Printable Lunch Menu for Kids: Make Packing School Lunch Boxes Stress Free.

If you’ve ever packed a school lunch only to have your kid bring half of it back untouched, you’re not alone and you know how frustrating it feels. Last week, Lydia let me know she was not impressed with the lunch I had packed. That’s when I realized I needed a better system.

Kids want some control over what they eat, but I don’t love the daily battle of guessing what they’ll actually eat (or throwing money in the trash when food goes uneaten). So I created a simple lunch builder system that gives my kids choices while still keeping things balanced.

Now, instead of me picking everything, they fill out a printable lunch menu the night before. It saves time, keeps the peace, and takes the stress out of lunch-packing for all of us.

How the Lunch Menu for Kids System Works

Every night, my kids get to “fill out” their own lunch menu. They pick from three categories:

1. Pick 1 Main

2. Pick 2 Fruits or Vegetables

3. Pick up to 3 Snacks or Sides

They circle their choices, I collect the sheet that night, and the next morning I pack exactly what they asked for. Think of it like a room service breakfast menu, but for school lunches.

Why This Works

✔️ No surprises  They get exactly what they picked, so there are fewer complaints.

✔️ Balanced choices I still control the options, so it’s not an all-snack free-for-all.

✔️ Less waste No more tossing untouched food (and money!) into the trash.

Grab the Free Printable Lunch Menu

I turned my handwritten notes into a clean, printable version you can use too. Print a stack, clip them to the fridge, and let your kids circle their lunch choices each night.

👉 [Download the Free Lunch Menu Printable]

Pro Tip: Laminate a copy and use a dry-erase marker so you don’t have to print a new sheet every day.

For school snacks ideas, make sure you check out this article here!

Lunch Gear We Love

The right lunch containers make a huge difference in keeping food fresh and easy to pack. Here are some of our tried-and-true favorites:

• Sturdy bento box containers that keep everything separate and actually leak proof for such a low price

• Mini thermos keeps food hot or cold for soup, pasta, mac & cheese or yogurt and again leak proof

• Leak-proof snack containers comes in multiple sizes

Final Thoughts

As moms, we do so much of the behind-the-scenes work to keep our families fed and happy. Sometimes it’s the smallest systems that make the biggest difference.

This printable has taken the battle out of lunch-packing in our house and I hope it does the same for yours. 💛

And if you love simple, everyday systems like this, follow along on [Facebook] and [Pinterest] for more inspiration.

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