 | | Bins are out on the counter waiting for my kids to pack their own lunches |
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School Lunch Ideas - What Will They Really Eat?
| I have a confession, one thing I really don't like to do is pack school lunches, so I don't! I'm starting to get lunch idea requests from readers, so I thought I would pass on some ideas I have shared before.
The last few years we have been using a lunch packing system in our house which is surprisingly still working. I fill up 2-3 shoe size plastic bins with "things for lunch". One bin is kept in the fridge and has clementines, apple slices, yogurt, cheese sticks... the other bins have granola bars, trail mix, chips etc. I will make my kids a sandwich but they have to pack everything else up. I feel like we waste less food since they are choosing what to eat, it saves me time in the morning, and clean up is a breeze as I just store the bins back in the cupboard or fridge when they're done.
Whether you do something similar or not, here are some other ideas for what to pack for lunch:
Main - if you make sandwiches, consider offering a different type of bread, using a tortilla instead of bread, using a bagel or bagel thins ( a new product that isn't as thick as a bagel), mini bagels, or even roll lunch meat up in a piece of romaine lettuce
- bagel with cream cheese
- sandwich wraps made with tortillas with cream cheese, veggies, and or meat
- cheese cubes with crackers
- small thermos with leftovers from dinner, spaghetti, soup, rice with soy sauce, noodles tossed with olive oil and Parmesan cheese
- make your own nachos with cheese and salsa
- peanut butter and crackers
- cereal in a bowl that they can add milk to and add fruit on top
- hummus with pita wedges
- make your own yogurt parfait with yogurt, granola and one reader likes to pack almonds which she has soaked the night before in filtered water which she says are delicious and easy for kids to eat who have braces!)
- salad with meat, cheese and a separate container of dressing. If you kids like this, there are salad shaker containers that work great.
Sides
- baby carrots (with ranch dressing for dipping)
- celery stuffed with peanut butter or cream cheese, or plain
- cherry tomatoes, or cucumber slices with ranch dressing
- apples, oranges (my kids love clementines because they are easy to peel), grapes. I'll be honest, I usually don't back bananas because they are easily squished.
- unsweetened apples sauce or flavored applesauce such as blueberry
- mini blueberry or banana muffins
- trail mix
- granola bars
- chips or pretzels
- salsa and chips
- pickles or olives
- yogurt or gogurt (some people like to freeze the gogurts)
- nuts (if allowed at your school)
Dessert (Some mom's only pack this on Fridays)
- pudding
- cookies, fig newtons
- banana bread
- fruit snacks
- fruit snacks, fruit leather
- chocolate milk
If you've been packing lunches you probably already have insulated lunch boxes or bags, bpa free re-fillable water bottles, freezer pucks to keep things cold, and if you're going green some reusable containers. I find my kids loose a fair amount of these things so I try not to to invest too much money in them. If your kids are more responsible, you may be able to locate a "bento box" at an Asian mart. This is a nifty container with small lidded containers that all fit neatly together and resemble a lunchables box, only you can fill it with much healthier and less expensive foods.
If you are interested in trying to win a free rubbermaid lunch kit, Home Storage Solutions 101 is doing a giveaway of a reusable lunch kit which looks great. This site also has some great ideas for back to school organization to keep your house and kids organized
If you have any friends who are getting ready for back to school, feel free to forward this e-mail by clicking the "forward e-mail" link at the bottom, left.
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Wishing you Good Cooking!
Crystal Maleski
Make Dinner Easy
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