Top Zero-Waste School Lunch Essentials for Kids

By Emilie Dingfeld

For adults, thinking about school lunches often evokes divisive memories: the ones we loved (Lunchables!) and the ones we weren’t so crazy about (PB sandwiches). For Joshua David Stein, author of Cooking for Your Kids: At Home With the World’s Greatest Chefs, he recalls his mom’s turkey sandwiches; however, the standout memory isn’t food. “Sometimes she’d write me little notes saying she loved me, which at the time I found embarrassing but now I think is lovely,” he says. Consider tucking a surprise into your kids’ lunch boxes and explore these other must-haves to make their meals enjoyable and memorable.

Pack Their Favourite Meals in a Thermos

Save time and effort on lunches by batch cooking their favourite meals and serving them warm for lunch—think spaghetti and meatballs, chicken nuggets, or soup. “A typical lunch for my kids is a pasta—I love Jonny Rhodes’ Chili Mac and Cheese (see recipe below)—and some sort of separately kept fruit,” Stein says. Serve it in a wide-mouth Thermos that’ll keep food warm, or cold, for six hours. Make sure to include reusable cutlery.

Create Fun, Balanced Meals With a Bento Box

Even food pros like Stein admit it can be a battle to get kids to love nutritious foods, but he presents his kids with an array of healthy options nonetheless. When packing a lunch, it all comes down to logistics, he says. Among his lunch-packing arsenal is a bento box. For kids who aren’t into sandwiches, try a cheese and charcuterie “board” with crackers and fruit—marble cheese and pepperoni sticks are 100 per cent acceptable.

Send Drinks in a Reusable Water Bottle

Forget the go-to juice boxes and pop cans—teach kids about eliminating single-use plastic and drink containers by arming them with a reusable water bottle that can be filled with their favourite drinks or H2O. For really young kids, a lightweight, BPA-free plastic water bottle can be easier to carry than the a larger aluminum one.

Let Them Choose a Lunch Bag They Love

The pièce de resistance when it comes to school lunches is the lunch bag. It’s a way for kids to show off their personality—whether they love rainbows, dinosaurs, or splashes of colour. For meals that need to be kept cool, make sure to load up on cute ice packs. Likewise, ditch the zip-top plastic bags in favour of reusable snack pouches and containers that are so cool you might just want to nab them for your own lunch.

Jonny Rhodes’ Chili Mac and Cheese

Serves 4

Ingredients

• Salt
• 3 cups (255 g) large elbow macaroni
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup (160 g) diced yellow onion
• 1 lb (455 g) ground (minced) beef
• Freshly ground black pepper
• ½ cup (130 g) tomato paste (purée)
• ½ cup (130 g) pepper paste
• 1 cup (8 fl oz/250 ml) milk
• 1 stick (4 oz/113 g) unsalted butter
• 2 cups (225 g) shredded white Cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the macaroni until al dente according to the package directions. Drain well.
2. Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onions and cook until tender but not burnt, about 5 minutes. Add the beef, season with salt and pepper, and cook until browned and crumbled, 10–12 minutes. Carefully drain off the fat from the pan.
3. Return the beef to low heat, stir in the tomato paste (purée) and pepper paste and cook for another 5–8 minutes, to allow the flavours to commingle. Add the milk, butter, and cheddar and bring to a boil. Add the drained macaroni. Serve as soon as the ingredients are well melted.

Excerpted from Poppy Cooks Chili Mac and Cheese, by Jonny Rhodes. Photo courtesy of the chef (page 82) Indigo, Broham Grocers (Houston, Texas, USA)

Explore more school lunch essentials

Pack Their Favourite Meals in a Thermos

Create Fun, Balanced Meals With a Bento Box

Send Drinks in a Reusable Water Bottle

Let Them Choose a Lunch Bag They Love

Jonny Rhodes’ Chili Mac and Cheese

More to Explore