OK People ... talk to me about LUNCH

[theelfqueen]

When my kids were all in school I was really good about packing them nice lunches every day.

 

Now, the one in school still gets packed lunches.

 

And the one at home with me? Yeah we eat a lot of convenience foods. (to be honest I often skipped lunch when it was just me at home) When DH is home he tends to expect a hot meal at lunch. And I tend to do what I grew up on -- convenience foods: mac n cheese, frozen pizzas, frozen popcorn chicken, ramen, things like that... straight up JUNK mostly(but I usually serve them with some kind of fruit -- something I did NOT grow up on! --  so that helps a little LOL)

 

February DH worked from home a lot and we fell into a take out abyss... killing our monthly dining out budget!

 

So, what do you do for lunches -- is it catch-as-catch-can with cereal and sandwiches? It is hot prepared meals (like what?)? Is it somewhere in between?

 

Do you suck as bad at lunch as I do?

[freesia]

I suck so badly, I don't even make lunch for anyone. Really. Everyone, including dh, who comes home for lunch is on.their.own.

 

He heats up left overs. Some of my kids make themselves quesadillas. One eats a lot of clam chowder. Other options: eggs, grilled cheese, leftovers, pb and j, tuna and very occasionally cold cuts. Sometimes, when I don't think they are having enough fruit and veg, I cut up apples or put out carrots.

[hmvaughan4]

We have a mix. If we have leftovers, we eat that. If not, it's peanut butter and jelly, grilled cheese, canned soup, frozen pizza. We always have some kind of fruit and veggie with it.

[HS Mom in NC]

We eat a lot of dinner leftovers (I cook with the intention of having leftovers) in combination of easy things like having shredded cheese, tortillas, cans of beans and salsa on hand, sandwiches, and a few frozen convenience foods from Costco like soups, flautas, fish and Asian foods.

We also eat off of disposable plates for easy clean up.

[mamiof5]

Sandwiches, quesadillas, pb and J, lots of leftovers. Fruit, veggies. Yeah, sometimes ramen or MC n cheese, but not often

[regentrude]

We have our main warm meal of the day at lunch time. Dinner is leftovers, sandwiches, salad.

It works well this way, because we are not all home at the same time to have dinner together.

I cook in my lunch break, DH comes home for lunch. If I did not cook, my DS would not eat enough good food to get the 4,000 calories he needs each day.

No meal I cook on a  weekday takes more than 25 minutes from prep beginning to table.

Edited February 29, 2016 by regentrude

[bolt.]

I just pull out what I would for a packed lunch, and put it on plates.

[myfunnybunch]

Leftovers.

 

When I used to make the boys' lunch, I did the same as bolt, and just put on the plate what I would've packed for a school lunch.

 

Now everyone makes their own lunch, usually leftovers or a sandwich, and I am SO GLAD. I hated making lunches.

 

Can you pack lunches for everyone at the same time you pack school kid's lunch? Now that I think of it, I never minded packing the girls' school lunches the night before, or even the morning of. I'd probably have been a lot happier about lunch if I'd fixed lunch bags for the boys ahead of time and pulled them out when it was time to eat. :D

[SparklyUnicorn]

I suck too.  I eat leftovers.  Not junk.  But my kids like the convenience stuff.  So I buy it for them and they make it for themselves if they don't want leftovers.  One of mine will eat leftovers sometimes or even salads. 

 

I don't know what is so much more special than say PB and J on whatever bread than ramen or whatever.  So I gave up on worrying about it.

 

 

[alisoncooks]

I'm terrible with lunches.

(I just fed you people lunch yesterday! What do you mean you want lunch today?!)

 

My kids eat way too much pasta, lots of raw fruit and veggies, some deli meat or canned beans.

 

ETA: I did spend about 3 hours yesterday working on a 2-month meal plan. If I follow it, lunches should rotate through: leftover soup, grilled cheese or quesadilla, pb&j, hotdogs or corn dog, mini egg-cheese quiches, smoothies with a hardboiled egg on the side, loaded yogurt parfait, big salad/baked potato. All with veggies and fruit.

Edited February 29, 2016 by alisoncooks

[Bambam]

Leftovers are good.

 

When I cook rice, I cook a little extra. I freeze it in freezer bags. Pull it out in the morning, and at lunch fry a couple of eggs, throw in some mixed veggies with the rice and you have fried rice. If there is any left, one of mine loves it for breakfast!

 

Wraps, sandwiches, pasta - all good and quick.

 

Chicken salad with leftover chicken - add grapes to add fruit and add even more grapes if you don't have quite enough chicken.

 

We make pizzas with flour tortillas or pita bread - either regular pizzas or ones with just pesto, fresh mozzarella cheese, tomato, and basil leaves if we have any. We also do a greek pizza with feta, spinach, and tomatoes (no sauce) - yummy!

 

Peanut butter is always good here. Grilled cheese is nice for cold days. 

 

Quesadillas are good too. If you only have a little bit of leftover chicken, you can add it as well.

 

Mexican Rolls - mixture of cream cheese/sour cream (equal parts), little salsa, cheese, and whatever else you want to throw in there.

[Mom22ns]

Do you suck as bad at lunch as I do?

 

Yes.

 

I have gone through many lunch phases:

 

Convenience food - the kids loved this because they never get junk like that any other time.

Left overs - trying to fix extra and have left-overs frequently.

Sandwiches - from lunch meat to home smoked turkey, keeping lots of yummy bread and sandwich fixings on hand.

Fend for yourself - let my kids do their own lunches (see convenience food)

 

I have of course tried to fix healthy lunches. I always have a good variety of fruit. I always have fresh veggies ready to eat along with hummus or ranch dressing. I have cooked every food I know of for lunch at one time or another. I always end up back at the same place...

 

I suck at lunch.

[fdrinca]

We have our main warm meal of the day at lunch time. Dinner is leftovers, sandwiches, salad.

It works well this way, because we are not all home at the same time to have dinner together.

I cook in my lunch break, DH comes home for lunch. If I did not cook, my DS would not eat enough good food to get the 4,000 calories he needs each day.

No meal I cook on a  weekday takes more than 25 minutes from prep beginning to table.

 

We do this too, on the days we'll be home (about 3-4 days a week). My older kids are gymnasts and aren't home for dinner, anyway, so having a big main meal at lunch is helpful for them. 

 

We do a lot of baked potatoes with variety of toppings, rice and beans, roasted veggies and chicken - all stuff that takes very little prep work. I joke with my husband that it's one step above those meals you open and reheat. I don't prep any veg (all frozen and precut) or add much by way of spices (garlic, onions) that would require additional cutting and prep. I can throw together something while the kids are doing their copywork and it's ready an hour later. 

 

I've found my kids are much more likely to eat and enjoy veggies during the day, before they get too tired. 

[EMS83]

The kids and I eat PB&J pretty much every day, unless I run out of one of those, then I scrounge, usually cheese quesadillas or eggs or something.  DH eats canned soup for lunch.  Occasionally I'll get sliced meat and cheese for sandwiches, but that's basically it.  The kids are tired of it, but it's the cheapest/healthiest thing they'll eat without me actually cooking (then they'd like pizza or mac & cheese or chicken nuggets).  Maybe I'll branch out one day, when they're all studying, doing chores independently, and not so picky.  In the meantime, PB&J.   ;)

[HeWillSoar]

I need some new ideas too!  Lots of quesadillas here, tuna melts, ham and cheese melts, mini pizzas on Boboli crusts (bbq chicken, pepperoni), hamburgers., baked potatoes, salad.  Sometimes I'll make an Asian stir fry.  Wednesdays is usually frozen meals and one packs lunch to eat at his club meeting.  Today was Subway! Two of my boys are over six feet and they like hearty meals.  The picky one is the easiest because he is happy with simple foods. 

[AndyJoy]

My kids are young, so I do the meal prep. Sometimes I rely on Kraft macaroni or chicken nuggets, but I try to do more. When I'm on top of it, these are things we do that are pretty easy but a bit better:

 

Leftovers (especially stir-fry)

baked chicken drumsticks

quesadillas with black beans and salsa

bean/cheese burritos

Costco spinach/cheese ravioli (with pesto or spaghetti sauce added)

Ham/cheese on crackers with hummus and veggies

Pita bread pizza

Chicken/broccoli/rice

Salad topped with tuna and hard-boiled eggs

Tuna salad on cucumber and celery

"Throw random veggies and chicken in a pot with rice or star pasta" soup

 

 

 

I keep edamame and broccoli in the freezer so even on convenience days they have a good veggie at least.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Once my kids hit the tween-age years we all started making our own lunches.  The kids sometimes make sandwiches or do grocery store convenience food.  Dh and I tend to make salads or heat up leftovers. 

[Jenny in Florida]

I established lunch as a DIY meal as soon as my kids were old enough to handle it. Certainly, by the time they were 10 or 11, I was out of the lunch prep business.

 

I did try to provide "intentional left-overs" from meals one or both of them especially liked and would place those prominently in the 'fridge for easy grabbing and reheating. Various kinds of Indian-inspired things were especially popular. And I made a point of having simple but relatively healthy stuff they could prep themselves (pasta with jarred sauce, good bread and hummus, fruit, etc.). However, the actual fixing each day was up to them.

[Misha]

My youngest has life threatening allergies, so I can't suck at lunch, as much I'd like to sometimes. Mostly everything we eat, I cook from scratch.

I try to plan, with my children, what types of meals/snacks they'd like for the next week or two, do a grocery shop, then I try to do heavy cooking on a day when DH is home, and then easier stuff for the rest of the time. 

 

Snacks: We do a lot of oven roasted, spicy chickpeas, muffins that we bake, popcorn with Bragg's liquid aminos, garlic, and pepper, dark chocolate squares and peanut butter. 

Meals: Brown rice, black beans with homemade salsa and cheese,
eggs with pan fried potatoes, and greens,
Homemade ravioli with cheese, 

Homemade pizza, 

tacos with greens, beans, cheese, & tofu

baked ziti with homemade sauce & pasta

 

I'd be lost without my kitchen appliances. 

 

 

Edited: I pressed tab and post was submitted before I had finished.

Edited March 1, 2016 by Misha

[T'smom]

I not only suck at lunch, I suck at the other meals too.

[LibraryLover]

Empanadas recipe from SOTW /Middle ages, I believe (this was a staple for us for quite a bit). There are other recipes in SOTW activity books, too. Middle Eastern spiced chicken skewers!

Hard cheese w/bread & butter, fruit (Viking bread?!)

Avocado & cheese on nice bread (or without bread)

Tuna salad in bread or lettuce

Quiche or frittata, hard boiled eggs, egg salad, scrambled etc

Hummus, or green garden dip * w /carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers etc

Cottage cheese, cashews

Salad or raw veggies with olives, feta (get the lettuce pre-bagged if it helps)

Annie's mac & cheese (got no problem with this once in awhile)

Giant pot of soup (I make lots of soup when it's cold. Warms up the whole house. Veggie chili is nice as well if you save meat chili for dinner). Stew. 

Bagels w/cream cheese, or pizza bagels, whole wheat English muffin pizzas, or make your own yeast dough as part of a science lesson. Science & lunch all rolled into one.   :)

Rice with veggies and leftover meat, tossed together, add a little soy or tamari

Mini meatballs with small balls of mozzarella, candy tomatoes- on a stick. Mini shishkabob. (My youngest enjoyed this in her packed school lunch for a bit, then decided no more cheese in the lunch sack. I sent a little packet of salt & pepper, and a tiny container of balsamic vinegar with this. Good protein. You can also use those tiny Applegate Farms sausages instead of meatballs. 

Plain full fat yogurt smoothie, with fruit to sweeten

 

 

*Green Garden Dip (Molly Katzen)

1 clove garlic

1 cup parsley, chopped

4 scallions, stems removed

15 fresh basil leaves (I often skip this)

3 small sprigs dill

3/4 cup buttermilk (can make butter milk w/vinegar)

1 1/2 cups ricotta

1 tsp lemon juice (I use a bit more)

Honey (sometimes I skip, depending)

salt

Mash all in food processor or blender. 

 

Edited March 1, 2016 by LibraryLover

[Tess in the Burbs]

I haven't made the kids a lunch in years. As they learned to cook/prepare food I didn't need to plan this meal. They make their own breakfast and lunch. Sometimes I make leftovers for all of us. Or offer to double what I am cooking. We all eat what we want until dinner. Makes people happy. And the kids have learned to cook the foods they want most often.

[LibraryLover]

My kids were/are great at cooking (they also do their own laundry). Two of mine love to, and treat/ed us to many yummy things. My very youngest, was very much inspired by Cooking With Clara. Good history lessons as well. (DC was/is especially fond of her Peppers and Eggs recipe.)

 

 

ETA: We wouldn't recommend Clara for actual cooking lessons. She puts oil in cold pans, among other things. lol 

Edited March 1, 2016 by LibraryLover

[matrips]

Leftovers if we have them. Most days my kids make their own pizza- toast a slice of whole wheat bread so it's crispy, put either red sauce or basil pesto on it, top with shredded cheese and then put in toaster oven to melt cheese. They love it, it's reasonably healthy, and they make it.

 

Other choices- hard boiled eggs, salad, sandwiches, peanut butter on crackers or cheese on crackers.

[theelfqueen]

My kids *can* cook but my goal is to have a shorter lunch time so that they can be done with school work all the sooner. Muppet Boy can work independently while I prep.

[momacacia]

Two days a week we have tuna salad, baked beans and steamed brocolli and/or sweet potato. Another day will be chicken salad and I'm thinking a cheese/cracker and chip/dip plate another day, and hot dogs the last day. Anything to not think about food.

[Perogi]

Leftovers if we have them

Soup

Sandwiches

Crackers and cheese, veggies

Naan and hummus, veggies

Frozen pizza

Pancakes

[kitten18]

I don't cook lunch. My kids are 10 and 12, they get their own lunch.

[kitten18]

My kids were/are great at cooking (they also do their own laundry). Two of mine love to, and treat/ed us to many yummy things. My very youngest, was very much inspired by Cooking With Clara. Good history lessons as well. (DC was/is especially fond of her Peppers and Eggs recipe.)

 

ETA: We wouldn't recommend Clara for actual cooking lessons. She puts oil in cold pans, among other things. lol

Do you remember Martin Yan, Yan Can Cook?

 

I always remember him saying, "Hot pan. Cold oil. No stick."

That is one of the first cooking shows I can remember watching and that always stuck with me.

 

 

 

Eta - my dh would cook scrambled eggs in my little cast iron skillet and they were always sticking. I finally figured out that he was putting oil in the cold pan, and he wasn't getting the pan preheat enough.

Edited March 1, 2016 by kitten18

[LisaKinVA]

Most often, lunch around here is one of three things:

 

1) leftovers

2) early dinner (because we're going to be gone until late, and will need to pack something to take later)

3) Sandwiches/Salads, crudites, fruit

 

 

[Daria]

I not only suck at lunch, I suck at the other meals too.

My kid is in PS so I have mastered lunch. My favorite recipe is cash for the lunch line. But I suck at breakfast, dinner and snacks.

 

Edited because I forgot a letter.

Edited March 1, 2016 by Daria

[Pink and Green Mom]

My oldest buys lunch at school every day (and we just got a letter home from the lady who runs the cafeteria thanking us for being so supportive - um, it's called Lazy Mom).  It is better than anything I would make him.  She uses a lot of organic ingredients, cooks from scratch, and there is a beautiful salad bar (that my son loves).

 

Poor youngest at home.  LOL.  He has to cook his own lunch and clean up all the dishes/pots/pans.  He usually makes scrambled eggs or boxed mac and cheese.  I like him to have a fruit and/or vegetable with lunch.  Sometimes I am successful.   We don't seem to have many left overs here no matter how much I cook for dinner.  If I make it, the almost 15 year old will eat it. 

 

When I grew up lunch was pretty much limited to PB&J if we were home.  Maybe cold cuts, too.  I just find now if I buy cold cuts and bread they go bad before we finish them.

[Tap]

Lunch here can be anything from nothing (if no one is hungry) to a full sit down meal of left overs.  I would not cook a full meal from scratch at lunch time though.  I will make something like tuna or a nice salad, but not cook more than one or two items.