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What are your favorite to go meals?


mommyoffive
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Any sort of leftover that is good to eat cold. Pizza is a favorite but pasta meals and casseroles can be good cold too.

Crock pot meals that can be taken along in the crock pot so it is still warm when it is time to eat. I can't remember where I saw this but one mom would cook hot dogs coins and chili in the crockpot and bring it to her kids' baseball games. Open a snack size bag of corn chips, ladle in some chili and hot dogs and put a little cheese on top and you have fritos chili pie in a bag. Not the healthiest but fun change of pace every now and then. I'm sure there are lots of other variations on this idea as well. Maybe beef stew or chicken pot pie filling in the crockpot and serve it over a biscuit in a bowl?

The traditional sack lunch was always a favorite with my kids too because they weren't eating it every day for lunch. It is quick and easy for them to throw their own together if you take a little time to set up some choices. I can go more into detail if you want but it is nothing mind blowing or anything. Just setting up a system so they can make their own bagged lunch/dinner before they head out the door.

Bento boxes are just another take on sack lunches and goes well with the suggestion above of just having "bunch of stuff on a plate". Some grocery stores sell premade bento boxes near the deli if you are really in a hurry.

 

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My kids are generally happy with typical dinner food (hot main dish) or lunch stuff (sandwich, fruit and one more thing). They tend to prefer heavier, hot food in the winter.

Burritos are faves here - both traditional tex-mex and breakfast.

Rice and beans

Stir fry

Bagels - sammies or with c cheese

Mac n cheese or pasta with pesto or lasagna

Shepherd's pie

Pigs in a blanket 

 

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Black bean burritos.  They can be served at room temp on the go.  I just get a can of black beans (or often cook my own), drain the liquid, add cheese and whatever else (usually a little salsa, sometimes chopped cilantro and onions, and sprinkle with a little garlic, salt and pepper).  I serve them with baby carrots.  

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I have loved our Hot Logic warmer. I have an adapter for it so that I can plug it in, in the car, and we can have a hot meal on the go. I like to carry paper plates, etc. in the car as well, so it's all ready to go. I prefer to do simple or casserole type things (chili and beans, enchiladas, etc) but also do meat and veggie type meals. It works for everything and has cut down on our drive-thru meals. We get tired of sandwich type things very quickly and this allows us to eat regular meals.

If you are ever looking at getting one, don't pay full price. Sign up for emails, they have sales quite often.

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I always took cheese and crackers, maybe salami or pepperoni, some carrot/celery sticks, fruit, peanut butter, graham crackers... other stuff, whatever we had, kinda  like Happysmileylady. I took a sharp knife, a spreading knife, some cloth napkins, and a cutting board.  My kids liked peanut butter on graham crackers, and it was easier to deal with than bread; they didn't really like sandwiches anyway.  Or we'd put peanut butter on apples.  We ate lunch that way at home often, too, if we didn't want anything hot.  

When they were little, we didn't know they would like this, but if I was doing this now, I'd add in some chickpeas roasted in olive oil and seasonings till crisp.

Edited by marbel
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Here is the recipe for Chicken Paprika that I'm making tonight.  This is a dish I forget about that we like.  It contains ingredients I usually keep on hand, but it's just different from our winter "regulars." I'm not afraid to try a new recipe since I know I can adjust the seasoning as I cook.  I picked up some smoked paprika from Trader Joe's and plan to use that.  I always serve it over egg noodles, so I'm just going to ignore the blogger's brown rice suggestion.

Usually, I use THIS recipe from Taste of Home, but I'm short-cutting it by a lot with the quicker recipe above.  I've made this recipe for over twenty years, but I usually forget about it and only make it once or twice a year.  It's hard to beat it for flavor, but I'm not in the mood to start with a whole chicken tonight.  (And by "tonight" I mean it's 7 p.m. and I haven't started cooking dinner.)

OK.  I'd better log off and go chop some peppers!

ETA:

Just ignore me.  This is NOT a good meal to pack unless you want to explore thermos/mini crockpot options.  Seriously, if you have an outlet, those Lunch Crocks could really improve your life.  I put leftovers in ours for co-op days.   I read your title as favorite go-to meals to get out of a cooking rut.  I am illiterate. 

Edited by KungFuPanda
illiteracy
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Walking tacos- I kept the meat/bean mixture in a thermos container, and had individual bags of Fritos. Crush the chips, open the bag and add meat, then top with cheese, lettuce, sour cream I had in the cooler. We ALWAYS brought a cooler.  Eat out of the bag w a spoon and toss the empty bag in the trash. Very little mess.
My family’s favorite was cold chicken tenders coated with panko and either baked or fried. They were eaten out of hand, put in a tortilla or wrap, or on a bun. Made into wraps were always the most favored, and I liked it because I could add veggies. 
 

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One thing we take to co-op for lunches that is different than most of the suggestions so far is this soup, eaten cold.  

Keto Green Chicken Enchilada Soup

The ingredients are 

  • 1 cups salsa verde (see example)
  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 4 cups bone broth or chicken stock
  • 4 cups cooked chicken, shredded

It tastes great hot, but I always eat the leftovers cold because I think it tastes even better that way, and bonus...it’s easy to eat on the go like that!  We also make Cheesy Zoodles (a low carb mac ‘n cheese style dish made with spiralized zucchini instead of pasta) and those are fantastic cold.  

Edited by *Jessica*
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Let's see...some favorites..

hummus with carrots, cucumbers, red peppers, and chips

tzatziki with those mini naan breads or cut up pita bread

Egyptian red lentil soup with cut up lemons (not everybody likes) and pita chips

Banana milkshakes... frozen banana, milk of choice, dash of vanilla (can add honey or agave too...we don't)

Mini bagels with cream cheese and tomatoes or cucumbers (depends on kid)

BLTs made with Morningstar Farms veggie bacon or turkey bacon...and cut into triangles (important on BLTs for some weird reason)

Deviled eggs many different ways... current favorite is Caesar deviled eggs

Egg salad sandwiches 

Cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches

One pot spaghetti made in the Instant Pot...and put in a thermos. I cut the spaghetti with kitchen shears or use a smaller pasta shape if traveling 

Chicken kebabs with Trader Joe's garlic sauce for dipping

Wraps made with cream cheese, sliced turkey, red peppers, banana peppers and cut into pinwheels

Homemade trail mix... usually contains Cheerios (banana nut right now), maybe popcorn, dark chocolate chips, almonds, pistachios, etc.

Cut up cheese and crackers

Nutella, banana, and strawberry wraps

 

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Seriously..look at food cart menus.  They are notoriously portable meals.

Invest in individual soup  thermos.

Invest in  bento plates with a lid that seals completely.

Cook the same meals that you would eat at home and put them in the appropriate container.

Dancing 7 nights a week doesn't lend it self to eating junky type food. Just make sure you have the right dishes and almost everything is portable.

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2 hours ago, CuriousMomof3 said:

Could you switch your main meal to breakfast or lunch?

If I was homeschooling, and dinner at home at the table didn't work, I think I'd do that, and pack the kinds of things I usually send for school lunch for dinner.  I consider what my kids eat for lunch to be healthy, not junky, but it's definitely more finger foods.

 

We do this at our house. We have our big, cooked dinner around 2 p.m. and supper is easier, lighter stuff.  I have dance classes most nights and just don't feel like cooking after that.  Dh works from home, but even if he didn't, it just works out better for me to do the big cooking mid-day. 

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