Lunch Ideas!

[JenC3]

I'm so bored with lunch. I can meal plan dinner, but the kids don't usually like leftovers so dh and I eat them. I need some kid friendly, healthy, EASY lunch ideas. My ds is allergic to peanuts so we do sunbutter sandwiches a lot, cut up apples/oranges, etc. We eat mostly seasonal so we are craving good summer fare, but it isn't yet time. Please give me your favorite lunches!

[hsbaby]

We usually do something easy like turkey and cheese wraps (we like the whole wheat Flat Out wraps), pasta with a little butter and myzithera cheese, bean burritos or cheese quesadillas on whole wheat tortillas.

[NancyNellen]

Will they do soups? I like to make a big pot of soup early in the week (Minestrone, corn chowder, vegetable beef) and dish it up for lunch. Super-easy and healthy...plus they get better with age.

 

We also do "Snacks for lunch" periodically: cheese and crackers, hummus, sliced fruits and veggies, raisins, etc.

[Tiffnkids]

We also do "Snacks for lunch" periodically: cheese and crackers, hummus, sliced fruits and veggies, raisins, etc.

 

Seconding the "snack" idea. My children love having a snack tray for lunch. They often challenge each other to eat at least one of everything on the tray. Some tray suggestions are: fruit with or without yogurt dip, veggies with ranch or hummus, crackers with cheese, and/or nut butter, "relish" items such as olives and pickles, mini muffins, mini quiches, pretzels, nuts, baked tortilla chips with mild salsa or bean dip, mini bagels with cream cheese, mini croissants with cream cheese/egg/chicken/tuna salad, finger sandwiches . I think my children appreciate the variety. It can also be a great way to get rid of the last little bits of several things hogging up precious refrigerator space:thumbup:.

 

A few other ideas:

 

Pasta with a bit of butter and whatever veggie(s) your children find acceptable

 

Breakfast for lunch - maybe eggs, pancakes, and some fruit

 

Tortilla or pita pizzas

 

Also, I just had a thought . . . are YOU bored with lunch or are your children? Children often eat the same things day after day. They seem to like the predictability of a never changing menu. So if they like their lunches (and you feel that the lunches are reasonably healthy), then maybe you could just fix yourself something else to eat. You could make a couple of big batches of something you like and freeze individual portions to reheat for lunch.

[extendedforecast]

A popular meal lately is quesadillas. A few weeks ago, we ran out of bread, so I decided to use the corn tortillas in the fridge to make quesadillas. I don't like the idea of frying the tortillas, so I just put some muenster cheese between two tortillas and microwaved it to melt the cheese, and my kids loved it. Since then, I've sauteed bell peppers in olive oil until soft and add those and a tomato slice along with the cheese. I've also added left over chicken or ground beef. Muenster cheese is yummy but expensive, so I try to use cheddar or mozzarella as well.

Cindy

[Mrs Mungo]

Here are a few threads that contained lunch ideas. It comes up a lot! :D Hope this helps!

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forum...ad.php?t=35373

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forum...ad.php?t=66061

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forum...ad.php?t=59361

 

I've posted this list before: :)

 

If you'd like a recipe for anything just let me know!

 

Most of these are easy and nutritious and many are fairly low in cost.

 

tostones, black beans and rice (I've posted my tostone and black bean recipes here before)

 

peanut butter and banana pinwheels (ie wrapped in a tortilla and sliced)

 

tortellini with parmesan

 

veggie "sushi"-this is not real sushi, you take bread, cut off the crust, roll it out, spread it with cream cheese, put slices of carrot and cucumber inside, roll it up and slice it.

 

Baked Potatoes

 

Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese sandwiches

 

Hummus, Pita Bread and tomato/cucumber/onion/black olive relish stuff

 

Baked Potato Soup

 

mini quiches (these are super easy to make and freeze to re-heat at lunch time!)

 

bean burritos with avocados and chips with salsa

 

bean and polenta pies (put a slice of polenta in a ramekin and a red and black bean/onion mix inside topped with a little cheese and bake)

 

homemade mini pizzas and pineapple

 

funny-face egg salad sandwiches (open face sandwiches served with carrot sticks, slices of pepper, sliced olives, anything that the kids can use to make faces)

 

homemade waffles with bacon (the kids LOVE this for lunch! but I do it rarely)

 

flautas (from frozen) with cheese cubes and 7 layer dip

 

ham and cheese bagels

 

corn chowder

 

wontons (yes, they are a lot of work for lunch but I love them, they are delicious and sometimes I want them!) and rice

 

chili/cornbread pie

 

pasta salad

 

broccoli and cheese soup with rolls

 

aloha mini-cheeseburgers-I mix crushed pineapple with the meat and make small patties, cook them on the griddle and add a slice of sharp cheddar to the top then serve on hawaiian sweet rolls. I like baked sweet potato fries on the side.

 

veggies, bread cubes and cheese fondue

 

15 bean soup and cornbread

[JenC3]

Thanks for all the great ideas! I do many of them already, but there are definitely LOTS of new ones for me to try!

[Pippen]

Lately my daughter has been making little pizzas in muffin cups. She uses crescent roll dough or the inexpensive prepackaged pizza dough mix. I keep pizza sauce in a squeeze bottle in the fridge and she adds cheese.

 

Mrs. T's cheddar and potato perogi's, courtesy of your frozen food aisle. We like them plain but you can add sauce.

 

Waffle sandwiches--we don't do these often but they're fun. :) Butter one side of two slices of bread and set buttered side of one slice down on a waffle iron. Add cheese and any other toppings (bacon, ham, veggies) on the bottom. Top with the second slice, buttered side out. Heat until crispy.

 

Smoothies