I started the school year (our first one!) with literal lists of things I wanted to pack for my son’s lunch. After a few weeks though, I’m starting to get lunch-packing fatigue! I’m sure I’m not the only one.

So, I spent some time brainstorming some simple and wholesome Bento Box lunches for kids! My son loves the bento box approach to lunch and is much more likely to actually eat his lunch if it’s in snackable portions.

These bento boxes all feature Horizon Organic Cheese Sticks or Single Serve Milk Boxes. These are both great on-the-go protein options for kids. I love that the milk boxes are shelf-stable and don’t need to be refrigerated. They have 8 grams of protein so I even let him have a Chocolate Low Fat milk 1-2 times a week!

Truthfully, my son doesn’t love cheese (is he even mine?!). But, if you have a cheese lover, Horizon Organic Cheese Sticks are the perfect lunch add with 7 grams of protein and come in Mozzarella or Colby Jack.

As a reminder, this fall the #HorizonConfiDANCE campaign will help Big Brothers Big Sisters of America recruit, train and support new matches! Until September 30th, if you post a short dance on Instagram or Facebook with the hashtag #HorizonConfiDANCE, Horizon Organic will donate $5 to BBBS (up to $200,000). Want to see how it’s done?! Check out my ConfiDANCE video in my kitchen! I might not be the best dancer in the food blog world, but that won’t stop me!

If you have lunch packing fatigue, try out some of these great bento box ideas!

Autumn Crunch Bento Box

Autumn Crunch Bento Box - Three Easy Bento Box Lunches

Autumn Crunch Bento Box

5 from 1 vote
Author: Nick Evans
Servings: 1 bento box
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 2 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
A great bento box lunch with mini turkey and cranberry sandwiches.

Ingredients 

  • 1 Mozzarella Cheese Stick
  • ½ golden beet, sliced into sticks
  • ¼ cup blueberries
  • 2 slices deli turkey
  • 2 slices sandwich bread
  • 1 tablespoon fig or cranberry jam

Instructions

  • Peel and slice the golden beets into matchsticks.
  • For sandwich, smear bread with fig or cranberry jam and layer on turkey. Cut sandwich into shapes that fit in your bento box.
  • Be sure to have a cold pack on or in the bento box to keep ingredients cold.

Nutrition

Serving: 1box | Calories: 306kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 686mg | Potassium: 264mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 38IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 139mg | Iron: 2mg
Course: Lunch
Cuisine: American

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @crunchtimekitchen

This easy lunch box centers around mini turkey sandwiches that I make. Find a good cranberry jam or, even better, a fig jam! The combo of savory and sweet is really delicious and is a perfect little intro to fall. You could add any fruit or veggie to this bento box to round it out but I like to go outside of the box sometimes so I included some chopped golden beets in this version!

Caprese Bento Box

Caprese Bento Box - Three Easy Bento Box Lunches

Caprese Bento Box

5 from 1 vote
Author: Nick Evans
Servings: 1 box
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
A simple packed Bento box with class Caprese flavors!

Equipment

Ingredients 

  • 1 cheese stick
  • 8 cherry tomatoes
  • Fresh basil leaves
  • 1 drizzle olive oil
  • ½ cup cooked angel hair pasta
  • 1 teaspoon butter
  • Parmesan Cheese

Instructions

  • Cook and drain angel hair according to package instructions. Toss with butter and some grated parmesan cheese.
  • Drizzle tomatoes and basil with olive oil (optional) and a pinch of salt.
    Be sure to have a cold pack on or in the bento box to keep ingredients cold.
    If you want to keep the angel hair butter pasta warm, heat it up and scoop it into a small thermos for hot storage.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bento | Calories: 270kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 284mg | Potassium: 387mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 0.4g | Vitamin A: 129IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 2mg
Course: Lunch
Cuisine: American, Italian

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @crunchtimekitchen

Straight from Italy! This is a fun play on the classic Caprese salad with ripe tomatoes, a few fresh basil leaves, and a cheese stick. Teach your kids that these things should be eaten together!

On the pasta, it’s actually decent cold (just angel hair mixed with butter) but if you have a small travel thermos you can heat it up and put it on the side also.

Protein Pack Bento Box

Protein Pack Bento Box - Three Easy Bento Box Lunches

Protein Pack Bento Box

5 from 1 vote
Author: Nick Evans
Servings: 1 box
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
A quick and simple bento box lunch with loads of protein!

Equipment

Ingredients 

  • 1 Chocolate Milk
  • 1 Chicken Sausage, seared
  • 1 stalk celery
  • ½ small carrot
  • 1 tablespoon hummus
  • 2 tablespoons raisins
  • 2 tablespoons cashews

Instructions

  • Cook and drain angel hair according to package instructions. Toss with butter and some grated parmesan cheese.
  • Drizzle tomatoes and basil with olive oil (optional) and a pinch of salt.
    Be sure to have a cold pack on or in the bento box to keep ingredients cold.
    If you want to keep the angel hair butter pasta warm, heat it up and scoop it into a small thermos for hot storage.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bento | Calories: 570kcal | Carbohydrates: 67g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 1093mg | Potassium: 1037mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 5150IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 370mg | Iron: 4mg
Course: Lunch
Cuisine: American

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @crunchtimekitchen

Sometimes I feel like my kid’s attitude is in direct proportion to how much protein they have had so far in the day. Lots of protein = happy kids. Lots of sugar and filler foods = Not so happy kids.

This protein lunch box is jam-packed with protein foods. It gets the job done!

If you’re in a lunch rut, try out some of these fun bento box lunch ideas! I think you and your kids will love them!

Three Easy Bento Box Lunch Ideas

Here are a few other great weekday lunch ideas!