paleo school lunches

as i'm sure you all know, we follow a paleo template lifestyle in our home. and with school quickly approaching, i found myself having a little trouble getting inspired to think outside the sandwich for school lunches. i mean, i grew up eating sandwiches, day after day. and before being paleo i enjoyed quite a large variety of sandwiches. 

so i went on a hunt. and while out hunting in the interwebs i found several things. 1) you must first have the appropriate transportation system (lunchbox) to carry such absurd foods not in the form of a sandwich, and 2) its really not that hard. 

in fact, its fun! for me, at least. 

i figured i'd share what i put together for the first week of school for those of you who follow a paleo diet and want to get your kids on board, or if you just want some ideas that don't involve breadmeatcheesebread.

the lunchbox i decided was best for Big A and myself (based on reviews of being spill proof, keeps your food cold for hours, "cool" looking, and dishwasher safe) is the Laptop Lunches Bento-ware lunchbox. 

{LUNCHBOX NO.1}

turkey rolls with string cheese (we give our kids dairy)

olives

grapes

almonds

sweet potato chips

pickles

stoney farm yo kids squeezable yogurt (i like these much better than the other brand)

larabar

{LUNCHBOX NO.2}

trader joe's chicken sausage

paleo waffles (from the Eat Like a Dinosaur cookbook)

creamy cream cheese fruit dip

strawberries

kiwi slices

larabar (not pictured)

{LUNCHBOX NO.3}

paleo chicken tenders w/ ketchup (i used this breading recipe on organic chicken tenders and baked them on parchment lined cookie sheet, 5 min. per side)

apples

carrots

cucumbers

almonds

stoney farm yo kids squeezable yogurt

homemade jello with berries

larabar (not pictured)

{LUNCHBOX NO.4}

pepperoni

grapes

carrots

cucumbers

olives

string cheese

  caveman custard

larabar

{LUNCHBOX NO.5}

chicken salad in lettuce spears

apple slices w/ almond butter

paleo brownies

annie's fruit snacks

larabar

ok. obviously we are not STRICTLY paleo. we allow our kids to have fun snacks like squeezable yogurt and fruit snacks. i do choose what i feel to be healthier versions of those things, but i just don't want my kids growing up feeling left out or hating this lifestyle because it was never fun. i do try to make healthy paleo treats as often as possible because it gets them cooking in the kitchen with me, making memories, and keeps them excited about being healthy. my kids ask, "is this brownie paleo?!" and get stoked when i tell them yes. healthy food can be yummy too. 

anyways. there you have it. this is all just my opinion. we might not even be paleo. we could be primal and i don't know it. or maybe i should just call us grain free. i don't know. 

hope you get some good ideas!

love, tara