The Snacky Lunch is just that – a lunch of snacks. Assemble a variety of proteins, vegetables, fruits, and breads for a DIY meal to please the masses.
You need a quick and easy meal to feed your family. You don’t want fast food, but neither do you want a messy kitchen when you’re done. Where can you find a healthy, convenient meal that will please the whole family?
And can you get that to-go, too?
Luckily for us all, the Snacky Lunch is the answered prayer of busy parents everywhere.
In fact, the Snacky Lunch is one of my go-to meals around here. It’s fast. It’s easy. It’s highly portable. And the kids love it.
Bonus: so do my husband and I!
When the kids were little, they were enamored by the commercial “lunchable”. Sure, I bought a few whenever they were on sale and I had coupons, but once I read the labels a few times, I realized those snack boxes just weren’t worth it.
Moreover, I learned that I could easily sway the children away from the lunchable section of the grocery store — it’s now become a veritable AISLE! Have you noticed?! — without a fuss.
The homemade Snacky Lunch serves the purpose and is just as fun. Throw in a few treats/fun food, and your kids are extra jazzed.
This isn’t a fancy bento box, though a homemade lunchable is easy enough to make. There are no sandwiches cut into works of art. It’s just simple, fun, yummy food that kids love. Heck, adults do, too.
The Snacky Lunch is so easy that I often serve it for Sunday lunch or dinner since it’s so easy and quick to prep. In fact, this is what it looked like last Christmas Day! Yep, I served a snacky lunch. We all love it, and it’s easy. So, why not?
In fact, it’s pretty simple to keep the ingredients of a Snacky Lunch on hand all the time. You don’t need a lot of any one thing. In fact, small dishes of a variety of fruits, vegetables, crackers, cheeses, meats, pickles, and nuts are so versatile and mix and match, this makes for a great clean-out-the-fridge meal.
One of the many beauties of the Snacky Lunch is that you can dress it up or dress it down. Give it a fancy name like a Plowman’s Lunch or Charcuterie Board and you can serve it to adults with wine, beer, and cocktails.
Pack it away in divided boxes and you’ve got a picnic for the kids to brag to their friends about.
The Snacky Lunch
A Snacky Lunch contains any of the following:
- crackers, bread, rolls, croissant, pretzels, or sliced baguette
- a variety of cheese, either in blocks, wheels, slices or sticks – slices and sticks work best for kids
- sliced deli turkey, roast beef, ham, or salami – either rolled or cut into cracker-sized pieces
- veggie dippers and hummus, ranch, or sour cream onion dip
- seasonal fruit or fruit salad
- various spreads like butter, mayonnaise, mustard, or preserves
- Optional Extras: pickles, chips, juice, and a “lunch dessert”
The Snacky Lunch
Ingredients
- crackers, bread, rolls, croissant, or sliced baguette
- a variety of cheese either in blocks, wheels, slices or sticks - slices and sticks work best for kids
- sliced deli meats such as turkey, roast beef, ham, salami either rolled or cut into cracker-sized pieces
- veggie dippers
- Ranch dressing
- seasonal fruit
- yellow mustard and other spreads like butter, mayo, or English pickle
- extra treats for a snacky lunch , such as: pickles, olives, chips, juice, and a "lunch dessert"
Instructions
- Lay out plates or bowls of each ingredient.
- Allow dinners to assemble their own snack plates.
Notes
What goes in YOUR snacky lunch?
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Suz says
Great way to easy lunch it… if only my little guy would eat more of it. Maybe one of these days 🙂
Alamodey says
Thank you for this idea, we used it today.
That is, we will be, after my son wakes from the nap that he's required to take when he throws a tantrum so big that he screams and hits mommy in public.
Hannah says
We do this sort of thing for lunch often. Frequently with the addition of almond butter or peanut butter to dip the apples or carrots in. Gotta love keeping it quick and simple!
Margery says
With all the Kraft/Nabisco printable coupons floating around last month, we have a huge stockpile of free or almost-free Ritz and Wheat Thins. Our favorite, however, is Peanut Butter crackers with apple slices or raisins. It's like a staple in our house, and saves money on bread, too. Son likes to dip his in hummus. I don't think he knows it's a vegetable product! LOL.
Lynn says
Love those snacky lunches! Have you seen those pictures where moms put each item into a cup of a muffin tin? I think that's pretty brilliant, too (assuming you can scrounge up enough muffin tins for each child!)
Shari says
I totally got this idea from you (I think last summer)–and now we eat this once a week too. It's a great idea and the kids totally love it!
CK Nethercott aka Mom says
All my kids do anyway is snack all day long, so I say go with it! Make it easy, healthy, and quick!
Tracey says
My kind of lunch! Thankfully my girls love fruit which keeps it plenty healthy!
Jessica :) says
Great idea. I love lunches like that!
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Jenn @ Beautiful Calling says
It's crazy how some spend so much money buying something that can so easily be made at home!
(I love this kind of lunch at times too – to eat I mean!)
Mindy says
I do this sometimes, too. I used to have some of the plastic lunchables containers that I re-used to put the crackers, cheese, etc. in there. My son always thought it was pretty cool to eat it out of the lunchable container & I felt good that I was re-using it a couple times before recycling it.
Macomb Money Savers says
We do these, too. My son calls it a "snack lunch" and would eat it every day if I'd let him! We purchase turkey ham at ALDI and cut it into cubes, then freeze. For a snack lunch, we chisel off a chunk with a butter knife, pop it in the microwave for 1 minute and serve!
Pepperoni also works well, with or without mini-pitas for making individual pizzas.
Kara @SimpleKids says
hopped over here from the non-supper supper post @Simple Bites … ahhh, the faux lunchable kit, love this!
Amy Dunham says
I do this all the time with my daughter, Maddie (age 4). She loves it and calls it her extra-special homemade lunchable. So cute! Sometimes we use some small cookie cutters to make shapes in the lunchmeat and cheese. Great ideas on your blog! Thanks!
Cassidy Bartasi says
I have 21 month old twins and am trying to become more organized with meal planning and everything! lol..
Melissa says
I do this when we bring lunch to our homeschool group on Fridays. I usually add hard boiled eggs or hummus and crackers.
Jessica Fisher says
Great additions!
annie says
Before I heard the term snacky lunch we made “Kirsten’s Lunch”, after the famous historical doll. Pickles were included with the cheese, meat and crackers. Today I too would add hummus.
karen b says
we have done versions of this for 20+ years……….it makes a great sunday evening snack especially if you have had a huge sunday dinner……..add popcorn also
Melissa says
We love snacks meals! It’s a great way to change up a packed lunch at homeschool co op or when you go somewhere you can’t take pb&j.
Jessica Fisher says
Yep! Great point!
Jennifer Knox says
My mom made these for us when we were kids, and we thought it was the best thing ever. Now my kids love it. My youngest is a super picky eater, but even he can find something to like this way. We are staring down the barrel of school lunches again next month and I’m already collecting ideas. I like this kind of lunch for road trips. Everybody gets a container packed, then we can stop at a rest stop and sit at a picnic table to eat. Wander, play in the grass, stretch our legs a bit.
Jessica Fisher says
These are great for road trips!
Karen J says
We have snacky dinner probably once a week in the summer. No kids here. Ours consists of kalamata olives, feta cheese, hummus, carrots, pepper strips, summer sausage, sharp cheddar and crackers. And usually an adult beverage.
Jessica Fisher says
Sounds great!
Lizzy says
I love your cheese plate! My friends and family would either laugh or groan (I’ll take either!) at the sight of it. Where did you get it?
Jessica Fisher says
It’s from Mudpie. I’m not sure if they sell it anymore, but you can search their site or Amazon.
Lisa says
When my son was little, I started making a “graze tray” (before the brand name snack was around) in a muffin tins. Cupcake liner for the peanut butter (I’m lazy). Apple slices, graham crackers, pretzels, raisins, baby carrots, ham cubes and cheese cubes (toothpicks make it fun).
My son has ADHD and rarely has the patience to sit for a full meal. These work great for those distracted days, when he can’t sit still long enough to eat.
For the mom who said it’s tricky to find enough muffin tins for all the kids, grab some at the dollar store. They’re kinda crap for baking, but ideal for snack trays.
Jessica Fisher says
Great strategies!
Ali says
I love to do this and probably don’t do it often enough. Thanks for the reminder. Your tip that you have shared about presentation really helps with this one and making it a special dinner (or lunch!). It’s always a hit because there is at least something everyone will like.
Jessica Fisher says
So glad you love it, too!
Katie says
We have this for lunch Every Single Day. Bread, a few varieties of cheese, ham and mayo are the staples, usually also salami, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and whatever else we find in the fridge – leftover meats, pate, corned beef, sausage and bacon, pickle…. The kids can get it all out and put it away (and sometimes they even do :D) and everyone gets to make their own favourite. Win win win.
Jessica Fisher says
Did you see my recipe to make your own English pickle?! I know it’s probably really easy and cheap for you to buy it, but I was so proud of myself! 😉