It’s back-to-school season!

With the return to classrooms, textbooks, and homework assignments, there’s one aspect of student life that often goes overlooked but remains an essential part of the day: lunchtime. A well-prepared lunch isn’t just a midday refueling, it’s an opportunity to recharge both body and mind, ensuring that students have the energy and focus they need to excel in their studies.

We’ve partnered with ShopRite to bring you this collection of creative, fun, and nutritious lunches that will serve as the perfect midday pick-me-up! From the sweet and classic Fruity and Fun Lunch to innovative and savory Build Your Own Ramen Bowl, we’ve curated a collection of lunch ideas that cater to a variety of tastes. Each recipe is thoughtfully crafted to strike a balance between the nutritional requirements that fuel growing minds and the flavors that ignite excitement in every bite.

Best of all, you can get everything you need to make these delicious recipes with the click of a mouse! Visit the ShopRite website today! 

Fruity and Fun Lunch

Difficulty: Easy •1 Serving • Total Time: 10 Minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 slices Bowl & Basket Sliced Mild Cheddar Natural Cheese
• 2 Bowl & Basket Flour Soft Taco Tortillas
• 3 Wholesome Pantry Organic Grape Tomatoes
• 1 Capri Sun Roarin’ Waters Tropical Tide
• 4 sprigs of mint
• 2 Cucumber slices
• Watermelon
• ¼ teaspoon Sesame seeds
• 1 mandarin orange

Directions:

1. Mini watermelons:
   1. Begin by vertically slicing a cucumber into thin circles. Now, grab a small circular cookie cutter to create a hole in the center of the cucumber slice.
   2. Utilize the same cookie cutter to cut out two circles from a watermelon slice. Carefully position these watermelon circles within the center hole of the cucumber. 
   3. To complete this fun technique, halve the cucumber, and sprinkle sesame seeds onto the watermelon centers. This will create cute mini watermelons.
2. Orange Slice Grilled Cheese:
   1. Using an apple corer to neatly cut out a slice of Bowl & Basket Mild Cheddar Natural Cheese. Arrange the cheese slices on top of a Bowl & Basket Soft Taco Tortilla to mimic the appearance of orange segments, leaving out the core area.
   2. For the next layer, place another slice of cheese onto a tortilla, and then gently position the “orange slice” tortilla on top.
   3. Finally, melt the cheese to fuse everything together into a yummy orange slice grilled cheese.
3. To add an extra touch of sweetness, place a peeled Mandarin orange, some Wholesome Pantry Organic Grape Tomatoes and garnish each fruit with a sprig of mint. 
4. Lastly, assemble these fruity snacks into your lunchbox. Elevate the experience with a Capri Sun Roarin’ Waters Tropical Tide beverage, ensuring a delightful surprise!

Super Star Lunch

Difficulty: Easy •1 Serving • Total Time: 10 Minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 slice Wholesome Pantry Organic Not smoked Provolone Cheese
• 1 slice Sara Lee Honey Wheat Bread
• 1 Tablespoon Bowl & Basket Mayonnaise
• 1 slice Bowl & Basket Thin-Sliced Deli-Style Honey Ham
• ¼ cup Blueberries
• 1 sliced Carrot
• 1/2 cup lime Gelatin
• 3 Candy eyes

Directions:

1. Planet Sandwich:
   1. Begin with a slice of Wholesome Pantry Organic Not Smoked Provolone Cheese. Utilize two distinct-sized cutters to create a pattern by puncturing the cheese, resulting in varying sizes of holes. Once done, set aside the cheese.
   2. Spread a layer of Bowl and Basket Mayonnaise on a slice of Sara Lee Honey Wheat Bread.
   3. Next, lay a slice of Bowl and Basket Thin-Sliced Deli-Style Honey Ham atop the mayo-coated bread. Position the previously prepared Provolone Cheese over the ham.
   4. Take a circular cookie cutter to puncture the sandwich, remove the edges, and you are left with a cool planet-like appearance.
2. Assemble the lunchbox with a handful of  blueberries within one compartment. Sprinkle star shaped carrots over top  the blueberries. 
3. In a separate partition of the lunchbox, add lime gelatin. Carefully lay three candied eyes over the gelatin to create a jiggly sweet alien.
4. This Super Star Lunch will fuel a little one’s journey of conquering the day.

Fruit and Veggie Fries

Difficulty: Easy • 2 Servings • Total Time: 10 Minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 Skinned Apple
• 1 rectangular cut watermelon slice
• 1 cucumber
• 2 Tablespoons Bowl & Basket Original Hummus
• 2 Tablespoon Bowl & Basket Strawberry Lowfat Yogurt

Directions:

1. Begin by preparing the apples. Peel the skin off an apple and use a crinkle cutter to carefully cut the apple first horizontally and then vertically on the same side. This technique will create a waffle fry effect.
2. Moving on to the watermelon, take a rectangular slice and a crinkle cutter. This time, create a long, crinkled slice of watermelon. Lay the crinkled watermelon slice flat and proceed to cut it into slender, elongated pieces. This method will create watermelon “crinkle fries.”
3. For the cucumber component, start by slicing off the top and bottom ends. Now, using a vegetable spiraling knife, insert it into the center of the cucumber and gently rotate it. As you pull out the spiralized cucumber, you’ll achieve a curly fry appearance.
4. Assemble your assortment of creatively sliced fruits and vegetables on a plate. Serve your nature-inspired fries with Bowl & Basket Original Hummus and Bowl & Basket Strawberry Low-Fat Yogurt.
5. Enjoy these treats that combine freshness with fun!

Build Your Own Ramen Bowl

Difficulty: Easy • 1 Serving • Total Time: 10 Minutes

Ingredients:  

• 1 hard boiled, Bowl & Basket Large White Eggs
• 1 Bowl & Basket Skinless Beef Franks
• Nissin Hot and Spicy Chicken Noodle Bowl
• 1 cup boiling water
• ¼ cup edamame
• 4 slices of dried seaweed chips
• ¼ cup sliced carrots

Directions:

1. In a compartment of a lunchbox, add a sliced hard-boiled Bowl & Basket Large White Egg with sliced carrots.
2. Place the sliced Bowl & Basket Skinless Beef Frank in a separate compartment of the lunch box.
3. In another compartment, put 1/4 cup of edamame and some sliced dried seaweed chips.
4. Open the Nissin Hot And Spicy Chicken Noodle Bowl. Pour the included ingredients from the noodle bowl into a portable thermos. Add 1 cup of boiling water to the thermos. Seal the thermos tightly. The hot water will cook the noodles while in class!
5. When it’s lunchtime, open the thermos and mix the cooked noodles well. Now you have your custom Ramen Bowl with toppings ready to enjoy!

Puff Pantry Pizza Rose

Difficulty: Easy • 2 Servings • Total Time: 35 Minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 hard boiled, Bowl & Basket Large White Eggs
• 1 Tablespoon Whole Pantry Organic Marinara Pasta Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons Bowl & Basket Shredded Mozzarella
• 24 Pepperonis slices (4 per rose)
• 1 Watermelon
• 1 Cantaloupe
• 1 cucumber
• Puff pantry

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
2. Cut a hard-boiled Bowl & Basket Large White Egg in half horizontally and vertically, stopping halfway.
3. Take a long cucumber slice and put it into the unsliced half of the egg to make a tulip shape.
4. Lay a 3×5 inch piece of puff pastry on a surface.
5. Spread 1 tablespoon of Wholesome Pantry Organic Marinara Sauce in the center, leaving space around the edges.
6. Add 2 tablespoons of Bowl & Basket Shredded Mozzarella cheese over the sauce.
7. Place 4 pepperonis in a line across the bottom of the rectangle.
8. Carefully fold the pastry, leaving the pepperonis halfway exposed, and roll it into a rose shape. Repeat five times. Add each rose into a cupcake pan.
9. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.
10. While the pastries bake, use a flower-shaped cookie cutter to cut watermelon and cantaloupe slices.
11. Arrange the melon flowers and a hard-boiled egg tulip into a lunch box.
12. Lastly, add the Puff Pastry Pizza Roses for a fun twist on a childhood favorite.