I have tons of clean eating lunch ideas and clean eating recipes for kids lunch boxes. Just what you need to get your kids to eat lunch at school. Kids are so much fun to have around during the summer – but it’s getting close to time for school to start. All those wonderful summer vacations, road trips and warm summer night parties are over. 🙁
It’s time to start thinking about what to do about school lunches. I have a lot of suggestions for Clean Eating lunch ideas and recipes. I tried to include ideas that are not too messy for kids to eat and can be eaten quickly. Also included are recipes that don’t need to be refrigerated plus are Clean Eating that kids can take to school.
These ideas are also for people like me. I eat lunch alone and I’m lazy and it has to be easy. Hello, I have a huge problem. It’s finding different things I can eat for lunch. I am home alone for lunch every day except on the weekends. I eat clean which means I can’t eat out a lot because there just aren’t restaurants that are totally clean. Besides, I don’t have the time to go out to eat or the funds.
My mother and my sister have the same problem. My mother works from home all day so she is home alone for lunch. She hates to cook and doesn’t like to spend hardly any time cooking because it takes away from her working or playing time.
MY OTHER RECIPESI have Clean Eating lunch recipes for simple meals and snacks that can be combined to make a great lunch for a lunch box. Most of them you can make ahead so they are ready to just pop in the lunch box. Some you may want to make for dinner and put the leftovers in your kid’s lunch box the next day.
Sometimes kids are picky eaters and I’ve found that they would rather have some of this and some of that and not too much of anything. I know some kids that don’t like anything mixed together so I purposely included recipes that aren’t mushed together – no casseroles here.
Kids really love finger foods, so I have included a lot of Clean Eating finger foods. Finger foods are great for kids – but you might want to include finger wipes for them to clean their hands before they eat them.
I have a bunch of ideas for food that doesn’t take much preparation, like fruits, vegetables and nuts. The idea is to make your own Lunchables specific to the likes and dislikes of your own child and to fit your budget. The combinations are endless. Basically, all you do is take some good healthy Clean Eating snacks and put them together in a lunch box, for a great healthy meal. I think your kids will love the idea. Here is a great example from 100 Days of Real Food: 
I also have links to some lunch box supplies at the bottom of the post that have been helpful to me.
If you do find that you need something to keep the lunch box ingredients cool, the freezer pack is great. Have fun this year sending your kids to school with a great lunch box meal that will help them stay healthy clean eaters.
Lunchable Ideas
Cheese Cubes – Strawberries – Hard Boiled Eggs – Pepper Slices – Apple Slices – Trail Mix – Cucumber Slices – Carrot Sticks – Mango – Honeydew – Applesauce – Pineapple – Cantalope – Cherry Tomatoes – Grapes – Half a Banana – Orange Slices – Plums – Peaches – Kiwi – Watermelon – Cherries – Cooked Snow Peas – Frozen Peas (no need to cook) – Raw Cauliflower – Raw Broccoli – Raisins – Olives – Peanuts – Cashews – Almonds – Pecans – Walnuts – Toasted Pine Nuts – Pistachios – Sesame Seeds – Pumpkins Seeds
My sister has 2 pre-schoolers at home. She doesn’t really like to eat what they do and has the same dilemma as my mother and I do. To add to the problem my mother, sister and I have to eat gluten-free and/or dairy-free AND/or sugar-free. Depends on which one of us you are talking about. We always try to eat clean. That doesn’t leave a lot to eat, so you see what our problem is.
To say the least we find that we eat the SAME THING (seriously) EVERY SINGLE DAY. We’re tired of it and we want options. We thought that some of you might have the same problem. So I went on the hunt for things we could eat for lunch. I thought that I could share what I found with hopes that I can help some of you and myself and my mom and sister at the same time.
The other important stipulation is that these Clean Eating Lunch Ideas and/or recipes have to be easy. Don’t forget they have to all be clean too. Easy and clean don’t always mix together very well. That’s another reason it’s so hard.
You won’t believe what my mother used to eat for lunch every day until she got so sick of it. She wanted to throw up just thinking about it. You’ll never ever guess. She would open a can of tuna fish, put it into a bowl and mix applesauce into it. The applesauce moistens it so it isn’t dry.
She can’t eat mayo so that’s what she came up with. Actually, it doesn’t taste that bad. One time she tried mixing a banana with tuna fish instead of applesauce. That was just nasty. Don’t ever try that. I don’t think I need to worry much about that.
The other thing is that I think a lot of people probably have sandwiches for lunch. So, for this post sandwiches are OUT. Especially for us gluten-free eaters. I don’t think anyone needs ideas for sandwiches. That’s all a lot of people eat for lunch, I think.
I know a lot of people eat leftovers for lunch. That isn’t an option for us either. We have a histamine intolerance and leftover meat is the worst thing we could eat. The Histamines grow on the meat while it sits in the refrigerator. But I know that isn’t a problem for a lot of you.
I want to share some of the Clean Eating Lunch Ideas my Mom and sister eat for lunch. Even though we are tired of them you probably aren’t and might like to try some of them.
What my Mom, sister and I eat for lunch:
Hummus with baby carrots and/or gluten-free corn crackers and an apple on the side.
Frozen salmon patties from Costco. Mom fries the salmon patties in coconut oil. When the patty is half cooked, she turns it over and adds cooked brown rice and it gets fried up in the coconut oil. She eats fruit on the side and sometimes sunflower seeds for the vitamin B6.
A handful of spinach with a can of tuna or canned chicken or a salmon patty on top with an avocado instead of dressing. You can have dressing if you want.
Quesadillas made with my Easy 4 Ingredient Spelt Tortillas cooked in a quesadilla maker. Put cheese inside or anything else you desire. Fruit on the side. The quesadilla maker cooks both sides at once so it’s quick to cook. She cuts in up with a pizza cutter.
My mom makes what she calls burger bowls. She cooks a little ground beef in the microwave, adds is to cooked brown rice, adds green peas cooked in the microwave and puts my Chimichurri Sauce on top.
My Mom buys a can of salmon from Costco, mixes it with an egg, some salt and pepper. You can add other spices or things you want like onions or peppers. Then she fries it in some coconut oil and eats it with cooked brown rice. Half a can of salmon is enough for one patty. This work well with tuna also.
My mom likes to cook brown rice in her Instant Pot. She cooks 2 cups of rice at a time which makes about 4 cups of cooked rice. She adds 3 cups of water and cooks it on manual for 25 minutes. It can sit there after it’s done cooking for up to half an hour without hurting it.
She keeps it in the refrigerator and gets what she needs each day for lunch. It will keep in the frig in a air tight container for about 10 days. You can also cook jasmine or basmati rice in the Instant Pot. Specific directions are in the cookbook that comes with the Instant Pot.
My sister buys a can of chicken from Costco and mixes it with greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise. She eats it with clean tortilla chips, grapes or some other fruit on the side. Sometimes she’ll have a little more greek yogurt on the side if she is still hungry. I used to eat that all the time but instead of greek yogurt I mixed it with My Homemade Paleo Mayo Recipe instead of greek yogurt.
I eat My Clean Eating Spelt Tortillas made with either spelt or einkorn flour. I eat it with uncured ham, cheese and My Homemade Paleo Mayo Recipe mixed together. I eat it with spinach and clean tortilla chips and clean salsa on the side. You can buy uncured ham at Costco, Target or Good Earth. Look for it in health food stores. It’s getting fairly common now. Cured ham has histamines in it. I buy my clean salsa at Good Earth.
I used to eat a BLT for lunch every day. Technically that’s a sandwich but I wanted to mention it because it might be a sandwich some people might not think about. I love bacon, so that’s where that came from.
A couple of these recipes, like soup or chili, I suggest making it one day and then eating it leftover for a couple of days after that or freezing them in portion-size containers and warming them up in the microwave.
Clean Eating Lunch Ideas from Other Bloggers
Skittles Recipe – Joyful Abode
Sweet Potato – Lemon Juice – Coconut Butter – Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Oranges or other fruits depending on the flavor.
The idea for making these came from the Happy Creamies they sell at Target. Although these skittles are not quite the same, kids still love them. They are easy to pop into your mouth, carry in your purse or keep in the car. They are as convenient as raisins. They don’t need to be stored in the refrigerator. There are several different recipes here for the different flavors.
Pigs in a Blanket – Rodale Wellness
Whole Wheat Flour – Whole Wheat Pizza Dough – Clean Beef Hot Dogs
Kids love anything with hot dogs in them. Now you can make them pigs in a blanket and they can eat healthily. Yes, clean hot dogs really do exist, see the link above. That makes this recipe super easy.
Tuna Cheddar Lunchbox Bites – Simple Bites
Tuna – Sour Cream – Tomato Paste – Onion – Eggs – Cheddar Cheese
These are similar to a mini quiche. They are filled with tuna, cheese and sweet onion. They are great hot with potatoes or on top of a green salad. They can be tucked into lettuce wraps and tartar sauce is good with them too. They can be reheated beautifully so you can make a double batch if you want to. They work really well frozen too.
Whole Wheat Pizza Dough – Gimme Some Oven
White Whole Wheat Flour – Honey – Cornmeal
This is easy to make, contains no refined flour and sweetened naturally with honey. Great if you’re trying to cut out refined flour in your diet. I think pizza is really good cold.
Whole Wheat Toaster Pastries (A.K.A. Pop Tarts!) – 100 Days of Real Food
Whole Wheat Flour – Butter – Jam
This is an easy version of whole grain homemade pop tarts. These are super easy to make and everyone loves them, not just the kids. These are kind of a marriage between pop tarts and toaster strudel.
Whole Wheat Tortilla Wraps – The Clean Green Bean
White Whole Wheat Flour – Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Salt – Water
This is the clean eating homemade tortilla recipe you’ve all been looking for. It can be used so many different ways. You can use it for wraps, tacos, enchiladas or quesadillas. They are so easy to make.
Healthy Avocado Egg Salad – Fox Valley Foodie
Eggs – Avocado – Lemon Juice – Onion – Real Salt
I know what I said about bread and I still agree but I liked this recipe. I found another I liked better but the blog had a picture on it I don’t ever want to see again. I thought I’d spare you seeing it to. I decided to use this recipe and tell you to put it in a pita pocket (that’s the only reason I like the other one better). That’s technically not a sandwich and less carbs too.
The pita pocket would actually hold more of the eggs inside and it would be less messy too. I think it would be good with some sprouts inside the pita too. I like this recipe because it doesn’t call for mayonnaise. The avocado takes the place of the mayo and I think that’s a great way to go. Avocados are actually very moist. It doesn’t need mayo.
My mom doesn’t eat salad dressings so she always puts avocado in her salad and it replaces the dressing nicely. A boiled egg will keep inside the frig for a long time, at least a week. Boil several then when you want this egg salad, it’ll only a couple of minutes to make.
6. Tuna Croquettes with Lemon Dill Aoili – Bowl of Delicious
Onion – Bell Pepper – Garlic – Tuna – Egg – Almond Flour – Olive Oil – My Homemade Mayo – Dill – Lemon
I remember my Grandma used to make these once in a while. I’ve seen them made with canned salmon too which is even better but more expensive. Bottled mayonnaise from the store isn’t really clean so make a batch of my homemade mayo and use it for the Aoili recipe stead.
Homemade mayonnaise will keep in the frig for quite a while plus it just takes 5 minutes to make it. My grandma didn’t ever put peppers in her croquettes so if that’s too much bother, don’t worry about it. Sometimes I use dried onion when I just need a little bit for something like this.
7. Greek Tuna Salad Stuffed Avocados – Kim’s Cravings
Avocados – Tuna – Olives – Red Onion – Roasted Red Peppers
Well, if you didn’t already know. Avocado is the new mayo. That’s right, now we have tuna mixed with avocado in place of mayonnaise. It’s absolutely delicious, easy peasy, ready to eat in about 5 minutes and healthy to boot.
Ya, I know that’s what my grandmother always said, I can’t help it. Don’t pay any attention to the brand of tuna they are trying to sell. Buy whatever tuna you like. If you want this to be easier you could absolutely just leave out some of these ingredients. You could use a can of chicken if you don’t like tuna.
8. Tuna and White Bean Salad with Kale Pesto – Sweet Cayenne
Kale – Fresh Basil – Almonds – Garlic – Lemon Juice – Olive Oil – Parmesan Cheese – Tuna or Chicken
I love pesto on anything so I think this would be a really good quick lunch to make. You could buy a bottle of pesto then it would be really quick and easy to make this. Serve it with crackers or on toast if you want to. It’s also good by itself and always good with a side of fruit.
9. Quick + Easy BLT Chicken Salad – Real Simple Good
Bacon – Chicken – Green Onions – Cherry Tomatoes – My Homemade Mayo – Dill – Broad Leaf Greens
This chicken can be easy if you want it to be. You just have to be creative. Personally, I would open a can of chicken I buy from Costco. You could use leftover chicken, a rotisserie chicken or you can cook chicken pretty quickly in an Instant Pot.
To cook chicken in an instant pot I put a whole bag of frozen chicken tenders in the pot. I push the poultry button and then the plus button 3 times so it is set for 18 minutes. I like to put enough for a single serving in bags and then I keep them in the freezer.
When I want them I just defrost them for a few seconds in the microwave or if I remember I put the bag in the frig in the morning and it’s thawed out by lunchtime. I like the idea of putting the chicken salad on lettuce shells rather than bread. It can also be used as a dip for veggies or plantain chips or crackers.
Helpful Lunch Box Supplies
Rubbermaid LunchBlox Kids Tall Lunch Kit – Amazon
This are my favorite lunch box containers. They fit good together with each other and they fit good inside of lunch boxes. They are sturdy and rather inexpensive. You can see through them to know what is inside without taking the lid off.
Ultimate Spiderman Thermos Dual Compartment Lunch Kit – Amazon
I like this lunch box for boys. It has two compartments. The one on the bottom has a hard case so that sandwiches won’t get smashed. It also has a thermos to keep foods either warm or cold.
Disney Frozen Lunch Box Carry Bag with Shoulder Strap and Water Bottle – Amazon
I like this lunch box for girls. It comes with a water bottle and they can either use the shoulder strap or the handle. It’s from “Frozen” what little girls doesn’t love Elsa and Anna?
EasyLunchboxes 3-Compartment Bento Lunch Box Containers – Amazon
These lunch box containers work well too, they are just less expensive the the Rubbermaid ones and probably won’t last as long. If your child is always loosing their containers then these might be a better option. It just depends on your situation.
Plastic Food Storage Containers with Lids – Amazon
These storage containers are good for small items. So if you give your child several different small items for lunch, these would be a good option.
Casabella 3-Inch Standard Baking Cups – Amazon
These baking cups are made out of silicone. If you make your kids a lot of muffins they would be good. They are soft and pliable. The muffins come out of them very easily. They are a little pricey but they can be re-used many many times. But then again if your children aren’t responsible enough to take of them and not loose them, they might not be a good optionl
GladWare Mini Round Food Storage Containers – Amazon or Local Grocery Store
These containers are meant to be disposable and only be used once and thrown away. But they can totally be washed and used many times. They are a very inexpensive option.
Rubbermaid Blue Ice FROG Reusable Ice Pack – Amazon
There packs are awesome. They have blue ice inside that can be put in the freezer and frozen. Then when the kids leave for school you can put them inside of their lunch box. They will keep food cool for several hours. Therefore I you can put meat in their lunch and it won’t spoil before they eat lunch. It’s like a little mini refrigerator. They can be used over and over again. Aren’t they so cute? The kids will love them.
Slow Cooker Beef and Barley Stew Recipe for a Healthy, Comforting Meal
This slow cooker beef and barley stew is so easy to throw all the ingredients in the morning and forget about it the rest of the day and have your entire healthy, comforting meal in one bowl! {Clean Eating, Dairy-Free} If your family is anything like mine, then there is no way you could get away with making salads for dinner every night – although I might if I could. My husband and kids would simply not allow it – they would revolt against me. Since I can’t have salads every night, putting together a dinner menu can sometimes feel…
Slow Cooker Beef and Barley Stew Recipe for a Healthy, Comforting MealRead More
Easy Gluten-Free Taco Soup Recipe with Ranch Dressing {Clean Eating}
This Gluten Free Taco Soup Recipe with Ranch Dressing is one of my go-to recipes. I make it twice a month because it’s easy and everyone loves it. It is really good to make for a big crowd of people, especially when you eat gluten-free and not everyone else does. This recipe is naturally gluten-free, so other people won’t even care that they aren’t getting the gluten. This Clean Eating healthy taco soup slow cooker recipe is one of the meals I make almost every week. It’s really easy to make & everyone loves it. My family loves this healthy…
Easy Gluten-Free Taco Soup Recipe with Ranch Dressing {Clean Eating}Read More
Gluten-Free White Chicken Chili Crockpot Recipe {Clean Eating, Dairy-Free}
This is the best Gluten Free White Chicken Chili crockpot recipe I’ve ever eaten. It’s also a nice change from regular chili. I think we can almost all agree that a good Gluten Free White Chicken Chili is one of the best things we could eat! So delicious and everyone you serve will be asking for more! This gluten-free white chicken chili crockpot soup is so easy to throw together with little prep required and makes a hearty meal for a cold night. This is a great soup recipe to make at the beginning of the day and let it cook…
Gluten-Free White Chicken Chili Crockpot Recipe {Clean Eating, Dairy-Free}Read More
9 Clean Eating Meal Prep Recipes for Lunch or Dinner
These 9 clean eating meal prep recipes are great for lunch or dinner. Simplify your life, make meals faster and easier and healthier at the same time. CLICK to Pin This! >> So what is meal prepping anyway. If you’ve never heard of it or heard about it but don’t really know what it’s all about. I’ll give you the Reader’s Digest condensed version. It’s simply preparing meals ahead of time, freezing them and eating them later. Think TV dinners or those little Stouffer’s frozen prepared meals. The difference here is you’re preparing them yourself with healthier clean eating ingredients…
9 Clean Eating Meal Prep Recipes for Lunch or DinnerRead More
30-Minute Easy, Homemade Chili Recipe Plus 9 Clean Eating Chili Recipes
This is a super easy homemade clean eating chili recipe. You can be eating it 30 minutes after you start making it, that’s how easy it is. You literally just throw everything into a pot and cook it for 20 minutes until the flavors meld together. It ends up with a surprisingly complex flavor from the homemade chili seasoning (which is awesome to make ahead of time). {Clean Eating, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free} If you don’t want to make your own seasoning, I really like this store-bought variety. You can also change up the recipe by using different combinations of beans or…
30-Minute Easy, Homemade Chili Recipe Plus 9 Clean Eating Chili RecipesRead More
Best Classic, Smooth Clean Eating Hummus Recipe {Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Vegan}
This is the best classic, smooth Clean Eating hummus recipe. There is one simple, easy secret to making nice smooth hummus and I explain what it is. I also include the option to make hummus without tahini. Hummus is super-healthy, easy to make, and full of flavor. I pretty much eat hummus all the time. It is one of my favorite things to eat for part of my lunches. It is great to go with The Very Best Ever Healthy Clean Eating Pita Recipe or veggies, such as carrots or peas or my Easy 4 Ingredient Spelt Tortillas. Our smooth hummus recipe…
Best Classic, Smooth Clean Eating Hummus Recipe {Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Vegan}Read More