Creative Lunch Ideas with DOLE Mixations

This post was sponsored by DOLE® as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central. All opinions expressed in my post are my own.

I’ve decided I need to become a Lunch MixMaster. My kids have gotten tired of the same old boring sack lunch routine that they take to school. PBJ sandwich, pretzels, apple slices, fruit snacks and a drink just weren’t cutting it on a day to day basis. So we’ve recently stepped it up a notch. Mixed up a whole new lunch experience, and the biggest critics (my kids) are very happy with the changes!

One of the biggest challenges we’ve come across is how to get healthy fruits and vegetables into their lunches every day. There is always a complaint with fresh fruit and vegetables: Bananas go brown, sliced apples go brown (and braces aren’t conducive to whole apples), carrots get warm (because middle schoolers can’t take ice packs in a brown bag–and there’s no taking a lunchbox to middle school…apparently), strawberries and grapes go mushy, I’ve heard all the complaints. We’ve found a few fresh fruit replacements–applesauce, fruit cups, fruit leather, but we were looking for something NEW, something EXCITING to spice up lunchtime.

That’s when we first heard about DOLE Mixations®. It’s a twist of traditional apple sauce and juicy chunks of real fruit! Seriously, these are delicious, even my husband has started taking them in his lunches to work. There are four great flavors: Apple-Strawberry Sauce with Dices of Apple, Pineapple-Mango Sauce with Pineapple Pieces (my family’s favorite!), Peach-Apple Sauce with Pineapple Pieces, and Apple-Raspberry Sauce with Dices of Apple. I love that the fruit is in sauce, not syrup, offering a healthy snack for my family.

Here are some new lunches that our family has mixed up.

A Pirate’s Lunch: bite sized pepperoni, cheese chunks, goldfish crackers and an Apple-Raspberry Sauce with Apple Pieces. My 4 year old thinks that the toothpick sword is the coolest utensil ever and a lunch isn’t complete without one. He tries to go “fishing” for the fruit chunks with his sword in the sauce.

A little bit of everything lunch: half a sandwich, trail mix, orange slices, Apple-Strawberry Sauce with Apple Pieces, chips and a juice box. One of my children is a total snacker. He prefers a little bit of everything in his lunch and this hits the spot. He also gets a HUGE kick out of the notes that I write on top of the DOLE Mixation. Using a permanent marker, you can create fun artwork, send inspirational messages, or just say hello.

The sophisticated lunch: Bagel and Cream cheese, carrot slices and Peach-Apple Sauce with Pineapple Pieces. My oldest actually spreads the DOLE Mixations on top of the cream cheese for a delicious chunky bagel.

Twist on a Classic – They are lovin’ the PBJ with pretzels and Pineapple-Mango Sauce with Pineapple Pieces. Even though my kids were sick of a regular PBJ sandwich, somehow adding cute cookie cutters and a DOLE Mixations made the lunch fabulous again! I also love that DOLE Mixations are a bit neater than other packaged fruit options with no liquid to splash or spill! The fruit is in sauce, not syrup.

When my husband brings a lunch to work, there are only two kinds of lunches: “leftovers”, or “I am not going to make anything–just grab prepackaged things out of the pantry”. Luckily he’s become a huge fan of the DOLE Mixations and gets some healthier food in his daily lunches no matter what else he takes. DOLE Mixations are non-GMO*, contain no high fructose corn syrup, no artificial flavors, are gluten free and rich in Vitamin C! (*No genetically modified, or engineered, ingredients)

I’ll bet your family will love DOLE Mixations too! Head over now to grab a $1.00 on any one (1) package of DOLE Mixations coupon.

I’d love to hear what your kids like to take in their lunches!