Summer Camp Lunches and Small Meals

If you pack a school lunch every day like me, you may be ready for a break, but I wouldn’t put away those lunchboxes just yet.

Whether your kids are attending summer camp part-time, all day or not at all, they still need to eat. And to help you keep your sanity, keep your budget on track and avoid becoming a short-order cook over the summer, meal prep is the answer. Hear me out: This is meal prep you can handle .

Check out these easy snacks lunch ideas!

• Homemade Lunchable
• Publix deli chicken Caesar wrap
• Turkey croissant sandwich
• Yogurt parfait

Find the links to all these lunch boxes and snack boxes on my Instagram page!

Here are some Tips and Shortcuts that are working for us:

• Use leftover scrambled eggs and bacon in fried rice for lunch.
• Cook hard-boiled eggs and chicken in batches. You can use them in ramen or salad and with pasta or rice.
• Make muffins. They freeze well.
• Cut up extra veggies while you’re making dinner.
• Incorporate foods you want your kids to eat with their favorite snacks. If they ask for goldfish, serve with cut-up strawberries and carrot sticks.
• Stock up on boxed cereal, mac and cheese, canned soups and tuna, bread and PB&J.
• Let your kids practice some independence this summer. Get them in the kitchen.

If you’re sending meals to camp, you’ll want to double up on the ice packs, use labels to put your kid’s name on all the things and send water.

Let’s be friends! Come say hello and follow along at @LunchBoxMafia for lunchbox videos, meal prep ideas, and packing tips. Have a great summer,

-Jenny xoxo

Originally published in the July 2024 issue of Tampa Bay Parenting Magazine .