***Lunch tastes better when you pick it yourself and then eat it outside***

Is it time for your kids to take over a meal in your home? If they're over 4, I think the answer can be yes! Especially lunches, which can be grab-and-go. Free yourself mama. The mess you might have to help clean up will pay off as they grow up and become more independent. Work yourself out of the summer lunch job!

Summer Lunches Kids Can Make

Preschoolers

crackers, pre-sliced cheese or cheese sticks
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
tortillas spread with peanut butter or cream cheese, then rolled up
bananas sliced with a table knife and spread with peanut butter
bananas sliced with a table knife and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, served with a toothpick
simple-to-toss fruit salad - slice bananas, add grapes and berries
"1, 2, 3" lunches, for example: 1 slice of turkey, 2 slices of cheese, 3 strawberries, 4 raisins, 5 tortilla chips, 6 peanuts
hummus and baby carrots
yogurt with fruit for dipping

Early Elementary

apple slices smeared with peanut butter and rolled in flax seeds
Ants on a Log - celery with peanut butter and raisins
tortilla wraps - smear with cream cheese and mayo, lay slices of deli meat and cheese on top, then roll and slice
dump refried beans, salsa, and cheese in the slow cooker on the back porch an hour or so before lunch. The house doesn't heat up! Serve with tortillas chips.

***This girl loves helping in the kitchen!***

8-10 and up

smoothies - check out Michele's smoothie formula here
corn dogs - anything frozen, really, as long as you're willing to heat up the oven
baked beans with little hot dogs cut up and heated - the beans and dogs can go in the slow cooker
Frito Boats - corn chips topped with chili and cheese - stick the chili in the slow cooker, too!
macaroni and cheese
veggies and hummus
quesadillas on an electric griddle on the back porch
bagels and cream cheese - also stick that toaster on the back porch
chicken salad - mom can shred leftover chicken after dinner and store it in the fridge for the next day's lunch maker to add mayo and whatever else you like in yours
egg salad
tuna salad

What's not on my list that you would add?

If getting kids to help in the kitchen is a new thing in your home, you might like our favorite kids cookbooks. The Mollie Katzen series has stood the test of time here (18 years of preschoolers!) and ours are dog-eared, worn, and smeared with pancake batter. -Affiliate links-