It's What For Lunch

It's almost that time of year again. The most wonderful and stressful time of the year for parents.
After a long, seemingly endless summer, the kids are going back to school! (yay!) New clothes, new teachers, old friends, school lunches! (WTF?)

Yes, we have to feed them daily. Something about kids focusing better when they aren't starving, so have you given any thought to what to do so they don't bring home everything you send?

Here are some ideas for you:

Yummy nacho bites, a huge hit in the BE household!

 These yummy snacks can be made ahead of time. Place scoop style nacho chips on a cookie sheet, fill each one with a small spoonful of salsa and a pinch of shredded cheese. Bake in oven until cheese melts. Place in a shallow container once cooled and send with sour cream for dipping. (add bacon bits or a small slice of beef deli meat before baking if desired)

Mini burger buns filled with lunch meat.

Clearly the presentation won't survive the lunchbox trip, but the sandwiches are simple and friendlier looking than a huge hunk of bread. Send with all veg in a separate container. Add a small cup of salad dressing for dipping (ranch or Italian work well)

Use kitchen shears to snip off the pokey bit once food is threaded on!

Buy thicker slices of your child's favourite deli meat, I used ham here. Cut the cucumbers thick as well. Send this to school with a a butter sandwich or gold fish crackers. Add some fruit - berries or apples ( once you cut the apple, use an elastic band to hold the slices together to keep them from browning).

Again, snip the pokey bits after threading

My kids go crazy for these and the photo is pretty easy to figure out. Those bright white things are marshmallows that didn't make it to the campfire this summer. Substitute the grapes for watermelon or use smaller skewers and thread blueberries.


Some other ideas to take you beyond the regular sandwich:

1. Buy a good quality Thermos, warm canned spaghetti, leftover lasagna, stirfry or even oatmeal (add a bit of extra water). Most containers keep food warm (not hot) for 5-7hrs.
2. If your kids like Lunchables, make your own, slice cheddar, pepperoni, send cold chicken fingers or burger pieces. Always include dipping sauce and a few carrot sticks.
3. Make a freeze muffins, thaw the night before for a healthy, homemade snack.
4. Boil and peel an egg, send with buttered bread and baby tomatoes or baby dill pickles.
5. Make your own trail mix. I do. Use any of the following- pumpkin seeds, raisins, Shreddies, Cheerios, mini marshmallows, gummies, smarties, chocolate chips, puffed wheat cereal, dried cranberries, dried mango, banana chips, cheese puffs, GoldFish crackers, pretzels, teddy bear cookies. Every time you make this, it can be different!

Good luck in the coming weeks, I know we will all need it at some point.