my first "Healthy Lunchbox" post

Hello hello!  I know it's been awhile since I've posted here, and honestly, it's because I really haven't been doing very well on the "eating" homefront.  It's all good though, I'm staying active, and that's what matters. 

Now on to the real matter at hand.....I'm going to start a post series called, "Healthy Lunchbox".  I have watched all of the Jamie Oliver Food Revolution, and it changed the way I see school lunches.  Very processed and un-healthy foods (for the most part).  True, there are some lunchrooms that serve fruit and veggies, but with processed greasy pizza for the main dish, or those icky chicken nuggets that my son hates (he actually hates the pizza they serve too).  So, at the end of last school year, I decided that I was going to make my boys' lunches for this school year.  It's been a great start, but there are a lot of school days left and I'm already running out of ideas....eeeeek!  Which is why I am starting this series, to share with you the fun ideas and research I come up with.

You should begin by reading this article, Waste Not.  This ladies blog, This Lunch Rox, has become my absolute favorite go-to source for fun, easy, doable, healthy lunches.  Seriously, I've even added her blog to my Bookmarks Bar, that's how much I frequent it!  Back to the article, I was astonished at the amount of waste that comes out of the school lunch rooms.  I'll be the first to admit, that my kids have probably been among those that have tossed their veggies.  It's what kids do, which is why I believe that teaching kids about healthy eating has to happen IN THE HOME!  If your kids don't eat fruits and veggies at home, why would they eat them at school?  Especially when they've got a delicious chocolate cake and a corn dog sitting in front of them.  Enter healthy home lunches:

 I purchased these lunch boxes at Ross, for quite cheap, considering how expensive lunch boxes are these days....let me just say that I fully plan on purchasing the nice bento style lunch boxes like one of these, when we have more extra funds:  Bento Style Lunch Boxes Featured on "This Lunch Rox"

......but for now, these will do......

You'll notice that these lunches include a 100% juice, milk box, or bottled water.....

.....I have since changed things up a bit.  In place of buying cases of juice boxes and milk boxes and bottled waters, I've purchased these babies that fit perfectly in their lunch box: 

Now we can re-use without all the extra garbage.  I also purchased a filter system for our kitchen sink so we can have clean water.  The boys will now take water and occasionally milk with their lunches. Bonus:  these water bottles do not leak when latched closed!!!!!!  Love that fact!!!!

Another purchase I made was these small thermoses:  because cold lunches get boring sometimes and a nice hot cup of homemade chicken noodle soup would be delicious on a cold wintry day!

One fun thing that my boys absolutely love in their lunches is what we call, Apple Slinky's!

These "Apple Slinky's" are such a fun way to present a healthy fruit!

So, I'll post as I find new ideas for healthy home lunches!  How about you?  Any great ideas for home lunches?  I'd love to hear your creative ideas!