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I’ve been a MARVEL fan for as long as I can remember. Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow… I love them all. And as MARVEL fever has hit just about everyone, it has only made my passion for the characters and powerful themes even stronger. And, because I know it can be SO hard to think of great lunches now that it’s time for back-to-school, I came up with a few fun MARVEL themed lunch ideas that will help keep your rotation of delicious lunches fun and exciting for your children. I started by picking 3 superheroes I really love– the Hulk, Captain America, and Spiderman.

I found inspiration for the MARVEL lunches when I was shopping at my local Walmart store– these MARVEL Chewy Granola Bars looked like the perfect lunchbox addition, and, paired with a balanced lunch, would really make lunchtime awesome, or make a great afternoon snack. Plus, the MARVEL Chewy Granola Bars came in flavors like Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, so I knew my child would love them (and me, as well– I may have eaten a few of the bars myself).

So, I picked up the MARVEL Chewy Granola Bars, some fresh produce, and all of the supplies I love that keep sandwiches interesting, and headed home to start packing some fun, delicious meals.

On the outside of the box, there are some awesome collector cards (4 in total- Hulk, Iron Man, Hawk Eye, and Spiderman– we got Hulk and Spiderman on our boxes) which are so fun for slipping in lunch boxes. On the inside, the bars come with one of 6 superheroes on the wrapper (Captain America, Hulk, Spiderman, Thor, Iron Man, and Black Widow) so many of your MARVEL favorites are included. Plus, they’re 40% bigger than other bars (based on weight of a 24g bar).

When making the lunches, I planned them accordingly:

I wanted to be sure each lunch was balanced, had a good amount of fruits and vegetables, and included protein.

I wanted each lunch to contain one of the fun MARVEL Chewy Granola Bars, which make a great snack or addition to lunch.

I wanted each lunch to have a different sandwich and sides so no one would get bored easily.

I wanted each lunch to reflect the theme and colors of a single MARVEL superhero.

To start, I chose the Hulk. First, I made a half peanut butter and jelly sandwich (I don’t know about your child’s age, so a whole sandwich may be more appropriate here, but for my child, a half sandwich usually suffices if there are other foods along with it). Because the Hulk is green with purple shorts, I made sure to have purple grape jelly inside. The peanut butter helped pack a protein punch, as did cashew butter meant for dipping celery and broccoli in. I wanted to choose primarily green foods as the side– some options include pieces of green bell pepper, celery, broccoli, green grapes, green apple, pears, or a lettuce or spinach salad. I thought it would be fun to layer purple grapes and green grapes in a tall container so it would look like the Hulk in his purple shorts– the more fun you can make it, the more children will love to eat it! Finally, I tucked in a Hulk-wrapped MARVEL Chewy Granola Bar.

And here is that very green finished Hulk-inspired lunch! It met all of my requirements, and seemed like the perfect lunch for my child.

When it came to making a Captain America themed lunch, I thought it would be really fun to re-create Captain America’s signature shield. It’s actually really easy to do, too. Start by taking a piece of cheese that is wrapped in red wax, and gently use a star-shaped cookie cutter to remove a portion of the red wax from the cheese.

Next, prepare a sandwich on round bread. You could take a thin plain bagel, or use cookie cutters to make a round sandwich using your favorite sandwich bread, but I opted for an English muffin because I thought it would be a fun option for changing the texture of the sandwich for the day. Fill it with your favorite sandwich stuff– today, I opted for red strawberry jelly and cashew butter. Place the cheese wax on top of the sandwich, then use food-safe edible marker to add the details of the shield. Of course, be sure your child is old enough to understand that the wax is for decoration, not for eating, or just don’t include it.

I wrapped up my Captain America lunch with fresh red sweet peppers, bits of diced, fully cooked chicken breast, the cheese I had used to source wax from, and plenty of fresh strawberries and blueberries– all of the foods I chose kept in the red, white, and blue theme (very fitting for Captain America’s lunch!) Finally, I tucked in the Captain America MARVEL Chewy Granola Bar.

For the final lunch, it was time to stray away from jelly for awhile…. so I made a sandwich roll-up! I started with a tortilla, and layered on pepperoni, bits of diced fully cooked chicken breast, and “webs” of mozzarella string cheese. After rolling the sandwich tightly, you can use a food safe marker to draw webs on the outside.

In sticking with the colors of Spiderman’s clothing, I included more pepperoni, some strawberries and blueberries, strawberry yogurt, and chopped sweet peppers. (What can I say? They’re a hit!) Of course, I also tucked in a Spiderman MARVEL Chewy Granola Bar. 

All three superhero lunches serve their purpose of being nutritious, filling, packed with protein, fruits, and veggies, and of course, having a lot of fun. What’s a lunch without a little fun, anyway?

Honestly? I’m pretty obsessed with the idea of a great superhero lunch, so I haven’t even just been making them for my child. I’ll admit to tapping into the MARVEL superhero lunches myself, because they’re just so fun! Maybe I have a thought going through my head that if I eat enough blueberries and strawberries, I’ll be as awesome as Captain America… I don’t know. I just know that I really, really love how easy it is to make lunchtime fun and exciting, while still getting plenty of protein, fruit, and veggies in. Having an exciting theme always makes eating a variety of colors and flavors a little bit more fun.

I would love to hear all about your favorite Superhero and how you keep lunchtime fun in the comments below! If you want more ideas, check out the MARVEL superhero social hub.