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S/O no home lunches ... What does your weekly menu look like?


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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: :)

 

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

 

veggies, bread cubes and cheese fondue

 

15 bean soup and cornbread

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Lunches are usually leftovers from dinner or sandwiches. We use 100% whole wheat bread when store bought. When homemade bread is used, it is half unbleached and half whole wheat. Typically, our sandwiches are turkey and cheese, tuna, pj&j, or egg salad.

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We eat mainly peanut butter and 100% fruit jelly on whole wheat bread with fruit, vegetable, or pretezels. My DH can't believe we eat it almost every day. But it is cheap and somewhat nutritious. We'll see how long it lasts. I wonder when my kids will want something else...

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I don't think my kids realize how good they have it. I cook all the time.

 

Lunch is sometimes leftovers (homemade mac & cheese, homemade baked ziti, homemade shepherds pie).

 

My son often eats Quorn chicken nuggets (meat free) or homemade soups. My daughter eats a lot of gnocchi, salads and sushi.

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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: :)

 

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

 

veggies, bread cubes and cheese fondue

 

15 bean soup and cornbread

 

Thank you for posting this! I have been in a food rut since we moved. Add pregnancy into the mix and I've been wishing for a Jetson's type food solution.

Even the thought of eating out is not appealing, so I'm excited to try some of these!

 

I'm off to search for that black bean and tostones recipe!:auto:

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Peanut butter & honey sandwiches with fruit -- this is the "go to" meal

Hot dogs & mac n cheese or ramen -- hot dogs & ramen is known as Octopus and Seaweed here

Pizza bagels

Fruit salad

Muffin Tin Lunch -- fruit/cheese/lunch meat/dips served in muffin tins, like a homemade lunchable

Homemade Waffles/Pancakes

 

My oldest likes egg salad and chicken salad, but the other two won't eat it.

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Lunches are usually leftovers from dinner or sandwiches. We use 100% whole wheat bread when store bought. When homemade bread is used, it is half unbleached and half whole wheat. Typically, our sandwiches are turkey and cheese, tuna, pj&j, or egg salad.

 

We do a lot of leftovers here too. If not leftovers, it's usually PB&J, grilled cheese, or hummus and pita with veggies and dip and a piece of fruit. There's usually yogurt mixed in there somewhere.

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We do leftovers sometimes, we usually have sandwiches or a salad. If I actually cook lunch it is usually soup. My dh is RARELY home for lunch except weekends so we usually don't do much. I buy the S Rosens 9 Grain bread from Costco because it doesn't have dairy.

 

Dd can make hot dogs and mac and cheese or ramen so she gets to do that occasionally.

Edited by Sis
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Our go-to is PB&J or PB and honey. My kids also like ramen. We do Mac and Cheese occasionally. Leftovers. I will admit that we have McDonald's or Chick-fil-A every Thursday because we have playdates scheduled that day and it is fun day. And sometimes a Big Mac tastes good. :blush:

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We do stir-fry and rice each week to use up those last few veggies that would probably get tossed otherwise.

 

I also make:

 

 

  • eggs (scrambled w/ toast, omelettes, fried egg sandwiches, over easy w/ home fries)
  • beans and rice
  • wraps with shredded, leftover meat, lettuce, cheese, etc.
  • macaroni and cheese (two boxes of Annie's, a big can of drained tuna, and a cup of frozen peas)
  • ravioli (frozen, tossed with olive oil, parmasean, broccoli, and freshly diced tomatoes)
  • baked potatoes

 

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We generally eat lunch out and its our main meal of the day (typically my only meal). We don't eat typical fast food type meals, but eat at more family style places that offer full meals. We also often eat at places that utilize local products from our state (Kentucky Proud).

 

Hey, it's my only extravagance in life; I don't spend money on anything else (except books).... So instead of listing a bunch of foods that we've eaten in the recent past, please allow me to think through the idea a little of what we should or should not be eating for lunch each day....

 

Today, we went to the town where my older son is in college and ate with him at a little family owned Mexican place that is a Kentucky Proud member, for instance. My children have always eaten salads and vegi's of all sorts, so I'm not worried about them not getting a balanced diet.

 

For the three years that my older son was in a private high school, he said that there was only one thing they made there that was actually any good. I can't quite remember what it was, but I think it might have been chicken fingers of some sort. They also had Chick-Fil-A come in one day a week and while the menu was limited, I think he always ate some of their offerings. Most days, they also sold Pizza. I think it was just Little Caesar's, which is a cheap (and I'm sure not very nutritious) pizza. He would also always eat a salad along with that. Now, I could niggle over the fact that I'm sure it was Iceberg lettuce, rather than a more nutritious variety, but at least he was getting some vegi's in there....

 

Some of the colleges we visited during his search had done away with all or most of their in-house food service and replaced it with a variety of fast food vendors. I see that as a HUGE problem for daily eating over the course of 4 or more years (think Supersize Me).

 

The problem with food sold to public schools, in general, is that often it is of very poor nutritional quality. So the kids may be getting "filled up" (IF they can stand to eat it), but they're not getting the nutrition they need from it. If you go shopping and try to make thoughtful purchases of real food, especially if you can find local products at least part of the year, you're generally going to be getting better nutrition in each mouthful you eat.

 

So whether you're eating sandwiches or a full meal at lunch time, if you're trying to mix in whole grains; limit meat portions; include a proper amount of fruits and vegi's in your diet over the course of each day, then I think you're probably doing a better job with food than most schools.

 

Yesterday, my son ate a huge salad with multiple types of vegis, cheese, croutons, and topped with fried chicken breast pieces. He also ate too many yeast rolls, LOL, but he's growing right now. It took him most of our lunch hour to eat his lunch. In every school I know of here, the kids get 25 minutes OR LESS for lunch, and that includes time spent going through lines, etc. Actual eating time may be as little as 10 minutes. For me, this has always brought up the question of whether someone who is hungry can eat their fill in that short a period of time, and whether this is a healthy habit to develop and implement 5 days per week.... (And what does it do toward building life-time, adult habits?)

 

I cook dinner every night, and that is our lighter meal of the day. Leftovers of that typically get eaten by my husband and his single friends at work. These meals include things like:

 

Beef stew

Roast beef

Baked or pan-fried fish

Grilled chicken breast

Chicken thighs or legs in a stew or casserole type dish (over rice)

Tacos

Spaghetti

Pancakes and Bacon (sometimes eggs, too)

Gumbo

Jambalaya

Red beans and rice

White beans and rice

 

A variety of vegi's and fruits are added as sides to these, depending upon the season of the year and our mood....

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Breakfast - steel cut oatmeal with fruit and milk, or hardboiled eggs with fruit and milk. Pancakes on weekend.

 

Lunch - Sandwiches (PBJ, grilled cheese, tuna, or turkey), veggies, milk

 

Dinner - anything goes but kid favorites include salmon burgers, spaghetti and meatballs, rice and beans, falafel, and tacos. My son is not too picky, but I always make sure there's one thing he will eat like plain rice or bread. Everything gets served with steamed veggies and milk.

 

Snacks - cheese, olives, fruit, yogurt, nuts, rice cakes, and occasionally crackers.

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Just curious.

 

Breakfast - YoYo (your own your own) most days - available food...leftovers, eggs, fruit, hot cereal, sausage, egg and cheese muffins, yogurt

 

Lunch - YoYo always - sandwiches, leftovers whatever is on hand

 

Dinner by menu - Monday through Thursday we do two meat nights, a soup/stew night and a casserole/pasta night. The casserole/pasta dish is either non meat, uses Sunday dinner meat leftovers or has a filler meat like sausage or tuna. On weekends - Friday it's leftovers or YoYo, Saturday fancy breakfast, i.e. french toast or waffles and Sunday varies. Two or three times a month we do a big meat meal i.e. pork roast, turkey, beef roast or ham and once or twice a month we eat out, super cheap chicken or burgers if we can.

 

For snacking, breakfast and lunch I keep only "yes" foods and ingredients on hand so that no mater what is picked it's all good. Treat food is usually purchased for a special occasion like a picnic or party and is consumed pretty quickly. One exception - each of my kids is allowed 1 lb of sweet cereal per month from the bulk aisle and they may eat it whenever they choose. When it's gone it's gone until the next month's grocery trip. They've become pretty good at making it last. :)

Edited by JustGin
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I had been planning on GFDF (gluten free/dairy free) for the kids, but had no push to get us started. Well dd went to the Dr yesterday because her constipation is a worse than normal. He wants her dairy free :glare:. We've BTDT, so it isn't a problem, but I wasn't ready to flip all our menus yet. DF for now, and I'll add GF in a few weeks.

 

School breakfast and lunch are now officially out.

 

For breakfast dd has rice chex with dark chocolate almond milk and a piece of fruit. DS has a pediasure (not DF).

 

Lunches will probably be some type of sandwich- ham, turkey. A salad and fruit salad.

 

I have to redo our dinner menu. Off the top of my head- Homemade pierogies, meatloaf, salisbury steaks, quesa-less-dillas, chicken w/ broccoli and rice, and I have to think of more.

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I use E-MEALZ for my dinner meal plan, and sometimes pull some of the "dinners" as lunches every now and then (especially when I think it is something my husband won't love but the kids will). I try to give variety to the lunches and keep them well-balanced and healthy, but they tend to be a little more kid-friendly than the dinners (sloppy joes, macaroni and cheese, homemade pizzas, etc). Sometimes we do leftovers (if there are any).

 

(The link above is a referral link and will give me a small credit if you use it.)

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Breakfast is a pretty boring rotation of:

 

- Bagels

- Oatmeal with maple syrup

- Potato Patties (the kind you buy frozen)

- Home-made banana-chocolate chip muffins

 

These get served with OJ, soymilk and fruit OR a protein-spiked fruit smoothie.

 

Lunches (My husband is not home for lunch) are catch as catch can. My son makes his own, usually one of the following:

 

- Pasta with tomato sauce (I make a big batch of sauce for dinner every week or so and stash the left-overs.)

- French fries/tater tots (again, the frozen kind) with fruit and soymilk

- Left-overs of meals he especially likes, thing like vegetable samosas, falafel and couscous, etc.

- Tray of goodies. He uses a plastic school-type lunch tray and gives himelf small servings of fruit, bread with toppings, etc.

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Breakfast at our house is always a protein and vegetables for everyone, a piece of whole wheat bread for me, and of course, coffee for the adults.

 

I try to make all of my son's school lunches from scratch; however, some items are frozen, so I just reheat those. Today he took orange chicken and brown rice, broccoli, pineapple and grapefruit. Off the top of my head, other things he likes:

 

guacamole -- super easy to make and very popular with his friends

taquitos

potstickers

spicy shrimp and celery

brown rice

soups

salads (don't add dressing or it'll get soggy)

bean dishes

veggies of all kinds: broccoli, spinach, carrots, edamame, etc.

fruit: berries, grapefruit sections, pineapple, clementines, frozen pomegranate seeds (his favorite)

 

It really is no big deal to make a hot lunch for my son. I'm up pretty early as it is, and I prefer he not eat the school dreck.

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DS doesn't like bread, or starchy foods like rice, pasta or potatoes, so we do a meat, veggie and fruit along with something dairy for lunch - yesterday he had some leftover roast chicken (cold, he didn't want it heated up), cucumber slices with ranch to dip, cut up strawberries and a glass of milk. Today he'll probably have some ham, a total greek yogurt (cherry), broccoli florets with ranch to dip, and cut up melon, probably milk or water to drink.

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