Lunch Time Ideas

According to most health/nutrition experts kids should NOT eat: chicken nuggets, fish sticks, hot dogs/corn dogs, lunch meat, soup/sphagettios from a can, frozen pizza... you get the point--most "kid-approved" choices. We do try to stay away from most of these things or limit them to rare occasions; therefore, I've had to become more creative for our every day lunches!


Here are some of the things my kids like to eat:

• PBB&J Roll-Ups (Peanut Butter, Banana, & Jelly)--Spread a whole wheat tortilla with peanut butter and jelly (we get the reduced sugar kind and it's so much less sticky!) and roll it around a banana. Kids can eat it whole or cut into slices.
• "Fancy" Macaroni--I start with whole wheat pasta and add some shredded cheddar with a little milk. Next I stir in different veggies (chopped or purred) and chunks of chicken. (This is a great way to use leftover meat/veggies!) My kids get excited to eat it b/c we call it "fancy"!
• Quesadillas--I make all different kinds of quesadillas. I usually start with some sour cream and then add chicken, veggies (broc, carrots, peppers, corn, etc.), black beans, and cheese. We also make breakfast quesadillas--sour cream, scrambled eggs, bacon or sausage, cheese & veggies.
• Chicken or Tuna Salad--We make a chicken salad with chunks of chicken breast, green grapes, pineapple, light mayo, and peanuts. We make tuna salad with bbq sauce. We eat these with crackers or deli thins.
• Mini-Pizzas--I start with whole wheat bagels or whole wheat deli thins, top with traditional toppings (sauce, meat, cheese) sneak on veggie toppings (corn, grated carrots, chopped mushrooms or peppers) OR make bbq chicken pizzas w/ chicken, corn, bbq, and cheese.
• I make my own marinara sauce with LOTS of veggies. Sometimes I start with a jar of sauce but have also made it from scratch. I add pureed cauliflower and carrots and chopped mushrooms, peppers (green & red), and tomatoes. Sometimes I add sausage or hamburger. I also add in fresh herbs that we have on hand. I freeze it in meal-size portions that I can pull out and pop in the microwave.
• I make soup about once a week (all different kinds). I always make a double batch and freeze the leftovers in meal-size portions that I can pull out at lunch time.
• We make our own chicken nuggets and fish sticks! For the breading, a use a combination of panko bread crumbs (I think they work better than regular), ground flax seed, and wheat germ. (Sometimes we smash up goldfish crackers to add to the mix!) Dip your chicken chunks or fish sticks in egg (you can add mayo/ranch/etc. for flavor) and toss in breading mixture and bake! It's really that easy! Fish needs to bake at 425 for only about 10 minutes. Chicken takes longer (30-50 minutes depending on the size of your chunks) at a lower temp (350-375).

These are fish sticks and cauliflower nuggets that we made yesterday: I used this recipe for the nuggets, but swapped cheddar cheese for the recommended parmesan. They tasted fried (but they really were baked!) These fish sticks were from a kids cookbook. Mix 1 T. lime juice and some lime zest with 1/2 c. light mayo. Reserve half of mixture for dipping sauce and add 1 T. relish to eat. Add 1 egg to the other half and use it to dip the fish (we used tilapia, cod also works well!) in. Use breading mixture described above. My kids gobbled them (and also loved the lime tartar sauce!)