When I was younger, I used to be obsessed with watching videos of YouTube moms making their children cool school lunches. What I noticed was that in all the videos, they would have themes that made the lunches stand out each day. I consider myself a professional when it comes to fun school lunches, as I was the kid who needed all of the different bento boxes and a very specific order every day.
Keep reading to find out the top five best ways to elevate your school lunches, because who doesn’t want to see a delicious meal when opening their lunchbox?
5. Bento Box
A bento box is arguably one of the most important parts of a school lunch, but it’s pretty basic, thus why it’s last on the list. Bento boxes come in all sorts of colors and sizes to fit your lunch needs. If you want to start out your lunch experience on a high note, invest in a good bento box that brings out your personality.
I would always force my mom to get me the best and newest bento box for each new school year. But to be honest, they can be customized to your needs. If you just need a standard box with different compartments, they have those, but they also have ones with thermos’s if you’re someone who prefers to have heated items in your lunch.
4. Melon baller
A melon baller is exactly what it sounds like: a tiny scoop that you use to cut your fruit into little spheres. I have always been a fruit person, but my fruit-eating experience was elevated when I started using a melon baller instead of just cutting my fruit. Not only does this give your lunch a gorgeous pop of color, but it is so much more fun to eat little balls of fruit instead of the standard slices.
The idea of balled fruit is also great in a lunch box because it allows you to play with different textures. My favorite way is to make a mini fruit salad with different berries and melons.
3. Fun toothpicks
Fun toothpicks are a great way to spice up any school lunch box. I wish I had them when I was younger, but essentially, they are plastic picks that have fun designs or shapes at the top. These are a great way to either hold items together in a lunch box or just add some color to your lunch.
This doesn’t have to be an expensive option either. While you can get the nicer plastic toothpicks with characters on them, you can also use basic wooden ones with the colored foil on the top. That way, you aren’t spending a lot of money, but still adding color to your lunch.
2. Cookie cutters
This is probably the easiest way to make your school lunches fun because there are endless possibilities. You can use cookie cutters for almost anything in your lunch, whether it be for sandwiches, vegetables or fruit. By turning everyday items into fun shapes, you are able to add more whimsy to your day-to-day life.
1. A theme
A good theme is by far the easiest and most impactful way to spruce up your lunches. Themes fall at number one because they are so versatile; you can go all out or just have a simple vibe. Whether you choose to completely deck out your lunchbox in only blue foods or just use foods that mesh well together, you are instantly bringing some fun into what would typically be an average school lunch.
A great way to do this would be picking something you love, for me, Trader Joe’s, and making myself an entire lunch with my favorite Trader Joe’s snacks. But if that seems like too much, you can combine the tips from up above and find different ways to coordinate them, like color.
For a while, lunches were my least favorite meal of the day because I thought they were boring and unimportant. But once I started adding in some of these elements, I was filled with new excitement to eat my lunch every day. While it may seem weird for a high schooler to experiment with creative themes and such while making her school lunches, I encourage you to try it out, as everyone could use a little more whimsy in their lives.
