Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Lunchbox and Meal Ideas…for those that are searching for something new. Share your ideas of what makes a healthy and easy lunch for your child. Or, how about a fast dinner that you are able to put on the table after a day of school, work, and practices? Sharing our ideas and recipes can make the mundane, fabulous...or at least different
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I purchased some really good thermoses at Target for my kids. They enjoy hot soups (yes, they really are still hot at lunch time!), mac&cheese, spaghetti and sauce. I even tried a hot dog which has become the family joke. It probably would have worked better if I had cut it up and added it to the mac&cheese!
ReplyDeleteWe have a wide-mouthed thermos for each of our kids. They fit easily into a lunchbox. We fill them with reheated leftovers, soups, and chili. They are perfect for the cold weather.
ReplyDeleteOne of my easy-go-to dinners...
ReplyDeletea huge salad with something for everyone! I place a large bed of spinach (or any type of greens I may have) on a large platter and start to pile on different types of veggies and proteins. I usually add:
beans, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, avocados, olives,cheese (cheddar blocks, fontina, monterey & havarti are kids favorites because they are mild), any veggies I have (a very easy route would be baby carrots, snap peas, etc that are already prepared in the veggie/salad section of the market), grilled meat, artichoke hearts, peanuts/nuts, etc.
If your feeling decadent - you could always add precooked shrimp or bacon. Serve with a great loaf of bread or warm corn muffins. The possibilities are endless! My youngest doesn't enjoy salad greens but he's happy with raw veggies. There is always something for everyone and children like to make their own selections. You'd be surprised at how many healthy items you can get your kids to eat with this presentation.
(Just a side note - my kids enjoy chick peas and black beans. My niece loves edamame/soybeans - which are always fun if the kids can shell them! You can find them in the Sushi section at Hannafords)
Lunch ideas....
ReplyDeleteMy kids enjoy cold cuts wrapped around the following: a cheese stick or long slices of cucumber or asparagus or long slices of zucchini or wedges of apples. Serve with a favorite crackers.
Sometimes if I've made banana or zucchini bread - I spread sun-butter & jelly or just cream cheese to make a sandwich. It's a break from the mundane!
We just had a busy, activity-filled day and arrived home at 6:15. I had dinner on the table in a miraculous 20 minutes, thanks to a great recipe for Spicy Chicken Fried Rice with Peanuts from the March 2010 issue of Cooking Light. 4 out of 6 people in our family ate it, which qualifies as a success in our house. I served watermelon slices on the side, and I had made an extra bag of plain rice for anyone who didn't like the meal.
ReplyDeleteI won't include the whole recipe here, because you can get it online, but here are a few tips:
1- I cooked the brown rice (using 3 bags of boil-in-the bag brown rice) in the morning and put it in the refrigerator until I needed it.
2- I cut up the peppers and onions in the morning.
3- I used jarred ground ginger.
4- I used firm, cubbed tofu (toasted in the oven) instead of chicken.
5- You can omit the peanuts if allergies are an issue.
Added bonus - there is enough leftover to reheat for lunches tomorrow.
Quinoa Salad with Peaches
ReplyDeleteYou can find quinoa in the natural foods section of the grocery store. It is high in protein, iron, and folate. This recipe is easily doubled. It's great as a side dish or as the main part of a lunchbox meal.
Bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan: add 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Cool quinoa slightly. Stir in 1/4 cup minced red bell pepper, 1/4 cup chopped green onion, 3 T fresh lemon juice, 1 1/2 T olive oil, 1/2 t kosher salt, 1 1/2 t honey, 1/4 t black pepper and 1 sliced ripe peach. Makes 4, one-cup servings.
Notes: If your kids hate peppers, you can leave them out. If peaches or nectarines are out of season, try kiwi or cantaloupe or honeydew.
This salad is great with grilled spicy-honey chicken and watermelon.
I have all my favorite recipes in a binder in clear, plastic sheet protectors. When I'm making my meal plan and shopping list for the week, I pull the recipes out, make my list, then put my recipes and meal plan right next to the calendar in the kitchen. That way, when I look at the calendar in the morning to see how many places I have to chauffeur kids to that day, I also know what I need to pull out or prep for dinner. I don't have to waste time trying to find the recipe at night. Having a plan for each night helps me by putting easy, quick meals on busy nights and it keeps me from ordering take out or resorting to the drive-through on crazy days.
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