Pack School Lunches with Punch

I'd like to say I was overcome by emotion at this rite of passage, but really I was distraught over the prospects for her school lunch box. With rice cakes and carrot sticks out of the picture, what would she eat?

Lucky for me, Deborah Griggs reads FAMILYFUN. Griggs, a mother from Hobart, Indiana, submitted a recipe in response to the magazine's request for creative lunch box ideas. Her Peanut Butter Balls proved the perfect solution to my problem.

Griggs' was just one of more than 500 suggestions FAMILYFUN received. Readers covered everything from kid-approved recipes to timesaving strategies and zany packing tips.

As these reader ideas show, packing a winning lunch doesn't require a hefty grocery budget or loads of kitchen time-- just some creative ideas.