Healthy Lunches for the Lunch Box Kid

Recently my friend Rebecca asked me if I could suggest some healthy alternatives to the less than nutritious school lunches. Here it goes...

Healthy Kid Friendly Lunches-

My sister often demos this at Trader Joe’s for school lunch or breakfast.

Trader Joe's Monkey Dog

One honey wheat hot dog bun

Organic peanut butter

One small banana

Drizzle of honey

Spread peanut butter on toasted or untoasted hotdog bun

Peel banana and put in bun

Drizzle with honey

Wrap in foil

Kids get lots of protein, fruit and much needed carbs for energy.

Easy lunch box quiche

Spray and line pie pan with one large whole wheat tortilla- all natural.

Beat 5 eggs

Sauté any vegetables they will eat and add any meat left over from breakfast or dinner, even sliced ham or turkey.

Put in tortilla "crust".

Sprinkle any grated cheese the kids like.

Pour beaten egg over top til it is even with crust.

Bake on a cookie sheet with sides at 350 til firm, about 25min.

Cut in wedges when cool. This is great cold too and travels in lunches well. I make this for us with sauteed onion, spinach and mushroom with ricotta and a little Parmesan cheese. I use egg white and whole egg. It winds up being about 125 calories per 1/6 or the quiche but kids usually like broccoli and cheddar. Chop the broccoli small, add tsp dollops of ricotta cheese and grated cheddar. Sprinkle parmesan on top. Note- Not all products are created equal. Trader Joe’s ricotta is all natural. The leading store brand has a lot of added “ingredients”.

Sweet Potatoes

The little ones are good whole because you can reheat them in the morning and put them in a ziploc bag and they are really good at lunchtime – very healthy! Pair with a cold chicken drumstick from last nights dinner!

Egg, chicken, turkey or tuna salad in an ice cream cone-

I used to make these for my kids when they were little and all their friends wanted them. The plain cake type ice cream cones, not the sugar cones, filled with one of the salads are fun to eat and the cones are very low in sugar and calories.

Whole grain baked rotelle- Good cold, too.

Have you tried whole grain pasta? The Trader Joe’s whole wheat rotelle is good. Make sure you cook it long enough. It takes longer than semolina pasta. It has more protein and fiber. It is really good if you bake it in marinara and ricotta cheese topped with some mozzarella and parmesan. You can add ground turkey or beef if you want. I add ground turkey, spinach and mushroom or I omit the turkey because Katie is a vegetarian.

Fresh soybeans

They are good warm or cold and are fun to eat right out of the pods. They are high in protein.

More next time.