Easy Lunchbox Ideas that Kids (and Parents) Will Love

Thank you CAPRI SUN for sponsoring this post. You can find CAPRI SUN’s four new All Natural Ingredient and No Sugar Added products at most grocery retailers nationwide, including local grocery stores, mass merchandisers and club stores.

As a mom, it’s important that I pay attention to what I put into my kids’ bodies.  There’s this constant balance that I’m always striving to achieve between fun and better-for-them and I’ll be the first to admit that at times, it seems impossible.  Yes, I’m the mom that stands for endless hours in the aisles of the grocery store googling creative lunch ideas or searching Pinterest for ways to turn their food into animals, shapes and creations just to ensure that they’ll actually enjoy and devour what I’m giving them.  While I’m all about finding easy lunchbox ideas that are fun and fabulous, I’ve recently discovered that maybe I’m overthinking things and should instead be going back to basics to create lunchboxes that they are sure to love and that I can feel good about packing. With the idea of getting back to a more natural way of packing their lunches in mind, I’ve discovered that when it comes to packing delicious lunches that they’ll love, there’s really just a few simple steps!

So, how’s a busy mama who’s picky about what goes into her kid’s lunchbox to do in order to create a lunch that she’ll feel good about and that her kids will eat?  Well, you can try cutting strange foods into crazy shapes and hoping that your kiddos don’t notice what they are really eating (trust me, it never works!).  You can try the approach of telling your kids they can eat what’s in their lunchbox or they just don’t eat (they’ll eat their friends’ food every time). Or you can do what I’ve done and get back to basics with deliciously simple lunch ideas that boast natural ingredients and are sure to disappear! Here’s how I make it work!

Start With the Perfect Drink

After asking my kids what the first thing they pull out of their lunchbox every day is, it became clear to me that they were more concerned with what they are drinking than what they are eating.  My first grader has lunch immediately after recess (lucky him, right?) and he’s always thirsty!  It quickly became obvious that instead of cutting his food into shapes and trying to make his meal into art, I needed to be focusing more on offering a delicious drink that would set the stage for the rest of his lunch! After thinking about what he loves (fruit juices) and searching to find a drink that’s made with All Natural ingredients, no added sugar* and no high-fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, flavors or preservatives, it was easy to see that the perfect drink for his lunchbox was the four new products from CAPRI SUN!

With four amazing varieties, including CAPRI SUN Organic which is a certified USDA Organic fruit drink blend aimed at helping parents strike the right balance between what their kids want to drink and what parents feel good about serving; CAPRI SUN 100% Juice, served in the classic CAPRI SUN pouch, 100% Juice is a refreshing juice drink offering ¾ cup of fruit juice per pouch; CAPRI SUN Fruit & Veggie Blends, previously known as Super V, CAPRI SUN Fruit & Veggie Blends is packed with yummy fruit and veggie juices, giving kids delicious fruit juice with ½ cup of fruit and veggie juice per pouch; and NEW CAPRI SUN Fruit Refreshers, a convenient beverage made with a simple combination of all-natural fruit juice and filtered water that has an awesome taste kids love without the sugar that mom doesn’t want. Fruit Refreshers also have 50% less sugar than the average leading fruit juices**

I’m finding that packing the perfect refreshing drink for my kid’s lunches is something I don’t ever have to think twice about!  In fact, with their four new varieties, CAPRI SUN is allowing me to take a drink that my kiddos have loved for years and offer it to them in a new and innovative way with options and ingredients that fit my preferences for their dietary needs!

Since I’m able to start their lunches with a drink that they love while offering options that don’t contain ingredients that I don’t want them drinking, I feel like I’ve got the perfect beverage around which to build an amazing lunch for my growing boys!

While CAPRI SUN pouches make the perfect, refreshing start to their lunches that I can feel good about packing, boys cannot live on drinks alone!  So, inspired by the natural ingredients of these four amazing drink options that my kids adore, I went back to basics and made easy lunchbox ideas that are simply refreshing!

Pair CAPRI SUN With Meals Made with Natural Ingredients

Since I had CAPRI SUN pouches as the starting point for my fun lunches, I decided to continue with the theme of natural ingredients in my easy lunchbox ideas!  My kids are sandwich lovers and while I’ve always thought that cutting sandwiches into fun shapes made all the difference, I’ve learned that simply creating out-of-the-box sandwich ideas is even better!

Thankfully, my boys are fairly easy to please when it comes to creating amazing sandwiches and at times I think I could put anything between two pieces of bread and they would eat it, but even if you have picky eaters, it’s easy to make sandwiches in a better-for-them way.  Try options like using whole wheat bread (fresh when possible) filled with fresh organic turkey, white american cheese and smashed avocados in the place of traditional spreads.

Another fun idea is to mix up textures and try new ingredients like cucumber slices to add a little crunch!  I’ve learned to not be afraid to add out-of-the-box ingredients to my kid’s lunchboxes.  Yes, they may pull something off their sandwich occasionally but for the most part, it’s an easy way to add more natural ingredients to their lunchbox while getting them to try new items and expand their tastes!

Finish With Fresh Fruit

With a fun sandwich and a great pouch of CAPRI SUN, all that’s needed to bring these easy lunchbox ideas to life is some fresh fruit!  Add a pear or a plum and you’ve got a lunchbox that’s colorful, natural and above all satisfying in the most delicious way!

Perhaps most importantly though, it’s a meal you can feel great about your kids eating and one that they are sure to enjoy!

However you pack your kids’ lunchboxes going forward this school year, I encourage you to look for refreshing, All Natural Ingredient items like those offered by CAPRI SUN! As a brand that continues to innovate and listen to its customers, CAPRI SUN knows that parents want to feel good about what they give their kids to eat and drink and in response to that, they have created four amazing products with all Natural Ingredients and No Sugar Added* that still deliver the taste kids love in a refreshing pouch!  When paired with fresh, natural ingredients served in a simple way, they are the perfect building block for easy lunchbox ideas that kids are sure to love!  Even better, they’re awesome to throw in the hubby’s lunch as well since the taste and ingredients of CAPRI SUN are just as much fun for adults as they are for kids!

But don’t just take my word for how awesome these CAPRI SUN beverages are!

Now that you know why EVERYONE is crazy about the new CAPRI SUN options, tell me, which of the four new varieties are you most excited about including in your child’s lunchbox?

* Not a low-calorie beverage

**Per 6oz, this product 10g of sugar, leading average fruit juice 20g of sugar

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.