6 Lunch Ideas for Tweens - With Carb Counts for Type 1 Diabetic Kids

I’ve gone back to lunch-making this school year. While I used to do this all the time, a couple of years ago my kids decided they wanted to buy lunch at school. This school year, with my oldest child’s Type 1 Diabetes diagnosis, I decided that I needed to make his lunch. While the school nurse (who is great) would have worked with me to count the carbs, there isn’t a lot of time for my son to get lunch, run downstairs with his tray and then do test his blood sugar and take his insulin and then go back up and have much time to eat. So, it’s back to making lunches! Besides dealing with Mr. Picky Eater 1.o’s pickiness, I have to make sure I give him the appropriate number of carbs and a balanced lunch. Oh – the lunches have to be 6th grader approved too.When I started to think about the lunches I’d have to pack, the first thing we thought was no sugar at all, but my kid can have that in modified portions. It’s the carbs we need to watch. However, I couldn’t go too low carb, because he needs around 66 carbs per meal. His snacks can be low/no carb (but I usually pack string cheese with cold packs — that’s a post for another time). He needs carbs and he needs to be able to eat quickly – so this is what I’ve come up with for the first two weeks of school.

Lunch #1

Boar’s Head Buffalo Chicken, shredded carrots and romaine lettuce on a Joseph’s Flax, Oat Bran Lavash (17 carbs for a huge piece), Hummus (9 carbs), 1/2 cup blueberries (11 carbs), Horizon Organic milk box (13 carbs) and Fritos (16 carbs). The total is 66 carbs.

Lunch #2

Roasted Turkey, spinach, and hummus on a Joseph’s Flax, Oat Bran Lavash (17 carbs, 3 carbs for spinach, and 9 carbs for the hummus), Skyr yogurt (13 carbs), small apple (15 carbs) and Horizon Organic milk box (13 carbs). The total is 70 carbs.

Lunch #3

Buffalo Chicken, spinach, and hummus on a Joseph’s Flax, Oat Bran Lavash (17 carbs, 3 carbs for spinach, and 9 carbs for the hummus), 1/2 cup of blueberries (11 carbs), Fritos (16 carbs) and Fairlife Chocolate Milk with lower sugar (13 carbs). The total is 69 carbs.

Lunch #4

Smoked Turkey and hummus on a 1/2 Joseph’s Flax, Oat Bran Lavash (8.5 carbs and 9 carbs for the hummus), 1 cup of strawberries (12.5 carbs), Pepperidge Farm Goldfish (20 carbs for 51 Goldfish), 12 oz Fairlife Whole Milk with 1/2 of the carbs (so 9 carbs for a cup and a half) and a Kind Mini Bar (10 carbs). The total is 69 carbs. This was a home lunch.

Lunch #5

Roasted Turkey and swiss cheese slices on Joseph’s Flax, Oat Bran pita bread (9 carbs), Pepperidge Farm Goldfish (20 carbs for 51 Goldfish), Fairlife Chocolate Milk with lower sugar (13 carbs), 1/2 cup of blueberries (11 carbs), and 2 Chobani Yogurt Tubes (6 carbs each, so 12 carbs). The total is 65 carbs.

Lunch #6

Genoa salami and cheddar cheese slices (0 carbs), pretzel chips (24 carbs for 11 pretzel crisp), cucumbers (0 carbs), pear (27 carbs), Crunchmaster gluten-free multi-seed crackers (20 carbs for 15 crackers), and Sabra Hummus pack (9 carbs). The total is 80 carbs. I did go a little over here, I probably should have taken some of the crisps and crackers away.

My favorite lunch items so far have been:

Joseph’s Bakery‘s items — love their lavash and pitas. You can find them in your local supermarket or on Amazon.
Sabra Hummus – the individual servings at 9 carbs are a find – or just portion out by using a tbsp (2 carbs). I have been adding hummus to sandwiches to get my son’s carb count up.
Cucumbers — no carbs! I try to add to a lunch, dinner or a snack daily so I can get some veggies in my kid. That and spinach are my go-to’s to add to meals to get some greens in.
Pepperidge Farms Goldfish – 51 Goldfish crackers for 20 carbs makes this a great snack choice.
Kini Mini Bars – These gluten free mini Kind Bars are 10 carbs each and great to stick in for a lunch or as an add on for a meal.
Fairlife Reduced Fat Chocolate Milk – less sugar and 12 carbs for 8 fluid ounces – it’s under Yup Kids by Fairlife on Amazon.