Leprechaun Lunches

I don’t mean to brag, but I started making cool lunch box lunches for my kids before it was “a thing” and way before there was Instagram to document it.  I am glad that my kids recognize it…. They follow Lunchbox Dad on Instagram and marvel at the fact that I was a “cool mom” before the social media craze hit. 

 

While my lunch creations were not as elaborate as the ones featured on social media, I did try my best to be creative with cookie cutters to cut out sandwich shapes and creating healthy creatures out of fruits and vegetables.  I always made themed lunches for different holidays or special occasions.

 

St. Patrick’s Day is one of those special occasions where you can have a lot of fun creating healthy lunches for kids of all ages.  It’s one of those days where anyone, even adults, will go out of their way to eat green food.  A lot of that food is artificially colored, but you don’t need to artificially color food that grows green naturally!

 

I went in search of some inspiration for parents out there who want to be that “cool mom or dad” who makes a special occasion out of lunchtime for their kids.  Here’s what I have come up with:

 

• Let’s say you don’t have much time in the morning to create an entire bento box lunch that is St. Patrick’s Day themed. Have no fear!  These cute Leprechaun Hats are a relatively quick and easy way of making lunch more fun.  Using Red Sun Farms cucumbers and peppers, we’ve got you covered!
• Under the same time constraints from above, these Shamrock Veggie Skewers are another quick and easy way to use Red Sun Farms produce to add some fun to your child’s lunch.
• Looking for a little more color? This whimsical Healthy Veggie Rainbow is not only super cute but an extremely healthy snack that can be easily put into a lunch box.
• For the more ambitious parent, I recommend checking out Lunchbox Dad for all things cool when it comes to lunches. He has done a few St. Patrick’s Day-themed lunches that are worth checking out.  He has done so many different themed lunches that his site is jammed packed with them.  I made it easier for you to find his St. Patrick’s Day ones here and here.  Be sure to stay tuned to his Instagram because he will be creating a special St. Patrick’s Day treat using Red Sun Farms produce!
• For those sleepy mornings, you can still make a super cute bento box style lunch with a St. Patrick’s Day theme. There are four different ideas here that can be quick and easy to execute but still remain very healthy.
• Kids too old to appreciate all the hard work and effort you put into making cute lunches? Or maybe they secretly love the hard work and effort, but feel like that type of lunch makes them seem not-so-cool at school?  You can still create some green lunches that will satisfy their kid at heart.  These Patrick's Day Wraps use spinach tortilla wraps along with whatever green veggies your kids like to eat.  Or, to be less conspicuous about it, you can try creating this uber-healthy Rainbow Bell Pepper Pizza to send along to school!

 

Whatever the age, there are so many ideas out there to create specially-themed lunches that are healthy and encourage your kids to eat healthier foods.  Please take pictures of what you create and share them with us by tagging us @shopredsun on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter so we can share too!