Hi guys, and welcome to the first post in our Sustainable School Lunch series! These photos were taken during the first week of September, which means here in California, we’re still feeling the full effects of summer. That translates to hot hot days, fresh fruit overflowing in our CSA box, and leftovers from low-maintenance, no-heat dinners. Here’s what I packed for Waits’s kindergarten lunch:

• Vegan cheesy crackers (special occasion for the first week of school because he loves them! we buy these ones) and green olives, in the Steeltainer compact container. I love this little bento; the snap-on lid is a great fit and it never leaks. However the divider piece is removable, and it doesn’t really stay put. I’ve mostly taken to using this container for single-items. And for that, I love it.
• Hummus + cucumber pinwheels on whole wheat flatbread in the Eco Lunch Box oval.
• Homemade blueberry kombucha in his Klean Kanteen 12-ounce stainless steel sport top.
• Two gluten-free blueberry mini muffins. I sent these in the LunchBots Rounds leak-proof containers, but a word of warning – this is a set of 2 and BOTH of them came to me with broken seals. I’ve since returned them and won’t be buying them again. So – I don’t recommend LunchBots Rounds!
• Local organic grapes from my CSA box. These are literally the crispest, juiciest grapes I have ever tasted. They are soooo good!

• Oat milk! Our fave, and I try not to use the single-serving cartons very often for lunches, but they sure are handy to have around. I try keep a few in our snack box in the car, since they’re shelf stable. Life savers, they are!
• Half an apple with almond butter, in the Steeltainer compact container. The almond butter did not stay where it was supposed to, which is my one and only gripe with this container (and if you need it to separate foods, that’s a pretty big gripe!)
• Local strawberries from our CSA box and organic cucumbers, in the LunchBots Duo stainless steel container. I have had this bento for a loooong time, since way back in Portland, and it has held up so well. And definitely keeps food separate — so if you’re looking for a split container, this one is ace!
• Homemade blueberry kombucha in his Klean Kanteen 12-ounce stainless steel sport top.
• A taco! Leftover refried beans + grilled peppers taco, in an adorable Lunch Skins snack bag. I love these reusable baggies THEY ARE SO CUTE.

• Herbed popcorn in the trusty Eco Lunch Box oval. I like this container because it has the snap-down lid, but a word of warning – it’s really big. So if you use it *for* a lunch box, it’s great. If you want to put it *in* your lunch box, it takes up too much space. But I usually just put it in Waits’s back pack alongside his lunch box, and that works well for us. I’ve had this thing for years and its held up great!
• Tofu shapes! Flowers and leaves and acorns, pan-sautéed in olive oil, Braggs, and nutritional yeast. Sent in a Lunch Skins sandwich bag.
• Oat milk, in his Klean Kanteen 12-ounce stainless steel sport top.
• Olive hummus with celery + bell pepper + cucumber sticks, in the Steeltainer compact container. This was the last time I used it with the divider. Now I use it as a singles container and I like it so much better that way.
• Them amazing grapes.

• Still working through those local strawberries from our CSA, plus organic cucumbers, in the LunchBots Duo stainless steel container.
• Chocolate smoothie! Oat milk + banana + cashew butter + kale + chocolate protein powder, with vitamins and probiotics added (zinc, K2, D3, bone-builder complex — see this post for why and how I supplement the way I do for vegan kiddos) sent in the Little Green Pouch reusable squeeze pouch. Our school is glass-free for lunches, so I love sending his smoothie in this reusable squeezey pouch. It’s a perfect “snack-size” smoothie, it’s dishwasher safe for easier clean-up, and so far no leaks!
• Peanut butter and banana roll-ups on whole wheat flat bread. These were a hit, especially since I added a drizzle of his absolute favorite – Bee-Free Honee! (vegan “honey” made from apples) I used the Steeltainer compact container without the divider, and it was perfect.
• Herbed popcorn in the trusty Eco Lunch Box oval. This is popcorn from Whole Foods, non-GMO, super inexpensive, and the seasoning contains powdered mushrooms. We LOVE this stuff and I always keep a big bag in our car snack box for emergency transit munching.

• Chia pudding made with oat milk, maple syrup, and strawberries, sent in the ECOlunchbox Eco Dipper. This one doesn’t have a snap lid and I was a little worried about spillage, but it stayed perfectly sealed. Chia pudding was a big lunch hit!
• Oat milk in the Klean Kanteen 12-ounce stainless steel sport top.
• His first school lunch sammie. ♥ With Tofurkey smoked “turkey” and Follow Your Heart cheddar slices, on whole-wheat sourdough. I wasn’t sure how this would be received, but he really liked it. Sent in the oh-so-adorable Lunch Skins “Green Pear” sandwich bag.
• Half a local heirloom mini melon from our CSA box, cubed, sent in the Steeltainer compact container, sans divider.
• Homemade “cheesy chips”. Jeremy and I came up with this late at night brainstorming something fun for lunch. Corn chips by themselves are boring . . . but corn chips sprayed with a light misting of coconut oil, then dusted with salt and nutritional yeast? YUMMY! He loved these. (Also sent in a Lunch Skins sandwich bag – the “Tangerine Orange” pattern this time.

And that, my friends, is that! A whole week’s worth of lunches. I hope that you enjoyed this new series, because I sure am having fun putting together these little lunches!

Until next time. ♥

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Tags: school lunch, vegan children

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