Want healthy meals your kids will love?

5 School Lunch Foods To Make Ahead and Freeze

20 Comments

Lunch foods you can make ahead and freeze!

I am all about things that save you time when it comes to food prep.  The morning rush can be overwhelming to kids.  Especially if you are like me, and require your kids to pack their own lunches. If they find it difficult to wake up, or leave too many things to do in the morning, anything you can do to save time in the morning and get the kids out the door is a must!  For the same reason we all love freezer meals, you will love these ideas for freezer lunches.

Benefits to freezer lunch foods

KEEPING THE REST OF YOUR FOOD COLD

A study was published in the Journal of Pediatrics.  They looked at meat, dairy and vegetable items in packed lunches from preschool children (ages 3 to 5). After measuring the temperatures of the foods approximately 90 minutes before lunchtime, they found only a few items that were at a safe temperature.  Overall, about 98% of the food items they tested in all of the lunches were above a safe temperature. Nearly half of the lunches contained at least one ice pack, 12% sat in school refrigerators, and yet the vast majority of these cooled lunches did not meet the recommended temperature. The remaining 39% had nothing to keep the food chilled.

I was really surprised that even with an icepack, foods were not staying at a safe temperature.  Food can sit in the ‘danger zone’ for 2 hours without becoming a risk.  So what is the risk if your child’s food sits in the danger zone for 3-4 hours?  Staphylococcus aureus is the most common bacteria associated with poorly cooled food and causes nausea, and the 24-hour vomiting and diarrhea that is the ‘I-wish-I-was-dead-but-I-know-Iā€™ll-liveā€™ kind of sickness.

PREP AHEAD ON THE WEEKENDS 

So, these are our top 5 freezer foods for lunches:

1) Sandwiches

freezer friendly sandwiches for school lunch

What??  Don’t they get soggy and gross?  No they don’t! The great thing about freezing sandwiches, is that you can make a big batch of sandwiches ahead of time, put them in the freezer and then just pull them out in the morning when you are putting lunches together.  They will thaw and be ready to eat by lunch time. There are a few key tips to freezing sandwiches:

  • To keep the bread from getting soggy, keep the condiments on the side.  Lettuce, tomato, cucumber should all be left on the side.
  • Spreading a layer of peanut butter or mayonnaise on the bread helps from getting soggy because it acts as a moisture barrier.
  • When making PB&J, spread the peanut butter in a thin layer on two pieces of bread all the way from the top to the bottom trying to cover the whole area. Put a layer of jam on one side on top of the peanut butter. Cover the sandwich, label and freeze.
  • Cheddar and cream cheese are good freezing choices, as are sliced lunchmeat, hard-cooked egg yolks and ground meat such as meatloaf.

2) Yogurt

Yogurt freezes really well, and by the time lunch rolls around it will be thawed but still cold.  Even if it hasn’t thawed all of the way, frozen yogurt is delicious!  These homemade gogurt makers are awesome for freezing and putting into lunches.

3) Fruit and/or Fruit Cups

Freeze whole grapes and blueberries and sliced peaches, plums, strawberries and nectarines in containers for cold lunch treats. Fruit cups such as applesauce, mandarin oranges or peaches can be frozen and when thawed are a delicious lunch treat!

4) Veggies

Fill plastic, zipper-sealed bags with carrots and celery sticks and freeze the individual packages in a large freezer bag. Pop them in the freezer, and then into a lunch container in the morning and they’ll be cold and crisp for lunch.

5) Leftovers

More Tips for Keeping School Lunches Safe:

  • Wash your hands when preparing lunches.  Touching your face and nose can transfer bacteria to food and can increase the risk of your child getting sick.
  • Wash out lunch containers daily.
  • Put empty lunch containers in the fridge to help food start out cold.

For more school lunch ideas and tips, check out:

Natalie Monson

I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.

Learn More about Natalie

Leave a Comment:
Did you make this recipe? Leave a review!

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

20 Comments

Well huh. Sandwiches are actually one of the last things I would’ve expected to be on the list. I have frozen the meat before, but not specifically on bread. I would expect the bread to get mushy, but I guess not. I need to try this then!

I squished the bread (with a rolling pin), pb’d both slices of bread, smeared a thin layer of jam, then cut the crusts off and made some triangle sandwiches and froze them. I tossed them in the lunch bags in the morning hoping for the best. This is the first time I didn’t get pb&j back from school and a lecture about packing that gross sandwich! Thank you for a great idea!

Had anyone tried freezing wraps? My son is more of a wrap eater than a sandwich eater.. Wonder if it work just the same?

It depends on how many frozen foods you send. If you feel like the ones you send with thaw completely before lunch, then I would send an icepack as well.

Thanks for all the suggestions! We now make lunches on Sunday night and just pull and go thru the week. With 4 kids, some big eaters, we are making 25 sandwiches, 20 bags of veggies, etc. a week. Wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to be more environmentally friendly – going thru tons of ziplock sandwich/snack bags.

Can you only use carrots and celery to freeze? I would assume that the moisture content of the veggies would change the texture so that when thawed out they are soft instead of crunchy.

Your blog is filled with unique good articles! I was impressed how well you express your thoughts.