Fun Sandwich Ideas For Kids

Try these fun sandwich ideas for kids to change things up and make lunch or dinner more fun if you find yourself stuck in a rut! Simple twists on your favorite classics.

Thanks to the Grain Foods Foundation for sponsoring this post.

Hi friends!

Let’s talk about lunch today, shall we? Specifically kid lunches. I don’t know about you but for me, lunch is the easiest meal of the day for me to get stuck in a rut. My family loves breakfast. We all have our favorites and we happily eat them each morning. Dinner is when I tend to flex my creative muscles in the kitchen and I rarely have trouble coming up with dinner ideas.

But lunch? Whew. I don’t know if it’s the time of day or what, but I struggle with lunch ideas every single week. So I decided it was time to do some brainstorming and come up with some new, kid-friendly ideas for you. And guess what they all include? Bread! 

This post is part of the #yestobread campaign and when the Grain Foods Foundation reached out to me about participating, I immediately jumped on board. It really couldn’t be a more perfect fit for me. I know low-carb, paleo and keto are all the rage right now but if you know me at all, you know that for me, carbs are life. And I hate that will all these new diet trends, carbs, and more specifically bread are getting a bad reputation. So many people are decreasing their bread consumption because celebrities and influencers are telling them it’s one of the main reasons they are gaining weight, feeling bloated etc. 

As a Registered Dietitian, I’m here to tell you that for most people, bread can most certainly be part of a healthy, balanced diet. Especially if you ENJOY eating it! Can bread cause discomfort for some people? Sure! But you don’t have to live your life on an extreme diet that “doesn’t allow” bread just because someone else is telling you that you should. You also don’t have to eat bread all day every day. Aiming for a well-balanced diet is a much more enjoyable (and sustainable) way to live! And for me that means saying #yestobread! 

Of course, not all bread is created equal and I recommend choosing 100% whole grain bread in most cases. It is a great source of: 

• Fiber, which aids in digestion.
• Complex carbohydrates that provide energy and fuel for workouts and daily life.
• Important nutrients like iron and B vitamins.

It also pairs well with all sorts of foods including fruits, vegetables, meat, cheese, eggs etc to help you create nutritious, balanced meals.

Since my kids are fairly burnt out on boring, traditional sandwiches, I came up with a few more creative ideas for you!

Fun Sandwich Ideas For Kids

Waffle French Toast PB&J

Peanut butter and jelly is a go-to favorite around here but everybody gets tired of their favorites now and then. With just a few simple tweaks I revived this old favorite and made it fresh and exciting again! Start by turning the bread into french toast! And if you’re not thrilled with the idea of standing around flipping it on a griddle or in a skillet, just throw it on a waffle iron. So easy. Then add your peanut butter or nut butter of choice. And take advantage of berry season by replacing jelly with freshly smashed berries. My kids love doing the smashing and I love that there’s no added sugar!

Fruit and Veggie Face Avocado Toast

My two year old is actually not that crazy about sandwiches. There’s something about the top piece of bread covering up whatever is inside that she doesn’t like. But give her the exact same thing on two open-faced pieces of bread and she is ALL FOR IT. She’s a huge fan of avocado toast and both my kids love using whatever fruits and veggies we have on hand to make silly faces on top. We call it monster toast. If your kids don’t like avocado, you could try hummus! 

Turkey Sandwich Kabobs

Sometimes with kids, it’s all about novelty. If I gave my four-year-old a turkey, cheese and apple sandwich, there’s about a 50% chance on any given day that he would eat it, depending on his mood. But if I take that same sandwich, cut it into pieces and thread it on a skewer, the odds of him eating the entire thing go up to about 90% every time. 

I don’t like to use my giant metal grilling kabob skewers for this so I use straws. Sometimes I use a strong stainless steel straw to poke the holes, then thread everything onto a paper straw so I can trim the ends.

Egg in a Hole Grilled Cheese

This is basically just two classics combined into one. Egg in a hole and a grilled cheese sandwich. My kids LOVE cutting out the circle, cracking the egg into it and then eating the circle while I make the grilled cheese. If you’re feeling fancy, add some avocado and red pepper slices. Or some turkey or pulled pork!

So there you go! Hope this post sparked a few new ideas for ways you can say #yestobread! For more reasons to love bread, click here!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–