peachy app
I have things like mac n' cheese and pasta, because I'm not really a fan of sandwiches. I need ideas!
Of course I know there's fruits and vegies, and I've included those in my lists.
Any ideas? I don't need recipes, just lots and lots of options! Haha, thanks! :)
Answer
7 Ideas for Easy - and Healthy - School Lunches
1. Pack Produce
The great thing about fruits and vegetables is that they deliver a ton of nutrients and they don't require cooking. They also boost hydration and typically taste great without any added ingredients. Stick with what's in season, and you won't have to pay extra for fruit that's been flown in from Chile.
"Keep raw vegetables washed and cut in the fridge so all you have to do is pack them in the morning," suggests Christina Le Beau, blogger at Spoonfed.
Cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, red peppers, cucumber slices, sugar snap peas, shelled edamame, berries, clementines, apples, pears, and grapes are all perfect on their own and travel well.
2. Keep it Cool, Skip the Sugar
Instead of juice boxes, include a small bottle of frozen water, suggests Kristy Bernardo of The Wicked Noodle. "The ice will keep the rest of the lunch cool, and will melt enough by lunchtime to be drinkable."
3. Think Muffins
Muffins taste great, can be eaten without utensils, and can be customized to fit in small hands (by varying the size of the muffin tin you use). "Best of all, muffins can be cooked in a big batch on Sunday afternoon, then cooled and frozen," says Charity Curley, blogger at Foodlets. When it's time to pack lunch, reach in, grab one, and put it in the lunchbox.
Here are a few easy and delicious recipes to try:
Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins and Baked Oatmeal Cups
These mildly sweet muffins - one from Two Blue Lemons, the other from Wicked Noodle - offer lasting fullness thanks to the fiber-rich oatmeal
Italian-Style Pasta and Cheese Cups and Broccoli and Cheese Pasta Cups
Two variations on a savory theme from Foodlets, and what a great theme it is: mac-n-cheese made healthy (using whole wheat pasta, eggs, and pureed beans for more protein and fiber) and they're portable.
4. Plan for Leftovers
Any dinner that doesn't require reheating or cooling can do double-duty as lunch via the miracle of leftovers. "Pack some extra dinner into lunch containers while you're doing the dishes," suggests Sarah Waldman, an integrative nutritionist and blogger at TwoBlueLemons. Cook once, feed twice - what's not to love?
Here are some lunchbox-ready dinners:
Whole Wheat Penne Pasta with Pesto & Beans
Roasted Butternut Squash Quesadillas
Chickpea Salad (sub whatever veggies your kids will eat if peppers don't fly)
5. Try a Waffle-wich.
Another lunch staple you can cook in bulk, freeze, then use on an as-needed basis are waffles. "Every time I make waffles, I do a double batch, then lay the extras on a cookie sheet, slide it in to the freezer, then transfer them to a Ziploc bag once frozen. Then, when I'm packing lunch for my 8-year-old, I toast a waffle or two and spread with almond butter and banana slices," Le Beau says. When the waffles are whole-grain, it's a great way to get some fiber in to your kid's diet, and beat sandwich boredom.
6. Embrace Snacks
This is for all the mothers of grazers out there - it's OK if your kid will only eat snacks, Waldman says. Just follow the USDA guidelines and include tennis-ball sized portions of vegetables and whole grains, golf-ball sized portions of fruit and lean protein, and a ping pong ball of low-fat dairy. Choose from an assortment of their favorite snacks: a few cubes of cheese, dried mango, whole-grain crackers, cut up veggies with humus, and homemade popcorn or granola bar would fit the bill. "It feels better to pack a lunch that I know my son will actually eat, even if it looks more like a combination of snacks than a full meal."
7. Go Reusable While you could load your child's lunchbox up with pre-wrapped individual servings or lots of plastic baggies, there's a greener way. Use reusable containers, flatware, and even napkins, says Alexandra Zissu, author of The Conscious Kitchen and blogger at AlexandraZissu.com. We try for zero waste lunches whenever we can and it's actually pretty easy to succeed." Zissu's favorite lunch container is a tiffin, a stainless steel, stackable container that allows you to store a few different foods separately, while Le Beau likes bento-style lunchboxes, particularly LunchBots and PlanetBox. "My daughter typically goes to school with a cream cheese and jelly sandwich in one tiffin and cut up seasonal produce in another. If she's in a yogurt or applesauce phase, I pour it into a baby food jar with a lid," Zissu says.
7 Ideas for Easy - and Healthy - School Lunches
1. Pack Produce
The great thing about fruits and vegetables is that they deliver a ton of nutrients and they don't require cooking. They also boost hydration and typically taste great without any added ingredients. Stick with what's in season, and you won't have to pay extra for fruit that's been flown in from Chile.
"Keep raw vegetables washed and cut in the fridge so all you have to do is pack them in the morning," suggests Christina Le Beau, blogger at Spoonfed.
Cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, red peppers, cucumber slices, sugar snap peas, shelled edamame, berries, clementines, apples, pears, and grapes are all perfect on their own and travel well.
2. Keep it Cool, Skip the Sugar
Instead of juice boxes, include a small bottle of frozen water, suggests Kristy Bernardo of The Wicked Noodle. "The ice will keep the rest of the lunch cool, and will melt enough by lunchtime to be drinkable."
3. Think Muffins
Muffins taste great, can be eaten without utensils, and can be customized to fit in small hands (by varying the size of the muffin tin you use). "Best of all, muffins can be cooked in a big batch on Sunday afternoon, then cooled and frozen," says Charity Curley, blogger at Foodlets. When it's time to pack lunch, reach in, grab one, and put it in the lunchbox.
Here are a few easy and delicious recipes to try:
Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins and Baked Oatmeal Cups
These mildly sweet muffins - one from Two Blue Lemons, the other from Wicked Noodle - offer lasting fullness thanks to the fiber-rich oatmeal
Italian-Style Pasta and Cheese Cups and Broccoli and Cheese Pasta Cups
Two variations on a savory theme from Foodlets, and what a great theme it is: mac-n-cheese made healthy (using whole wheat pasta, eggs, and pureed beans for more protein and fiber) and they're portable.
4. Plan for Leftovers
Any dinner that doesn't require reheating or cooling can do double-duty as lunch via the miracle of leftovers. "Pack some extra dinner into lunch containers while you're doing the dishes," suggests Sarah Waldman, an integrative nutritionist and blogger at TwoBlueLemons. Cook once, feed twice - what's not to love?
Here are some lunchbox-ready dinners:
Whole Wheat Penne Pasta with Pesto & Beans
Roasted Butternut Squash Quesadillas
Chickpea Salad (sub whatever veggies your kids will eat if peppers don't fly)
5. Try a Waffle-wich.
Another lunch staple you can cook in bulk, freeze, then use on an as-needed basis are waffles. "Every time I make waffles, I do a double batch, then lay the extras on a cookie sheet, slide it in to the freezer, then transfer them to a Ziploc bag once frozen. Then, when I'm packing lunch for my 8-year-old, I toast a waffle or two and spread with almond butter and banana slices," Le Beau says. When the waffles are whole-grain, it's a great way to get some fiber in to your kid's diet, and beat sandwich boredom.
6. Embrace Snacks
This is for all the mothers of grazers out there - it's OK if your kid will only eat snacks, Waldman says. Just follow the USDA guidelines and include tennis-ball sized portions of vegetables and whole grains, golf-ball sized portions of fruit and lean protein, and a ping pong ball of low-fat dairy. Choose from an assortment of their favorite snacks: a few cubes of cheese, dried mango, whole-grain crackers, cut up veggies with humus, and homemade popcorn or granola bar would fit the bill. "It feels better to pack a lunch that I know my son will actually eat, even if it looks more like a combination of snacks than a full meal."
7. Go Reusable While you could load your child's lunchbox up with pre-wrapped individual servings or lots of plastic baggies, there's a greener way. Use reusable containers, flatware, and even napkins, says Alexandra Zissu, author of The Conscious Kitchen and blogger at AlexandraZissu.com. We try for zero waste lunches whenever we can and it's actually pretty easy to succeed." Zissu's favorite lunch container is a tiffin, a stainless steel, stackable container that allows you to store a few different foods separately, while Le Beau likes bento-style lunchboxes, particularly LunchBots and PlanetBox. "My daughter typically goes to school with a cream cheese and jelly sandwich in one tiffin and cut up seasonal produce in another. If she's in a yogurt or applesauce phase, I pour it into a baby food jar with a lid," Zissu says.
Healthy school lunch options that do not need to stay cold?
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There is no refrigeration, and I bring my lunch in a paper bag, so it's not in any sort of chilled lunchbox. I don't eat until around 12:30, so what could I bring besides pb&j everyday lol Thanks!
Answer
Most things that do not need heating up should work.
Any type of sandwiches, think turkey, lowfat cheese, lettuce, and/or tomato on whole grain bread. However, make sure that you keep the bread separate from the rest of the ingredients or else it would get soggy by lunchtime. Also, if you like, you can use those little packets of ketchup/mayo/mustard from fast food places if you need it (I would suggest mustard as it is the healthiest).
Tuna salad sandwich or egg salad sandwich would also work, but remember to keep the bread separate until right before you eat it. You can add lettuce, tomatoes, and/or cucumbers on top of these sandwiches for extra flavor.
You can also get little bags of baby carrots/ cut up celery/ grape tomatoes, some pita bread and hummus. Dip the veggies and pita bread in the hummus and you have a filling and healthy snack. Oh and you can buy the hummus and pita bread at the store premade and sometimes packaged together.
Another good option is a yogurt (it won't go bad) and an apple or any other fruit. You can add flax to the yogurt to make it more filling. Flax is sort-of like cereal, but usually in the nut isle at the grocery store.
If you have plastic throw-away containers you can get a salad topped off with nuts, cranberries, and a bit of cheese. The cranberries add such a good taste that you might not even need dressing with that.
And don't forget things like granola bars (you can even make them at home by just googling some recipes for more healthy options), low cal jello, trail mix snacks, and fruit salad cups.
Hope that helps a little.
Most things that do not need heating up should work.
Any type of sandwiches, think turkey, lowfat cheese, lettuce, and/or tomato on whole grain bread. However, make sure that you keep the bread separate from the rest of the ingredients or else it would get soggy by lunchtime. Also, if you like, you can use those little packets of ketchup/mayo/mustard from fast food places if you need it (I would suggest mustard as it is the healthiest).
Tuna salad sandwich or egg salad sandwich would also work, but remember to keep the bread separate until right before you eat it. You can add lettuce, tomatoes, and/or cucumbers on top of these sandwiches for extra flavor.
You can also get little bags of baby carrots/ cut up celery/ grape tomatoes, some pita bread and hummus. Dip the veggies and pita bread in the hummus and you have a filling and healthy snack. Oh and you can buy the hummus and pita bread at the store premade and sometimes packaged together.
Another good option is a yogurt (it won't go bad) and an apple or any other fruit. You can add flax to the yogurt to make it more filling. Flax is sort-of like cereal, but usually in the nut isle at the grocery store.
If you have plastic throw-away containers you can get a salad topped off with nuts, cranberries, and a bit of cheese. The cranberries add such a good taste that you might not even need dressing with that.
And don't forget things like granola bars (you can even make them at home by just googling some recipes for more healthy options), low cal jello, trail mix snacks, and fruit salad cups.
Hope that helps a little.
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