Below are some of my ideas for healthy easy lunches. It is coming close to end of August, and that means that most parents and students are getting ready to get back into the habit of packing lunches. Many lunch periods are short these days, so the need to make lunches quick to eat and nutritious is a serious challenge. My main goal for packing lunches is to provide a meal that is fun to eat and is balanced with whole grains, fruits, veggies, lean protein, and healthy fats. I hope that you and your kids will have fun making and eating the following options:
Tortilla Roll Up
Use a 6 inch tortilla, spread mustard or hummus on it. Top with 2 thin slices of turkey or ham, a thin slice of cheese and lettuce, shredded carrots, and thin slices of tomatoes. Then roll it up. This gives a fun and unique twist to your standard sandwich. To boost the fiber intake, consider using a whole wheat tortilla. To give variation to this lunch, swap between regular while flour, whole wheat, spinach and tomato based tortillas. Serve with a piece of fruit on the side.
Peanut Butter/Cornflakes/Graham Crackers Balls
This is a fun lunch that can be prepped the night before and stored in the fridge. Mix together 1/4 cup peanut butter to 1/4 cup cornflakes. Take the mixture and create balls about the size of a golf ball. (To get the correct consistency, you may have to add more peanut butter or cornflakes until the desired firmness for rolling the balls is achieved). Once balls are made, roll them in crushed graham crackers. Serve with fresh fruits such as apples, grapes, or peaches and small container of low-fat . These balls give a fun twist to your standard PBJ sandwich. **If your child has a peanut or nut allergy, then an alternative to nut butters is sunflower seed butter.
Ants on a Log
These are still fun to eat even after your kids graduate from preschool. Spread celery sticks with your child’s favorite nut butter, sunflower seed butter, hummus or cream cheese. Top with raisins or other favorite dried fruit (cranberries, blueberries, apricots, etc.). Serve with whole grain crackers to balance out the meal with a complex carb.
Pita Pockets
Stuff a whole wheat pita with ricotta cheese and slices of Granny Smith apples. Top with cinnamon OR stuff a whole wheat pita with hummus, shredded carrots, lettuce and slices of red pepper. Serve the ricotta cheese and apple pita with baby carrots and the hummus and veggie pita with your child’s favorite fruit. This will give a twist again to the typical sandwich and your kids will have fun eating it too.
Snack Kabobs with Yogurt Dip
Put grapes and cubes of cheese on thin pretzel sticks. Serve with a side of plain yogurt sweetened with honey and peanut butter or sunflower seed butter to give it more balance.
Chips and Dips
Serve baked tortilla chips with a black bean dip. Or serve pita chips with a white bean dip. Pair the chips and bean dip with a serving of your child’s favorite fruit and slices of their favorite veggie (carrots, red bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, etc.). For a quick dessert, pack a container of low-fat plain yogurt mixed with honey.
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