Top 5 Lunch Box Meals

When packing lunches it is easy to get in a rut. A person can only eat so many ham and cheese on wheat sandwiches before the are craving variety. I am always on the lookout for new things to pack in my family's lunches. With back to school time fast approaching, the kids and I hit the kitchen for some experimenting. I wanted to find healthy, yet tasty meals that the kids would really enjoy. We had a great time together and I learned a few things in the process. After much cooking and taste testing, here are what my kids choose as their top 5 lunch box meals.

1. Veggie melt wrap, strawberry fruit on the bottom yogurt, and water. This was the hands down favorite, proving that healthy can be delicious! I found the recipe, along with the suggestions for the whole meal at Discovery Health. We all loved the flavors combined in this wrap. It was very tasty! I like that it is filling without being too heavy. The kids just loved that it has vegetables and cheese in it. It is very tasty and not your ordinary lunch box fare.

2. Next is mexican cream cheese roll ups, carrot sticks, zoo food, and milk. This had finger food appeal, which I've noticed most kids love. The Roll Ups had great flavor, that kids and adults alike enjoyed. The dessert, zoo food, is a trail mix that little ones just love. Cold milk went perfectly with this meal. Both these recipes came from Recipe Zaar.

3. Then we have this great bagel sandwich I found over at Kraft Foods. The kids really enjoyed the do it yourself part of this, so I think it would be best to pack all the ingredients separately and let them assemble them at school. These were quite tasty and the whole family enjoyed them. We served these with pretzel sticks, as shown in Kraft's photo, and had apple juice to drink.

4. Pizza quesadillas that I found on the Whole Foods Market web site were another huge hit. The kids truly inhaled them! The flavors were fantastic and the adults enjoyed them just as much as the kids. We served these with fruit salad and water.

5. Taco roll ups rounded out the top five. Again we all really enjoyed them. I preferred mine dipped in picante sauce. We served these with cold corn salad, strawberries, and milk. This recipe is another Recipe Zaar discovery.

These were our family's top five lunch box meals. I find it interesting that there is not a "real" sandwich on the list. We tried several, but everyone seemed to prefer the unusual. Not only are these not your standard lunch fare, but they are all recipes the kids helped to prepare, which I feel added to their popularity. So, I am going to really get my kids involved in the lunch making process from now on. Not only do they seem to eat better when they are involved in preparing it, but it gives us a chance to spend precious quality time together. So, the next time you're in a packed lunch rut, try some new things with your kids.