5 Vegan Kid Lunches for School
Look, as a parent to two vegan kids I know the struggle of preparing vegan kid lunches for school.
It’s often a rush in the morning, and you’re about to turn to your usual lunch box favourites that have been on repeat for the last 10 days straight.
Sound familiar? Are you looking to mix up the vegan kid lunch box routine a little? Then this handy guide of 5 Vegan Kid Lunches for School is going to assist you.
Tips for a successful vegan kids lunchbox:
Before we jump into the 5 vegan kids lunches for school ideas, as a parent you need to be prepared.
Kids get bored pretty easily, especially when it comes to eating. My first recommendation is securing yourself a bento lunchbox that has separate compartments that allows variety to be experienced at school.
In Australia, kids are only allocated roughly 10 minutes to enjoy a snack and lunch, so having items broken into different compartments in a bento box works an absolute treat.
Another tip that encourages your vegan kids lunch box to come home empty is to let your kids join in by adding in some of their favourite items - fruit, biscuits or even the occasional special treat item. Having something they have personally chosen and enjoy will help encourage them to eat the rest of the items in the vegan kids lunchbox.
As I said earlier, keeping it simple and having easy to enjoy items is going to be a sure-way to an empty vegan kids lunch box.
Try adding in convenient rice crackers from the store, as well as something to dip them in such as a flavoursome chickpea tuna.
Chickpea tuna can easily be prepared over the weekend, and will last in the fridge for up to a week.
If you’re looking for a versatile snack idea, you can go pass these vegan puff pastry pizza twists. This versatile vegan snack idea can be prepared in a variety of ways to suit your vegan kid’s preferences.
Encouraging them to assist in the preparation can be a fun activity too.
Hot food items can also be another winner for your vegan kids, such as tofu. Tofu is a soy-based protein with approximately 70 calories per 100g serving. It offers 8g of protein, 4g of fat (mostly unsaturated), and minimal carbs. Rich in essential amino acids, calcium, iron, and magnesium, tofu supports muscle repair, bone health, and heart health while being low in saturated fat and cholesterol - making it a highly nutritious addition to a vegan kids lunch box.
There’s a variety of ways to implement tofu into a vegan kid lunch box, but a popular choice is cheesy tofu bites. The retain some of the heat from the morning, try wrapping them in some foil.
Another highly nutritious addition is crispy air fryer chickpeas.
To round off this highly nutritious vegan kid lunch box, try adding in a sweet treat like a vegan banana muffin.
Try this Asian-inspired lunch box idea for your next vegan kids lunch box idea.
Adding in a handful of edamame is another great snack idea. A 100g serving provides around 122 calories, 11g of protein, 4g of fat (mostly unsaturated), and 10g of carbohydrates. They're high in fibre, vitamins (like folate and vitamin K), and minerals (such as manganese and iron), promoting heart health and digestion.
Edamame has a rather flavour-less taste, so you can always sprinkle over some salt or other herbs and spices to make this snack more appealing.
Also along these lines, sushi and gyozas are another delicious vegan kid lunch box idea to implement. A lot of store brands have vegan friendly gyozas, and sushi is a great little food activity to involve the kids.
Sushi inclusions are endless, but some favourite fillings include: avocado, cucumber, capsicum, tofu and even mock meats.
Here’s an option that is refreshing, nutritious and one your kids will enjoy - silken tofu with garlic and onion.
I’ve already spoken about the benefits of tofu in length previously, but tofu comes in a bunch of different varieties and can be made in so many different ways. Silken tofu has a soft, jelly like texture is a refreshing choice during the warmer weather months.
The garlic and onion combination works a treat, but other popular toppings can include a delicious satay option too!
If you’re looking for a raw vegan treat to add to your vegan kid lunch boxes, these vegan strawberry bars.
Here’s a very quick treat vegan kids lunch box idea for you to implement, especially for those time-poor parents out there.
A tasty treat can include mini-vegan pancakes, which can include toppings such as jam or a vegan chocolate spread.
You can definitely try to make your own springrolls, but thankfully there’s a large portion of vegetable springrolls that are already vegan friendly and can be easily whipped up in the morning in the oven or air fryer.
Easy Guides to Vegan Kids Lunch Boxes
The 5 highlighted vegan kid lunches for school above will hopefully help you tackle lunch boxes in a new light now, and give you new inspiration moving forward. If you are looking for even more inspiration be sure to check out my FREE TEN SCHOOL LUNCH BOXES ebook that gives you ideas on what to pack, including some amazing kid-friendly recipes.
If you need to take the guess work out completely, I also have my detailed 7 Weeks of Vegan Kids Lunch Boxes spreadsheet that has recipes, what to pack, tips and tricks and so much more!
These 5 Vegan Kid Lunches for School prove that embracing a vegan lifestyle can be completely uncomplicated. Experiment with these ideas, and let your creative grow with these lunch box ideas that your vegan kids will absolutely love.