Healthy Lunch Ideas for Teens

Check out these school lunch ideas for teens by Kathy from Eclectic Lamb.

Healthy Lunches for Teens

I have some special teenage boys in my life. Their school day is long with sports practice and games after school. They were my consultants and testers for all of the teen lunch ideas and snacks shared here.

My teenagers bring a packed lunch and snack every day. Some teenagers may not want to bring a packed lunch to school. The opinion of my teen consultants is that when you bring food from home you can count on something good to eat.

Lunch Packing Tips

Here are my tips for packing food for teens. All lunches are packed in my favorite Easy Lunchboxes.

  • Quantity: For teenage boys, it is all about the amount of food.
  • Variety: Provide an assortment of food tailored to their taste.
  • Leftovers: Plan dinner leftovers such as rice, pizza, potatoes, and pasta.
  • Collaborate: Work with your teen when designing their lunches.
  • Experiment: Try new food in limited quantities.

Easy Lunch Ideas for Teens

Below are five different specific lunches that I packed for my teenage sons. Use each as an inspiration for your own teen’s meal desires and needs. Mix and match ideas and ingredients from each for endless possibilities.

Lunch Idea 1 – Pizza Tarts, Banana, Celery with Blue Cheese Dressing, and Buffalo Wing Pretzel Crisps

Use homemade or store-bought mini pizzas with their preferred toppings. Celery sticks are elevated with a salad dressing dip. Your child will get many important nutrients from a banana. Top it off with flavored Pretzel Crisps.

Lunch Idea 2 – Onigiri (rice balls filled with black beans, cheddar cheese, and salsa), dried seaweed, hard-boiled eggs, Boston lettuce leaves, black pepper, pineapple, and sugar snap peas

Kids love rice, so they will enjoy eating these handheld onigiris. Adjust the filling to include their beans of choice. 

More Easy Lunch Boxes to Pack

Lunch Idea 3 – Twice-baked potato bites, strawberry Greek yogurt with frozen blueberries, carrot, and pistachios

My boys love these mini baked potato bites covered with cheese. Mix up the yogurt with different berries or other fruit. Pack different nuts for good variety.

 

Lunch Idea 4 – Homemade pretzels, Babybel cheese or Cheddar or Mozzarella cheese sticks, black olives, and green grapes

These home-baked pretzels are a favorite of my sons and their friends. 

 

Lunch Idea 5 – English Muffin Veggie Pizza (make your own) – 3 toasted English Muffin halves, cream cheese mixed with a little ranch powder, Mozzarella cheese, sugar snap peas, almonds, sliced red pepper and carrots

Create a more mature Lunchable that teens will enjoy putting together.  Get their input on toppings.

Healthy Snacks for Teens

Many teens have long days away from home with all their extracurricular activities. Here are some snack ideas for teenagers that fit into a backpack to eat after school and before sports practice.

I hope these teenage lunch ideas have inspired you to pack a healthier lunch for your child.

Maybe they will be motivated to pack their own!

-Kathy from Eclectic Lamb

Thanks for sharing these great lunch ideas for teenagers, Kathy! Please visit Kathy’s blog and follow her social media.

 

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46 Comments

  1. Congratulations!
    Your post is featured on Full Plate Thursday this week. Thanks so much for sharing your talent with us and have a wonderful week!
    Miz Helen

  2. I’ve been looking for those three compartment tupperwares for some time. Where to you get yours? Thanks for sharing – my teen does not like sandwiches in his lunch so I’m excited to try some of these.

  3. Hi Diana, you had me at your blog name – I love to ramble on too! I can't believe I've not found you before, you have so many great ideas. I'm g+ following and having a look at your pin party as soon as I've finished rambling on here.
    I have 2 teenage boys who are always hunting for food, they usually end up with breakfast cereal (morning,noon and night) as their go to between meal snack, I will be steering them towards some of these great ideas. Thanks

  4. SO great! I just love these ideas for big kids {or even my husband!!!} Thanks for linking up to Tasteful Tuesdays at Nap-Time Creations… You have been featured… I've tweeted, +1ed and posted on FB… feel free to re-list on your social media…see you at the party next week!
    EMily

  5. Thanks so much for these super ideas for lunches for teens, definitely something I will be using to fill the lunch packets in my home :)Pinned!

    Thanks so much for sharing on Tutorial Thursdays Linky Party, I can't wait to see the cool goodies you share with us next week!

    x
    Natalie
    Marigolds' Loft

  6. You know me all too well! I've actually started making adult bentos. As I write this I'm eating a lunchable style bento with raisins and carrot sticks. Last week was ham and cream cheese bagels with some apple slices and carrots. It really fits in with my fitness goals. Thanks so much for featuring this talented guest blogger and also for your inspiring bento creations!

  7. I'm so glad I came across this post via Marvelous Mondays linky party! I have a 12 year old who seems to be sooo much easier to pack fun lunches for, but my poor 16 year old son has been eating the same things over and over. Thanks so much for these great ideas!

  8. Saving. My pre-teen is taking cold lunch for the first time every. Hoping to get him out of the rut of taking pb and j sandwiches!

  9. Wow, Diana what a GREAT post filled with ideas! I want you to pack MY lunches! lol
    Thanks so much for sharing your links at our "Best Of The Weekend Party"! Pinning all to our party board and pinned this to another big board as well!
    Have a great weekend!
    xo

  10. This is great post for teen lunches. So many back-to-school ideas are focused on little kids. I too brought lunch to school as a teen or I wouldn't eat. School lunch was that bad. Once I started working after school, I HAD to eat. So I brought it. I would have loved any of these!

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