5 Back to School Lunch Ideas

Making school lunches feel a little more special doesn’t have to mean making them complicated. A simple theme, colorful fruits, a fun sandwich or cookie cutter, and a favorite character can turn an everyday lunch into something kids are excited to open.

Cool mom Keri Brittains crafted five themed lunch ideas that bring the fun, each paired with a matching good2grow juice. With hundreds of collectible Character Tops, delicious 100% juice with no sugar added, and reusable bottles with spill-proof spouts, good2grow makes it easy to add a little more fun to the lunchbox.

Ready for some inspiration? Check out these five themed lunches that are just as fun to make as they are to eat.

Space Themed Lunch with Buzz Lightyear from Disney and Pixar’s Toy Story

Calling all future astronauts and space lovers.. Here is inspiration for an out-of-this-world lunch, perfect for kids who dream of exploring the galaxy.

Buzz Lightyear on good2grow juice with:

-Moon-shaped sandwich 

-Star-shaped cheese slices

-Green apple “alien” slices

-Rocket fruit skewers

Other space food ideas you can do:

-Asteroid chicken nuggets

-Constellations with pretzel sticks and mini marshmallows

-Moon rock rice cakes

-Sunchips

-Mini Pizza Planet pizzas

The matching character instantly ties everything together, making lunchtime feel like a space adventure to infinity and beyond!

Under the Sea Lunch with Ariel

Dive into an ocean-inspired lunch full of Disney’s The Little Mermaid, colorful sea creatures and tasty aquatic bites.

Pair an Ariel good2grow juice with:

-Crab shaped croissant sandwich

-Seaweed snacks

-Mini oyster cookies made with vanilla cookies and pearl sprinkles

-Starfish and fish shaped cucumber slices and vegetable dip

Other ocean food ideas you can do:

-Shell pasta macaroni and cheese

-Triangle shaped cheese (shark teeth)

-Sea cucumber pickles

This lunch is packed with fun details that little ocean lovers will enjoy discovering with Princess Ariel as the inspiration!

Match the Character Lunch with Disney’s Mickey Mouse

One of the easiest themed lunches is simply matching the food to the good2grow character.

Pair Mickey Mouse on good2grow juice with:

-Mickey Mouse shaped sandwich

-Black, white and red fruit (I did Mickey shaped dragon fruit, blackberries and raspberries)

-Red bell pepper sticks

-Mickey Mouse shaped crackers

Other fun character food ideas with good2grow pairings you can do:

-Halloween lunch with Disney and Pixar Monsters Inc. characters

-All things green lunch with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle characters

-Princess tea party lunch with any Disney Princess characters

The Mickey Mouse lunch is her favorite out of all of these lunch ideas. The colors combined with Mickey Mouse shapes throughout looks so fun and yummy! You can use this concept with almost any character your child loves, making it easy to create new lunch combinations throughout the school year.

Letter Lunch Challenge with Marvel’s Spider-Man

This one turns lunchtime into a game! Choose one letter of the alphabet and pack foods that all begin with that letter.

For an “S” lunch, she paired a Spider-Man on good2grow juice with:

-Spider shaped sandwich

-Strawberries

-Sun Chips

Other “S” ideas you can do:

-String cheese

-Snap peas

Kids have so much fun figuring out the theme before they start eating, and it’s an easy way to keep lunches interesting without a lot of extra work.

Hawaiian Disney’s Lilo & Stitch Lunch with Stitch

If your kids love Stitch, this tropical-inspired lunch is sure to transport them to the Hawaiian Islands just like in the movie!

Pair Disney’s Stitch on good2grow juice with:

-“Pudge the Fish” peanut butter and jelly sandwich

-Fresh pineapple chunks

-Yogurt beach with Graham Cracker sand and character gummies (I used dye-free food coloring to make the yogurt blue like the ocean)

-Hibiscus flower shaped cheese cut-outs

Other Lilo & Stitch food ideas you can do:

-Tropical fruit such as mango, banana or papaya

-Sweet Hawaiian roll sliders

-Mini pineapple pizzas

The Hawaiian and beach inspired foods make this lunch feel like a mini island vacation right in the lunchbox!

Tips for Creating Fun Lunch Themes

-You don’t need fancy supplies or hours of prep to make themed lunches memorable. A few simple tricks go a long way:

-Keep a few cookie cutters and/or sandwich cutters on hand for shaping sandwiches, produce and cheese.

-Use colorful fruits and vegetables to match your theme.

-Reuse bento-style containers to separate foods and keep everything organized.

-Let your child help choose the character for their good2grow juice each week.

-Look for character packaging and snacks at the grocery store (ex. Character shaped crackers).

-Seal it with a character quote on a sticky note to match the theme.