Easy Lunchbox Rollup Ideas

Rollups are a great lunchbox idea for kids who don’t love sandwiches but want something that’s easy and fun to eat. Once I got the idea for Rollup Week on Instagram, the ideas were rushing into my head faster than I could keep up with!

Basically anything that you can eat on a sandwich can be rolled up. Here are some of my favorites:

BLT Rollup

BLT lunchbox

Bacon, lettuce and tomato is a classic combination! Here I’ve swapped out mayo for avocado and rolled it all up in a tortilla before packing it in this lunchbox. Here, I’ve used 1/2 an avocado, mashed and spread it onto a tortilla. Then I added 2 slices of cooked bacon, a handful of shredded lettuce and 4 cherry tomatoes that I sliced. I rolled it up and sliced into pieces.

Burrito Rollup

Black Bean Burrito Lunchbox

Burritos are a perfect lunchbox idea! Here we’ve got black beans (recipe adapted from Pamela Salzman) with quinoa (instead of rice), lettuce and peppers. I love burritos because they’re so adaptable. Got chicken? Use that! Hate peppers? Eliminate them! Basically anything that you put on a taco can be used in a burrito and rolled up in a tortilla. Add a thin layer of quinoa or rice to half of the tortilla. Top it with beans (or chicken or any other protein). Add other toppings, such as veggies, cheese, salsa, sour cream, etc. Roll, slice and pack!

Strawberry Sunbutter Rollups

These are totally similar to the Banana Rollups that we pack and love, but different enough to keep it interesting. Know what I mean?
I’m allergic to nuts, so we’re nut free around here. Sunflower seed butter is my go-to substitute. Using strawberries here is a great change of pace from banana. Spread a thin layer of sunbutter (or any nut butter) on the entire tortilla. Add berries in one line in the bottom third of the open tortilla. Here I used 5 strawberries that I sliced. Roll, slice and pack!

Pizza Omelette Rollups & Berry Cream Cheese Rollups

Pizza Omelette Rollups & Berry Cream Cheese Rollups

Here’s a twofer: Pizza Omelette Rollups and Berry Cream Cheese Rollups. The Pizza Omelette Rollup is made with two eggs that I flat fried in a pan. As they were cooking, I added dollops of tomato paste (about 2 tablespoons), mozzarella cheese and basil. With the heat on medium low, I waited until the cheese had melted. I slid this out of the pan and onto a board and let it rest for a few minutes before rolling. Eggs are a great substitute for tortillas for gluten free folks!

For the Berry Cream Cheese Rollups, spread a thin layer of cream cheese onto a tortilla. Add berries exactly the same way as you’d do for the Strawberry Sunbutter Rollups. Here I’ve used whole blackberries. This also works beautifully with mango and mint!

Avocado Carrot Sushi Rollups

Avocado Carrot Sushi

I’m allergic to fish, so the sushi that comes out of my kitchen is always made with veggies. They’re easy to make and fun to eat! I’ve got a tutorial posted here that shows how I make avocado sushi. Give it a look!
All you need for this is nori sheets, rice, rice vinegar, avocado and carrots (lightly steamed). Want to give this a little nutritional boost? Use quinoa instead of rice, or add another protein.

Do your kids like rollups? Let me know in the comments below. Feel free to download these photos and add them to the LaLa Lunchbox library so that your kids can choose them regularly. If you like what you see here, follow along with me on Instagram where I post regularly.

Valentines Day Lunchbox Ideas

Valentine’s Day is a fun little holiday that we don’t actually celebrate around here with any seriousness. Truth be told, the hubs and I exchange cards some years, but we forget some years. There’s usually some baking involved for the kids, but in general, it’s not a big time holiday at my house.

Still though, I like to include some lunchbox fun for the kiddos. Here’s a roundup of some fun lunchbox ideas for Valentine’s Day that I hope will give you some inspiration, plus links to my recipes for Pink Smoothie Pancakes and Pink Smoothie Waffles. Trust me on this one… your kids are going to love it!

First up, we’ve got Pink Smoothie Pancakes (recipe here)

Pink Smoothie Pancakes

You can whip up a batch of those pancakes and use them instead in your waffle iron to get this lovely lunchbox! (recipe here)

Pink Smoothie Waffles in the lunchbox

How about some pink sushi? All you need are some roasted beets to get that amazing color. (Recipe here)

Pink avocado sushi makes a fun lunchbox for kids!

Here’s a super quick idea: use a heart cookie cutter and cut out a bit of your sandwich with it to add some love. Fun toothpicks also accessorize this lunchbox nicely.

Heart cut out sandwich for Valentines Day lunchbox

If you like these ideas and make them yourself, tag me on social media @lalalunchbox so I can see!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Nut Free Lunchbox Ideas

If your child’s school has a no nut policy, or if you’re navigating tree nut or peanut allergies, this one is for you!

My home is always nut free because of my allergies, and here’s a roundup of some of my favorite no-nut lunches. You’ll see that some of these lunchboxes have sunflower seed butter. We usually use a store bought variety for that, but I’ve also made my own. Patience is key with that, but the reward is great.

Don’t forget that the LaLa Lunchbox app has a special Nut Free Bundle available for download to provide you with some lunch packing inspiration. Let’s get to it…

Nut free granola, grapes, carrots, banana, dates with sunflower seed butter

There’s a lot to love about this lunchbox.

It’s got my favorite homemade granola - which is usually hard to find without nuts. If you’re nut free, trust me, you’re going to want this recipe. It’s perfect for snacking, breakfast or lunch, filled with a variety of wonderful textures and flavors, with exactly the right sweet/salt balance.

Here we’ve also got carrots, grapes, a tuxedo banana, a couple of strawberries and some dates filled with sunflower seed butter. I eat that regularly as a hearty, delicious snack and it always hits the spot.

Lunchbox with prosciutto, peppers, grapefruit, pomegranate, dates with sunflower seed butter and chocolate chips.

I like to think about this lunchbox as a cold busting-lunchbox. Here we’ve got vitamin C from both the citrus and the peppers, with fiber and magnesium from the dates, protein from the sunflower seed butter, and vitamins B and C from the pomegranate. 💪🏻 As for that prosciutto and the chocolate chips? Well, that’s for added deliciousness. 

In the lunchbox: Turkey BLT with guacamole and peppers, grapes and orange.

How about a turkey BLT for that lunchbox? We make ours with mustard instead of mayo, but you can customize yours however you’d like! The key is to toast the bread first, so that this sandwich stays crispy for lunchtime. This lunchbox features turkey bacon, but any bacon will do. My tomato-hating kid gets a BL sandwich with no T, occasionally with a scrambled egg. Make sure not to place the lettuce next to your condiment, or you’ll end up with limp soggy lettuce!

In the lunchbox: pizza rollups, banana with chocolate chips, cucumber and baby carrots, strawberries.

Here’s a lunchbox that is sure to make the kids smile. These pizza rollups are made with naan, but you can make them with any bread. Here’s how:
Spread marinara sauce on top of the bread. Add shredded mozzarella and fresh basil and place under the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese has melted. When cool enough to touch, roll the bread up, and slice to make these bite sized roll ups. The process is very similar to rolling sushi. Want a tutorial? Right this way.

To make that spotted banana, use the pointy tip of a chocolate chip and spear into the banana.

Grilled cheese wafflewich in the lunchbox with strawberries, grapes, tomatoes, cucumber and chocolate.

When I made grilled cheese wafflewiches for the first time, my kids celebrated! What a fun mash up of breakfast and lunch! They're easy to eat, delicious and my kids dig them hot and melty, or cold from the fridge. It’s a serious win in my book! Hop on over to find that recipe, and be sure to stash some in the freezer!