I'm in a rut.
A lunch making rut.
The boy's don't seem to mind. I think they'd be happy to eat peanut butter and jelly for weeks on end.
I mind.
I'm tired of grilled cheese sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, ham sandwiches, frozen pizza and macaroni and cheese (I know a gasp just went out at that last one from my family. My name is Megan and I love Kraft Macaroni and Cheese...)
Yesterday I got creative and made grilled ham and cheese sandwiches.
Yeah, I'm in a rut.
This is where you come in: What are your favorite lunchtime meal creations?
I really, really want to know!
21 comments:
My name is Holly, and I love Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, too, and fed it to my kiddos so often most of them won't eat it any more. Add applesauce and it's a gourmet delight. Almost. They won't eat fried egg sandwiches, either. Sigh.
I know soup is messy with toddlers but sometimes I drain the broth and then it becomes an easy pasta dish with vegetables.
How about Quesadilla's? I make them with whole grain tortillas and my kids love them. I also make my kids nachos--whole grain chips again--which you can get at Aldi super cheap and I shred up colby-jack on it
Here's another vote for quesadillas! We put black beans in them and dip them in sour cream. Yummy.
My boys also like roll ups. Basically, a sandwich that's rolled up in a tortilla instead of bread.
Sometimes we have yogurt and granola and fruit for lunch.
Soup and crackers are always a hit too. I usually make soup for dinner once a week, so we'll have leftovers for lunch. (Chicken and rice, potato, and black bean are faves.)
Oh, and baked potatoes! This makes a yummy lunch, topped with broccoli and cheese, or black beans and cheese.
My name is Alissa and I LOVE Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, too! I am so glad I'm not the only one! I also am a HUGE lover of frozen pizza. I could it anytime!
I definitely get into that rut, too! But some of the others have the same suggestions as I do. Jenna loves cheese roll-ups or ham & cheese roll-ups, which is shredded cheese melted on a tortilla and rolled up or add ham and melt cheese on it and roll up.
Amy is my non meat eater right now, so I am happy if she gets some fruit and veggies.
I don't know...I figure, they look healthy so they're not starving, so I guess they're okay!
~Alissa
I love mac and cheese with hot dogs in it... and was pretty sad when Annika was not fired up about her first encounter with it! Actually, we normally just eat leftovers for lunch, but I just made these:
http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/ham-and-cheese-waffles-honey-mustard-dipping-sauce/
I just used honey dijon salad dressing as my dipper, and I liked them (so did she)! Even better, you can make a big batch and reheat when you don't know what to make. And I threw in some shredded veggies for some secret healthiness too. Though it is technically is still ham and cheese, it's kind of a fun take on it.
We are also all about wrapping things in tortillas! Our latest favorite are the mini bagels from Walmart's bakery with pb, low-fat cream cheese, or melted cheddar. My daughter is on a kick eating apple slices dipped in pb. We also take a cheese stick and wrap it in a ham slice.
When my kids take a tortilla wrap to school, I secure it by wrapping a chive around it and tying it. Works great (they don't eat the chive usually tho).
my new FAVORITE website!
So healthy and GOOD!
http://www.laptoplunches.com/ideas.html
http://www.laptoplunches.com/lunchmenus.html
hope this helps!
I'm on a quiche kick lately- the kids like "egg pie" and mama gets extra broccoli in...
Super easy, but it takes time to bake.
my daughter lives in gross hotdogs and pbj's. Something my boys love are bagels with either muenster cheese toasted on top and lawry salt or a toasted bagel with peanut butter, cut up bananas and honey. We also make cheese crisps alot: tortilla crisped under broil in the oven then add shredded cheddar cheese until melted, salsa if desired.
I like to toast whole wheat bread and then top with Peanut butter and then slice banana's thin and layer those on top and then you have a sandwhich for a quick lunch. This also is used for breakfast around here from time to time also.
lately i've been doing tons of leftovers, and if there aren't leftovers, sandwiches and quesadillas. but back when i was more creative and diverse, i would make a dip with refried beans, rice (i'd make extra with a dinner so i wouldn't have to do it at lunch), tomatos, etc. then i'd give them some chips (healthy ones, since it was sort of a bit part of the meal) and let them dip away. they loved it.
other ideas are some kind of pasta and just throw stuff in. you could put cold cut meat and veggies and some kind of salad dressing, or avocados, tomatos and cheese. i don't know. i'm going to have to read through other people's ideas, because if i don't have leftovers, i have a huge rut, too. :)
oh, and smith love just simple things. literally like a pile of nuts and fruits. sounds weird, and i couldn't think of it as lunch forever (it's still hard to remember) but it works.
Sorry, I really don't have a suggestion, but I just wanted to say that picture made me laugh out loud! So funny!
Great question. I'm always up for new ideas and yummy food! I'm usually a leftover girl, but sometimes get creative and do stuff like mini-bagel pizzas (canned pizza sauce and mozzarella on bagels under the broiler) and quesadillas. Another favorite is avacado on toast with salt and pepper (and fruit on the side.) If your kids aren't opposed to green stuff, it's awesome. Full of good-for-you omega fats and other healthy stuff. Something fun I just discovered was the low-sodium boxed soups in the organic section at Kroger. I just doctor them up a little with garlic, salt, and pepper. YUM! Sometimes I serve with quesadillas too. The roasted red pepper tomato bisque is awesome to dip the quesadillas or grilled cheese in.
While this might not work for every family, what I do is make enough food for supper that it also is lunch the next day. That means that my casserole, pasta, or whatever feeds 2 adults and one toddler for supper one night and lunch the next day.
I think it sounds like you actually have quite a lot of options - seriously!
I'm not real good on the balanced end. Raegan loves ham, cottage cheese, and yogurt!! Lots of protein there.
Sometimes we do yogurt, crackers, and cheese. Paige's school offers that one.
Today though I did come up with something new for me - I'm not making it for the kids.
I bought italian herb flatbread. It's like a tortilla wrap but more rectangle shape. Then I added some ham, chopped lettuce and tomatoes, shredded cheddar cheese, FRITOS!!, and some light italian dressing. OH MY GOODNESS, it is SO good!!! :)
You could also do quesadillas!
I'm hungry now! :)
oops apparently i didn't see all the other comments about quesadilla's! :)
Something easy that we like is meatball sandwiches.
I buy the frozen meatballs and put them in the microwave with pizza sauce. Then we put that on a hotdog bun. I jazz mine up with shredded lettuce and cheese.
I hear you about lunch ruts but mine sounds more like breakfast, lunch and dinner ruts. I never know what to make/serve up. There is usually at least one person in the group that doesn't like something.
You could make "pigs in a blanket" using beef smokies (almost like hot dogs, but better) or buy premade pizza crusts (near the pizza sauce) and make your own pizzas just like you like them. They even make 7" ones which are just the right size.
There's always Hamburger Helper:) or an alternative to pigs in a blanket is to take the crescent rolls (or biscuits rolled thin) and add diced turkey breast and any kind of cheese you like. My kids also like homemade chicken fingers - baked, not fried.
hmmm...we do cold cereal sometimes...I know that sounds kind of boring, but my kids like it and can get it themselves. I usually cut up fruit to go with it. Cottage cheese is a complete protein too, meaning if they have a serving of that with a fruit or veggie they're good to go. =0)
Ann
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