Lunch Made Easy: Back to School Ideas!

For a family with food allergies or dietary restrictions, packing food never stops. It becomes second nature to always BYOF (Bring Your Own Food) wherever you go.

The same goes for school lunches. We pack, every day. And always have. 

You'll find me sharing what Little Miss is having over on our Facebook and Instagram pages, daily. Make sure to follow us there to not miss out on the daily fun!

I've put together a fun round-up of our favorite lunches we've packed for school so far (she started back in mid-July) to help give you inspiration for when your family heads back:

Enjoy #LunchFreely + a HUGE Sweepstakes! #BacktoSchool

This post and sweepstakes is sponsored by Enjoy Life Foods. All opinions are my own. Disclosure.
I've been keeping a secret from you all.
For some time now, I've been working with our friends at Enjoy Life Foods on a fun video and some lunch recipes that are free-from the top allergens and gluten!
Not only that, but today launches Enjoy Life Food's HUGE Sweepstakes and LunchFreely.com website! 
There will be ONE GRAND PRIZE and there will be FIVE Runner-Up Prizes each week!! New recipes and sweepstakes details are in the post below.

How to Keep Apple Slices from Turning Brown {Lunch Tips + Video}

It's Back to School Time!! That means time to start planning for school lunches and snacks.
One of the most frequent questions I get asked is how we keep our apple slices from turning brown?
I've put together a fun video with some tips and tricks that we use to keep our apples from browning. 

Welcome to Nashville! #EatFreelyUSA

#EatFreelyUSA is sponsored by Enjoy Life Foods
The first stop on our #EatFreelyUSA tour was Nashville. I had never been before but it was for sure a city on my bucket list - I couldn't wait for the music, the history, and the FOOD. 
What is #EatFreelyUSA? In case you missed the intro video, you can check that out by clicking here. 
Erica and I managed to eat our way through the city and even attend an award show while there. We found tons of delicious gluten free & allergen friendly eateries aaaaand may have also found a karaoke sound booth. Maybe... we'll see if that video ever surfaces. 

Coming to a City Near You! #EatFreelyUSA

What happens with two friends hit the road, traveling to different cities, and hitting up allergy friendly hot spots along the way? ... #EatFreelyUSA! 
Check out this special video to learn more:

Nut Free {No Bake} SunButter Energy Bites

There are a number of recipes I've made so frequently over the years that I no longer measure them. Just get out the bowl and start eyeballing the ingredients needed. 
Our Allergy Friendly {No Bake} SunButter Energy Ball Bites are one of those recipes.
Each time I share about them or pack them in a lunch I post on Facebook or Instagram, I get messages or comments asking for the recipe. And each time I tell myself, "Next time I'll measure!" ... but I never do. 
WELL, I FINALLY DID! While Snapchatting last night about dinner and knowing I needed to make more of these bites, I made sure to measure so I could *finally* share them here. 
They're gluten free and top 8 allergen free (that means they're nut free and great for school snacks)! 

#SweetFreely Giveaway from @EnjoyLifeFoods & Keeley McGuire!

Double the fun, y'all! I have some sweet news for you!
Right now, Enjoy Life Foods is hosting a giveaway on Instagram & Twitter for a #SweetFreely Valentine's Box. Not only that, I'm giving one away right here on Keeley McGuire Blog! That gives you TWO sweet chances to WIN! Woo!
And you know I couldn't let a special day like Valentine's go by without sharing some deliciously fun ideas for you & your family:

20+ Easy Lunch Ideas for Work or School

When your child has food allergies and/or dietary restrictions, you pack lunch. Daily. It's just part of the normal routine. 
Some days, we get creative and make (what I call) "silly sandwiches" or sometimes the lunches are completely sandwich free. They don't have to be complicated or artistic, but it is fun to mix it up from the usual.
Lately, life has been busy. I've been traveling a lot for work and due to my health issues I require a lot more sleep than I use to. That's why having an arsenal of easy and quick fix lunch ideas are a necessity. I still want my daughter to be excited for her school lunches, and not feel left out, but keep my sanity intact. I'm sure many of you feel the exact same way!
Here are 20+ inspiring ideas for work or school lunch:

Lunch Made Easy: Healthy & Fun School Ideas

As many of you know, I don't blog every lunch from every school day... but, I do share them daily on our Facebook and Instagram pages. 
So, I try to put together "round-up" posts every so often for the blog where you can get a bunch of healthy school lunch ideas in one spot!
As always, all our lunches are completely nut free (no peanuts, no tree nuts). They're also all gluten free and many are dairy free or top 8 allergen free. Perfect for your food allergy family or if your child attends a school that has a "free from" classroom. 
Here's what we've been packing:

{Semi} Homemade Moon Pies #GlutenFree #AllergyFriendly

When's the last time you had a Moon Pie? 

The delicious treat typically consists of two graham crackers cookies, marshmallow filling, and dipped in chocolate.

It wasn't until planning my sister's baby shower, I realized Little Miss had never had one before - since the store bought variety has allergen warnings and they're definitely not gluten free.

That needed to be rectified... so we made some ourselves! Gluten Free & Allergy Friendly, of course. ;)

{Enjoy Life Foods Friday} Our Trip to the #EatFreely Factory

Today is a special edition of {Enjoy Life Foods Friday}! It's all about our trip last week to the factory in Schiller Park, Illinois. 
In today's post, I talk about our trip and awesome day we had with our food allergy friends visiting Enjoy Life, as well as, photos and yummy details about the company themselves.
First, I wanted to start off with something special which is a video of Little Miss and I (yes, a video! Something I have been wanting to do more of and there's no time like the present). Unrehearsed and unedited, lol, so forgive our silliness in some parts. ;) 
As you'll see, Little Miss was nervous at first but turned into a goof ball at the end like she normally is. Love her, silly girl. 
The reason I wanted to share this was to give Little Miss' perspective about Enjoy Life and our trip. Obviously, as parents' we know how great it is to have a company you can rely on for gluten & top 8 allergen free products - but what does that mean to a kid and what did she learn from our trip?
Check it out and see for yourself:  

Lunch Made Easy: @Planetbox for Track & Field Day #LBLmoms

Today is Little Miss' Track & Field Day at school for the third and fourth grade classes, which means they'll also be picnicing outside on the grass around the track for lunch.
To let her know I was thinking about her and how proud I am for doing her best, I made her this fun lunch filled with stars and encouraging words packed in our Planetbox Rover: 

{Enjoy Life Foods Friday} Crunchy Cookies Lunch Box Fun #GlutenFree #AllergyFriendly

Welcome to this month's edition of Enjoy Life Foods Friday! For May we're featuring the crispy, crunchy, and completely delicious Crunchy Cookies. 
The cookies are gluten free, top 8 allergen free, Non-GMO, and feature all-natural ingredients. They're available in four yummy varieties: Chocolate Chip, Vanilla Honey Graham, Sugar Crisp, and Double Chocolate.
Coming up with creative (and somewhat healthy...ish) ways to use them for lunches or snacks, welllllll, that could be a little tricky. Thankfully, Little Miss and I were able to put our thinking caps on and got to work! I'd say we did a pretty tasty job. ;)

{Enjoy Life Foods Friday} Plentils Lunchbox Fun #GlutenFree #AllergyFriendly

I love our Enjoy Life Foods Friday posts. Seriously.  The challenge each month of creating fun foods & recipe ideas with their products that are great for lunch & snacks is something I love to do. 
Enjoy Life is such a staple brand for any food allergy family. No questions - you know that it's going to be top 8 allergen free, gluten free, non-GMO, and contain no artificial junk. 
The first post we did last year was using Enjoy Life Foods Plentils. They are the "chip with benefits" made from lentils and protein packed. 
The post was so successful, they asked me use them again in this months post! So, welcome to PART II with Plentils! 

{Charlotte's Web} Book Character Dress-Up Day + School Lunch!

Today is a special day at school for Little Miss: It's Book Character Dress-Up Day!
This is something her school does every year and all the kids (and staff) look forward to it. 
This year, Little Miss had three choices she narrowed down and finally decided to be Fern from Charlotte's Web. 
Not only did we make her a fun costume/ outfit to fit the part, I had to make a Charlotte's Web themed lunch to go with it. 

{Enjoy Life Foods Friday} Decadent Bars Lunch Box Fun & More! #GlutenFree #AllergyFriendly

March means another fun challenge for our Enjoy Life Foods Friday posting!
This month, I admit, seemed more challenging than past months. In the end, however, we came up with some delicious and creative ideas to use Enjoy Life Foods Decadent Bars for lunch & more! 
The bars come in four yummy flavors: S'mores, Chocolate SunButter, Cherry Cobbler, and Cinnamon Roll. They're gluten free, top 8 allergen free, and verified by the Non-GMO Project. 

Little Lunch Lessons: What is Purim? #TuesdayTeachings

In case you missed my post last week, I shared a gluten free & top 8 allergy free Hamantaschen recipe. Hamantaschen is a traditional Jewish cookie enjoyed at Purim. This year, Purim begins at sunset on March 15th and ends at nightfall on the 16th.
I love teaching Little Miss about different religions and beliefs, especially because good friends of ours are Jewish and I want her to understand and respect their traditions - just as I would want the same from their children, towards us. 
Little Miss loves the story from the Bible about Esther. We even did a "Little Lunch Lesson" on her story previously (you can view that HERE). So I wanted to continue with our lessons from baking the cookies, and carry it into her #TuesdayTeachings school lunch for today:

{Enjoy Life Foods Friday} Baked Chewy Bars Lunch Box Fun #GlutenFree #AllergyFriendly

I was deliciously looking forward to this month and our Enjoy Life Foods challenge. 
If you're been following along, we've partnered with Enjoy Life Foods and once a month we feature one of their yummy products lines. Little Miss and I do our best to come up with creative ways to use them in new and inventive recipes that are great for lunches and snacks. 
This month we're featuring their Baked Chewy Bars. Not only are they top allergy 8 free but gluten free, as well. 
We've been a long time fan of Enjoy Life's bars - Little Miss especially loves the Cocoa Loco variety - and have packed them in their "original bar state" over the years for both lunches and snacks. Now the task was to set a new bar ;) and find fun ways to use them differently!

{Enjoy Life Foods Friday} Soft Baked Cookie Treats for Your Sweet!

After taking the month of December off to enjoy the busy holiday season, we're back with {Enjoy Life Foods Friday}!
This month, we're featuring Enjoy Life Foods Soft Baked Cookies. Since Valentine's Day is just weeks away, I thought it'd be a great idea to explore fun ways to transform these cookies into "Treats for Your Sweet"!
Whether they're packed up for school and work lunches, made for a class treat, or just enjoyed for dessert at home, these delicious ideas are sure to be a hit for your gluten free & allergy friendly family!

Little Lunch Lessons: Surviving Storms #TuesdayTeachings

I'm so glad to be back, now that the holidays are over, with our Little Lunch Lessons {Tuesday Teachings} series.
Each Tuesday, I try to tie into the theme for Little Miss' school lunch something we're reading about or learning. It can be a lesson from a song, book, or bible study. 
This week, we're focusing on "surviving storms". Psalm 46:1 says God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 
No matter how big our storm is, we must have faith and turn it over to God and trust he will see us through. Even in those storms, when we feel like we've hit rock bottom, we cannot lose sight of our many blessings.