Let’s be brutally honest here, packing lunches every day is the worst chore on the planet. I don’t know how these moms can do the fun shaped sandwiches, and beautiful bento boxes. I need simple back to school lunch and snack ideas that won’t cause stress. Listen, I don’t want to cry out of frustration, over packing lunches, and snacks. It’s not fun. I prefer to cry when I run out of my favorite whiskey. Believe it. Going back to school shouldn’t bring me anxiety!

Simple back to school lunch and snack ideas that won’t cause stress

Since I cave under pressure when it comes to packing lunches, and snacks, I figured you’d rather hear some advice from an expert! Terra Wellington was nice enough to provide me with a little video, to help offer lunch, as well as snack, ideas. Me? I’d say throw some bread at the kids as they walk out the door, and hope for the best! Terra has much healthier options, so take a look!

Novice advice from Mama Sunflower

Now that you’ve seen an expert give you tips, let’s see what a total novice will provide you with…. PS – I’m the novice. Basically, I just know what I like, and what I don’t feel totally guilty about offering my kids. Honestly, in a perfect world, my kids would love all the same foods, and all those foods would be nutritious. Fruits, veggies, fiber, protein, and of course, only natural sugars. HAHAAAAA. Yeah, right.

Like most kids, my little sunflowers love Doritos, Lucky Charms, Gatorade, and all things completely unhealthy for them. However, my Little Miss does enjoy almost all fruits, while The Boy is learning to enjoy MORE fruits beyond cherries, green grapes, soft peaches (can’t be hard, but rather cut off the pitt and soft,) and blueberries. He finally tried cantaloupe, and loved it. PHEW.

Vegetables? My daughter loves carrots, but only raw. She’s a big fan of brussels sprouts, which I find totally odd. The Boy? He’ll eat odd stuff like peas, and green beans. But heaven forbid you put a piece of carrot in front of him. Oddballs, both of them.

We attempt to keep all of these types of fresh goodies on hand. However, when we’re packing school snacks to be eaten in the classroom while doing WORK, or running around, I need stuff that’s packaged. Life’s easier when it’s in a package. One option? Chia bars, where the first ingredient is actually Chia, go figure!

Health Warrior Chia Bars

When a package says it’s made of something, and that something is the last ingredient in the ingredient list, it raises some questions. At least it does for me. When I was sent Health Warrior Chia Bars, I was skeptical. I just thought it was going to be the same story, and Chia seeds would be that last ingredient listed on the backs of the packages. It wasn’t, the superfood was listed first. Even better? It’s got brain-boosting omega-3s, along with fiber, and just about 5 grams of sugar. Not too shabby!

We know how I love when brands give back, right? I’m fairly certain everyone knows that about me by now. Well, if you buy the Health Warrior Chia Bars at Whole Foods, Health Warrior will donate $.10 for every bar sold until September 13th. It’s donating to the Whole Kids Foundation, which provides kids with healthy food choices by building school gardens, and training programs for teachers.

Pretty sweet, right? Yeah, I think I nailed it on this one, guys. Personally, the kids are very into the Dark Chocolate Cherry, because we’re big on dark chocolate, and cherries, around these parts. I rather enjoy the Banana Nut, as well as the Mango, bars. The jury’s still out on the Coffee bars, but I’ll have to try it again.

What’s your go-to school lunch, and on-the-go snacks, for your kids when school starts back up? Share in the comments below!