Packing lunch....
School is in full-swing now. Don’t we all just love those early mornings and all the rush to get out the door on time? I am fortunate this year that our Christian School has revised their lunch menu to include lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grain breads, soups, sandwich wraps, and other great menu items.
In previous years, we have packed a lunch for our kids almost every day of the week to insure that they were eating nutritious foods and balanced meals. Even with the new healthier menu, there are still days when my kids turn their nose at what is for lunch, so we pack a lunch for them to take.
Here are a few suggestions for packing school lunches for your kids, or even a lunch for yourself to take to work. You will need some supplies: lunch box, plasticware, napkins, small Thermos for soups or other warm food, little bottles of water from Sams, 2 oz. Tupperware containers for salad dressing, and about 4 oz. Tupperware containers, plastic sandwich bags and plastic snack-size bags.
I always try to keep lunch balanced with a vegetable, a fruit, a protein and a whole grain with a small bottle of water to drink. So, keeping those 4 things in mind, here are some great lunch ideas for you and your kids:
Organic string cheese stick
Whole grain Kashi crackers
Pear
Sliced cucumbers
2 Fig-Newman’s organic fig cookies (available at Walmart and Akins)
2 slices left-over Amy’s organic spinach pizza (frozen pizza available at Akins, Target & Albertsons)
Baby organic carrots
Banana
Small Stoneyfield Farm’s yogurt (available at Target, Akins and Albertsons)
Annie’s chocolate chip bunny crackers (like animal cookies - available at Walmart & Akins)
Sliced organic gala apple
Peanut butter "dip" (either all natural creamy PB alone or see my "dip" recipe below)
Raw carrots/brocolli/cauliflower & (non-fat or reduced-fat) ranch dip
Whole-grain blueberry muffin (take your favorite muffin recipe and use whole wheat pastry flour instead of white flour and use Turbinado sugar in place of white sugar)
Cherry tomatoes (organic)
Vanilla or berry flavored yogurt
Frozen berry mix (blueberries, raspberries & blackberries - it will thaw by lunch time) (put these in big enough plastic container to leave room to pour the yogurt on top)
Whole wheat carrot-raisin muffin
One-half of an Amy’s lasagna frozen dinner (heated and put in a small Thermos)
Pineapples (in 100% juice - available in lunch-size or canned)
2 Newman O’s cookies (these are like Oreo’s - available at Walmart and Akins)
Whole wheat bread (or toast) with a little butter
Breakfast for lunch!....
Whole grain pancakes or waffle (available frozen for toasting) in a sandwich-size Gladware
Small 2 oz. Tupperware of real maple syrup
Scrambled eggs in Thermos container
Baby carrots, organic
Grilled cheese on 100% whole wheat bread
Tomato soup in Thermos
Kashi TLC Original 7 Grain crackers (available at Walmart, Sam’s or Akins)
Orange wedges
Wrap in large whole wheat tortilla - turkey, cheese, diced tomato, lettuce
Plain Sunchips or Olive-oil chips (available at Akins)
Banana pudding with lots of bananas in it (1/2 pudding, 1/2 bananas, the goal is for this to qualify as a fruit and not a dessert
Peanut butter (all-natural) and jelly (100% fruit juice sweetened) sandwich on whole wheat
Carrot salad - Shredded carrot (can buy by the bag), raisins and crushed pineapple (mix w/ a little light mayo or Miracle Whip, add a little honey if not sweet enough for you)
Watermelon, seedless, cut in bite-size pieces or fresh cantaloupe and honey dew melon chunks
Tuna salad on 100% whole wheat bread or multi-grain bread - toasted - with lettuce
(Make tuna salad with small, diced apples, sliced almonds, low-fat mayo, a little mustard & sweet relish)
Frozen mixed fruit (peaches, pineapple, honey dew, grapes - it will thaw by lunch)
Veggie sticks (Available at Akins - like a french fry-type potato chip made w/ potatoes, spinach and carrots) (These are Lexi’s favorite!)
2 Fig-Newman’s organic fig cookies (available at Walmart and Akins)
Tracy’s Peanut Butter "Dip"
1/3 c. Maranatha organic, all-natural PB (or any other all natural PB)
1/4 c. Vanilla Silk Soy Milk (or any other milk)
1/4 c. real maple syrup (not the artificially maple flavored high fructose corn syrup!)
Stir all ingredients together briskly with a fork. Yes, it seems runny at first. Keep stirring and stirring until it gets combined and appears glossy. Delicious with apples, bananas, strips of bread or crackers! Yummy!
In previous years, we have packed a lunch for our kids almost every day of the week to insure that they were eating nutritious foods and balanced meals. Even with the new healthier menu, there are still days when my kids turn their nose at what is for lunch, so we pack a lunch for them to take.
Here are a few suggestions for packing school lunches for your kids, or even a lunch for yourself to take to work. You will need some supplies: lunch box, plasticware, napkins, small Thermos for soups or other warm food, little bottles of water from Sams, 2 oz. Tupperware containers for salad dressing, and about 4 oz. Tupperware containers, plastic sandwich bags and plastic snack-size bags.
I always try to keep lunch balanced with a vegetable, a fruit, a protein and a whole grain with a small bottle of water to drink. So, keeping those 4 things in mind, here are some great lunch ideas for you and your kids:
Organic string cheese stick
Whole grain Kashi crackers
Pear
Sliced cucumbers
2 Fig-Newman’s organic fig cookies (available at Walmart and Akins)
2 slices left-over Amy’s organic spinach pizza (frozen pizza available at Akins, Target & Albertsons)
Baby organic carrots
Banana
Small Stoneyfield Farm’s yogurt (available at Target, Akins and Albertsons)
Annie’s chocolate chip bunny crackers (like animal cookies - available at Walmart & Akins)
Sliced organic gala apple
Peanut butter "dip" (either all natural creamy PB alone or see my "dip" recipe below)
Raw carrots/brocolli/cauliflower & (non-fat or reduced-fat) ranch dip
Whole-grain blueberry muffin (take your favorite muffin recipe and use whole wheat pastry flour instead of white flour and use Turbinado sugar in place of white sugar)
Cherry tomatoes (organic)
Vanilla or berry flavored yogurt
Frozen berry mix (blueberries, raspberries & blackberries - it will thaw by lunch time) (put these in big enough plastic container to leave room to pour the yogurt on top)
Whole wheat carrot-raisin muffin
One-half of an Amy’s lasagna frozen dinner (heated and put in a small Thermos)
Pineapples (in 100% juice - available in lunch-size or canned)
2 Newman O’s cookies (these are like Oreo’s - available at Walmart and Akins)
Whole wheat bread (or toast) with a little butter
Breakfast for lunch!....
Whole grain pancakes or waffle (available frozen for toasting) in a sandwich-size Gladware
Small 2 oz. Tupperware of real maple syrup
Scrambled eggs in Thermos container
Baby carrots, organic
Grilled cheese on 100% whole wheat bread
Tomato soup in Thermos
Kashi TLC Original 7 Grain crackers (available at Walmart, Sam’s or Akins)
Orange wedges
Wrap in large whole wheat tortilla - turkey, cheese, diced tomato, lettuce
Plain Sunchips or Olive-oil chips (available at Akins)
Banana pudding with lots of bananas in it (1/2 pudding, 1/2 bananas, the goal is for this to qualify as a fruit and not a dessert
Peanut butter (all-natural) and jelly (100% fruit juice sweetened) sandwich on whole wheat
Carrot salad - Shredded carrot (can buy by the bag), raisins and crushed pineapple (mix w/ a little light mayo or Miracle Whip, add a little honey if not sweet enough for you)
Watermelon, seedless, cut in bite-size pieces or fresh cantaloupe and honey dew melon chunks
Tuna salad on 100% whole wheat bread or multi-grain bread - toasted - with lettuce
(Make tuna salad with small, diced apples, sliced almonds, low-fat mayo, a little mustard & sweet relish)
Frozen mixed fruit (peaches, pineapple, honey dew, grapes - it will thaw by lunch)
Veggie sticks (Available at Akins - like a french fry-type potato chip made w/ potatoes, spinach and carrots) (These are Lexi’s favorite!)
2 Fig-Newman’s organic fig cookies (available at Walmart and Akins)
Tracy’s Peanut Butter "Dip"
1/3 c. Maranatha organic, all-natural PB (or any other all natural PB)
1/4 c. Vanilla Silk Soy Milk (or any other milk)
1/4 c. real maple syrup (not the artificially maple flavored high fructose corn syrup!)
Stir all ingredients together briskly with a fork. Yes, it seems runny at first. Keep stirring and stirring until it gets combined and appears glossy. Delicious with apples, bananas, strips of bread or crackers! Yummy!
posted by Tracy N. at
11:04 AM
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