Munch on Lunch - Kid Friendly Recipes
It's almost that time of the year again: back to school; back to packing snacks and lunches 5 times a week. Every parent wants to provide a variety of nutritious meals and snacks for their children. This may seem like a daunting task during the morning rush. One of our best tips to help struggling parents is plan ahead.
We at Solutions have a few recipes that your kids will love.
Before we get started here's a few items that'll help with your back to school packing that are on SALE now:
Bento Lunch Box
Lunch Bag the Traveller
Folding Cutlery Set
-Ham and Cheese Roll Ups
These take minutes to make and kids will just love them. I recommend making 4 or 5 of them for lunch.
Ingredients:
1 slice deli ham
1 tbsp cream cheese
sliced green onions
Recipe
1) Spread cream cheese on piece of ham.
2) Place on green onion parallel to one edge of each slice.
3) Tightly roll the ham slices into logs around green onions.
Some Variations
You can place the hams on pizza rolls and then heat them up in the oven to give it a little texture.
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Turkey, Apple, and Swiss Melt
Add a little zing to the bland sandwiches with some fruit.
Ingredients:
1 tbsp
Dijon mustard
1 tbsp honey
4 (1-once) slices whole wheat bread
5 ounces thinly sliced Granny Smith apple
8 ounces thinly sliced lower-sodium deli turkey breast
cooking spray
Recipe
1) Combine mustard and honey in a small bowl.
2) Spread one side of two bread slices with 1 ½ teaspoons of mustard mixture.
3) Place one slice of cheese on dressed side of bread.
4) Top slices of bread with 5 apple slices and 2 ounces of turkey.
5) Top sandwiches with remaining 2 bread slices.
6) Coat both sides of sandwiches with cooking spray.
7) Heat large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and place sandwiches in pan for 2 minutes on each side until browned and cheese melts.
Some Variations
Replace the apples with other pears, clementines, or other fruit.
Taco Chicken Soup
This soup is easy to make that relies on kitchen staples. It's very simple to make ahead of time and can be frozen for up to 3 months. Place it in a Thermos to keep it warm for lunch.
Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil
1 small yellow or white onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 (15 ounce) can of black beans, drained
1 (14.5 ounce) can of Del Monte Stewed tomatoes
1 (15.25 ounce) can of Del Monte Golden Sweet Corn While Kernel, drained
1 (8 ounce) can of Del Monte Tomato Sauce
2 cups of shredded chicken
1 tbsp of taco seasoning
2 cups of chicken broth (14 ounce can)
salt and pepper for taste
Recipe
1) Heat the oil in a large pot over medium. Add the onion and pepper, season with salt and pepper and cook for minutes.
2) Add the black beans, stewed tomatoes, corn, tomato sauce, chicken and taco seasoning. Stir to combine.
3) Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if needed.
Some Variations
You can add your choice of any taco toppings with the mix – tortilla chips, sour cream, cheese, avocado, olives, etc
Kidsadillas
This is an easy to lunch to make ahead of time that brings the comfort of grilled cheese and the goodness of pizza rolled in one!
Ingredients:
2-8 inch tortillas, small enough for slices to fit into a lunchbox
3 tbsp spaghetti sauce or 3tbsp pizza sauce
1/4 cup shredded cheese, whatever you prefer
meat slices -- pepperoni, ham, turkey, or chicken
Recipe
1) Spray the bottom of a non-stick skillet with cooking spray and preheat.
2) Place 1 Tortilla when pan is heated.
3) Spread sauce right away as Tortilla warms up.
4) Add your meat cuts and shredded cheese.
5) Place another Tortilla on top of it. When bottom Tortilla is golden brown, flip to brown other Tortilla.
6) Once both sides are browned; let it cool down and slice like a pizza and wrap it snugly with foil or paper parchment.
7) You can wrap remaining slices separately in foil and freeze them. Simply thaw and re-heat before serving.
This is an easy to lunch to make ahead of time that brings the comfort of grilled cheese and the goodness of pizza rolled in one!
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Reminder
Make sure to add some snacks with these lunches.
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