Back to school means back to packing lunchboxes. While you’re getting ready for the new school year shopping for new clothes and supplies, take some time to stock up on pantry staples for simple, kid-approved lunches.

This school years’ lunchbox secret ingredient is raw & unfiltered honey. Raw honey is sometimes overlooked as a mom-approved sweet treat, but it’s a fam-favorite, versatile and the kiddos love it!

Here are a few of our favorite Nate’s honey pairings that make for delicious lunchboxes your kids will quickly realize is their new favorite!

1. Honey & Fruit

Honey with apples is a classic pair. Our no-drip cap allows for the perfect squirt into a teeny container, perfect for dipping. Both ingredients are easy to toss into a lunch box with minimal prep work and make for a nutritional snack. Let your littles pour honey on peaches, dip apples or grapes in to get their vitamin C in an even sweeter way.

If you want to get a little fancier, try baking apple slices with honey the night before for a yummy apple treat or make an apple bowl filled with honey for a fun after-school snack!

2. Honey & Yogurt

Yogurt is a great lunchtime addition for the kiddos because it contains calcium, protein and probiotics. Opt for the plain, unsweetened kind and whip in some honey for a kid-approved taste.

To make it fun, let the kids pick out their favorite fruits at the grocery store to make their own custom parfait!

3. Honey & Nut Butter + Pretzels

You can’t go wrong adding something sweet and salty to your favorite nut butter. Mix your own nut butter + honey spread with a side of pretzels, or use this delicious PB and Honey Bites recipe for a new lunchbox staple they’ll want to share with their friends. It’s so simple the kids can even help make enough for the week to throw into lunchboxes during the morning rush. Plus it has sprinkles!

4. Honey & PB Sandwich

There’s a reason peanut butter sandwiches are a go-to: they’re an easy kid (and adult!) pleaser. Rather than opting for jam, try swapping in honey. You still get the sweet counterpart to peanut butter. Top it off with apple slices for a fruit kick and extra crunch or make sandwich skewers with your kids for an interactive after-school snack!

When choosing honey, make sure to choose real, raw & unfiltered honey, like Nate’s. At Nate’s, we keep our honey as natural as possible through minimal processing and industry-leading testing. We guarantee our honey is always 100% pure. Find it at a store near you!

Bonus Idea!

Bake this better banana bread on Sunday night, and include slices, along with a whole banana in every lunchbox each day of the week. P.S. This bread has raw honey in it instead of processed sugar!