 months into school and if I’m being honest with you, we usually would have hit a lunch box wall by now. The past couple of years, lunch boxes in August contained the cutest containers, the cutest shaped sandwiches and fruit, and all the fresh vegetables I could find.

Then around October, something hits… or rather I hit something, the dreaded lunch box wall where all you want to pack is some chips and a frozen sandwich, right?! Well this year it’s not happening and that’s because I’m taking full advantage of these 6 super easy lunch box hacks!

Today I’m going to share these ideas with you, as a part of a paid campaign with Stonyfield® Organic YoKids®, to give your kids lunch box a total refresh!

Think outside the [Lunch] Box and Sandwich

If you’re heading towards a lunch box slump, it’s time to think outside the box and the typical sandwich. I know it’s hard to get creative some mornings, especially before coffee, but I have a hack that will totally change the way you pack lunches!

I created a Printable Lunch Packing List that the girls fill out every Sunday afternoon for the upcoming week. They choose what they want in their lunch for the day and that means I never hear “But Mom, I didn’t want strawberries today!” and it also means I won’t be standing in front of the pantry with 3 minutes to pack a lunch.

It’s been a total life saver and one of the main reasons I’m not having lunch box burn-out.

It’s also helped us think outside the typical sandwich and use different foods as lunch box staples – like muffins and build-your-own yogurt parfaits!

Keep Lunch Packing Supplies at Hand

Keeping organized will also keep your lunch packing skills on point. I have an entire drawer dedicated to our bento supplies and while it might look like a lot, a few food picks and silicone muffin cups are all you need to keep your lunches cheerful and fun.

Heat Up Thermos

Warm lunches are something new we’re trying this year and to be honest, I didn’t know much about using a thermos. Turns out, it doesn’t always stay warm until lunch time. Luckily, I’ve got a lunch box hack for you that will keep it warm for hours!

Before you pack your food inside, put water inside your thermos and heat it in the microwave. Pour the water out and dry out the inside, then pack your food in a pre-warmed container!

Fresh Fruit – Apple Hack

Fresh fruit is one of the items that gets circled on our How to Pack a Lunch Box printable at least 3-4 times a week. Apples are one of the girls’ favorites and they stay fresh longer than most other fruits, so we almost always have some on hand.

But packing sliced apples doesn’t always turn out great… until now! This lunch box hack is super easy, you’ll just need a container big enough for a full sized apple, or a reusable lunch bag will work too.

Take your apple slicer and cut down through the apple just to the edge, be sure not to cut all the way through. Pull the slicer back up and out of the apple, then place a rubber band around it to hold the slices together! This will make it easy for your child to eat the slices, plus it keeps the apple from turning brown!

Pack Pre-Packaged Foods

One of my favorite lunch box hacks is packing pre-packaged foods. Not only does it save you a ton of time in the morning, but it’s less messy and can serve dual purposes.

And don’t think using pre-packaged foods means you have to sacrifice healthy ingredients. There are a ton of organic and healthy living companies that are now offering convenient single serve packages of snacks to help us Moms out.

Stonyfield® Organic YoKids® yogurt is the #1 organic kids yogurt brand and one of Moreaya’s favorite lunch choices. Stonyfield recently announced that they’re reducing sugar content across their yogurts and it’s starting with YoKids®, which has 25% – 40% less sugar than the leading kids’ yogurt!

That’s huge for Moms who try to limit unnecessary sugar in the lunch box.

Freeze for Dual Purposes

I mentioned that packing pre-packaged foods can serve dual purposes and here’s how – freeze items like Stonyfield® Organic YoKids® yogurt Pouches and tubes so they’ll stay cold for lunch time, but also to keep your other foods cool!

This is a terrific hack, especially for younger kids, because those freezable ice packs can make lunch boxes really heavy.

When you freeze Stonyfield® Organic YoKids® yogurt pouches, they sometimes make it to after school snack time too! These convenient pouches make them not only perfect for the lunch box, but perfect for snacks in the middle of homework, in the car, and on the field after a soccer game.

YoKids® yogurt is available in other formats too like cups, tubes, and smoothies, making organic snacking on-the-go easy anywhere.

Don’t let a few months of packing lunches do you in, incorporate these super simple lunch box hacks into your morning routine for a lunch box refresh that will last through the end of the school year.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Stonyfield® Organic YoKids®.