Kids Lunches: 4 Fun and Easy Sandwiches

My daughter gets tired of the standard PB&J for lunch, but getting her to eat traditional sandwiches can be a chore. Sometimes, I have to go the extra mile to introduce a new player in the mix, like a turkey sandwich, and it could be even more frustrating while traveling.

With the help of colorful vegetables and other fun foods, we had a blast making these turkey sandwich faces together, and she ate them (except for picking off a few vegetables). They were still cute even after I cut them into smaller squares for her to hold.

These are super easy to make at home or in a vacation rental on a trip. You probably have most of these ingredients on hand, and if not, they’re inexpensive to buy, or you can probably think of substitutes.

Kids Lunches: The Happy Sandwich

Right? Who wouldn’t want this guy in their lunch? You need:

• A meat and or cheese savory sandwich
• red bell pepper (though any color will do)
• cucumber slices
• raisins
• carrots with skin removed and then peeled the long way (celery works too)
• cheese square

Kids Lunches: Surprised Sandwich

You need:

• A meat or cheese type savory sandwich (maybe a PB&J could work if facial features are eaten separately)
• hard-boiled egg slices
• green olives with pimento, sliced
• Cheerio
• carrot sticks

Kids Lunches: Tired Sandwich

You need:

• salami
• carrot sticks
• celery peels (peel with a peeler)

I cut a hole in one piece of bread with a knife (out of impatience), but you can use a cookie cutter. Slide the salami underneath to look like the inside of a mouth (ewwww).

Kids Lunches: Sandwich With Glasses

This one takes a little bit more time, but I thought he was super cute. Cut one slice of bread in the shape of a mouth and slide the salami underneath. You need:

• cheddar cheese cut in circles
• cheddar cheese strips
• edamame
• salami
• green olives with pimento, sliced

Tips

Once you have the basic features down, it will be easy to identify what you can do with ingredients you already have in your fridge and pantry.

We have a bento-style lunch box that these sandwiches fit nicely in, as a Ziploc bag would be tough. With summer here, however, I’m sure you are serving quite a few lunches at home, too! A plate is easiest.

Cut off the crust or use a circular sandwich or biscuit cutter for smaller portions and downsize the features.

Oddly enough, our first sandwich face was created while her preschool class was studying feelings. I was in a hurry and accidentally cut a crooked mouth on one of the sandwiches, which was supposed to be an angry face. She said, “No, he’s a frustrated sandwich,” and we had an interesting discussion about it. So, you can actually take this to another level and make it a teaching project (or not).

Pin it for later:

See more about kids bento lunches.

Enjoy!