Back to School Lunch Ideas and Tips

August 1, 2021 by

Back to School Lunch Ideas and Tips

Ever start thinking of school lunches and wonder what the heck you’re going to pack? Well here are some great back to school lunch ideas and a few tips that might help you out!

My son isn’t quite ready for kindergarten yet but will be there next year and we’ve already exhausted a few great ideas for toddler lunches at home. So I’m trying to gather a bunch of ideas and tips so that when I am packing his lunch I can pack something that he’ll enjoy and actually eat. Good thing I have a whole year to figure this stuff out, right?

Ok, I’m not going to spend the whole year working on this. But I did start practicing by packing lunches for us to take with us on his days off preschool. When we’re heading out to the zoo, playing at the park, or heading to the beach, I’ve been able to pack lunches for him and his sister that they both enjoy. And here’s what I found… (some of the links included are affiliate links to Amazon) [Read more…]

Filed Under: Health & Wellness, In the Kitchen, Kids Health, Lunch Tagged With: , ,

10 Quick and Easy Lunch Ideas for Toddlers

April 18, 2016 by

10 Quick and Easy Lunch Ideas for Toddlers
If you have a toddler, you know how tricky lunchtime can be. With children’s ever changing tastes and food preferences, finding the perfect meal can be a challenge. We have tried to take some of the stress away from mealtime with these 10 quick and easy lunch ideas for toddlers below, perfect for filling your child up so they can be well fueled for the rest of the day! 

Each week as I plan meals for dinner, I also try and make a list of items we’ll need for lunches as well so we can kill two birds with one stone. Then when we head back home from the store on our weekly shopping trip, I prep both dinners and lunches so it’s quicker to throw together during the week. I also make sure to keep some easy frozen or pantry options on hand as well for those times that we just don’t have prep-time. 

If you are looking for lunches you can make in a jiffy that are sure to be enjoyed, give these suggestions a glance!

10 Quick and Easy Lunch Ideas for Toddlers - pizza dippers

10 Quick and Easy Lunch Ideas for Toddlers

1.Mac and Cheese Shells with Veggies and Dip

Mac and Cheese Shells (in the box) with a side of fresh veggies and salad dressing for dipping makes the perfect meal! You will love the ease of a boxed mac and cheese, and they will love dipping their carrots and celery in dressing!

2. Walking Taco

Fill a bowl with tortilla chips and add some shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, and chopped tomato if you think your child will eat them. You can also add a touch of sour cream or even diced avocado for the perfect walking taco.

Tip: Put all of the toppings out on the table and let your child choose what they put on their chips! You’d be surprised at what they choose to try. 

Weight Watchers Simple Start anytime snack

3. Yogurt Parfait

Try whipping up this easy yogurt parfait for a simple lunchtime treat. Layer plain yogurt and cereal or granola to create a sweet parfait that kiddos are sure to love. You can even top with fresh fruit if you wish!

4. Pizza Dippers

Try this easy hands on lunch that kids are sure to love. Bake some mini frozen pizza bagels and serve with some warmed pasta sauce for dipping. Kids will love dipping their bagel bites and feeding themselves.

movie night ideas fruit kabob skewer

5. Fruit Skewers

Kids love creating and eating this sweet treat! Give children a variety of cut fruit chunks and let them make their own fruit skewers. You can give them yogurt for dipping, or even add some cottage cheese on the side.

6. Breakfast Bites

Who says you can’t have breakfast for lunch? Try making some refrigerated cinnamon rolls and serve with fresh fruit, yogurt, or a protein side such as bacon or sausage links. Kids will love the variety and having breakfast for lunch.

7. Baked Potato Bar

Let kiddos build their own baked potato from a baked potato bar. Warm a potato and serve with cheese, bacon bits, veggies, and other toppings you think they will enjoy. Let them build their own potato to their liking.

Easy Lunch Ideas for Busy Moms - turkey and cheese roll ups

8. Tasty Peanut Butter Roll Ups

Try spreading peanut butter and jelly onto a tortilla shell. Roll it up and cut into wheels. Kids will love this creative way of enjoying peanut butter and jelly. Sometimes we call it PB&J sushi to make it more fun.

My kid loves ham or turkey and cheddar roll ups too! I use a toothpick to keep them together when I’m prepping them but take it out when I serve it to her. 

9. Banana Boats

Place a peeled banana into a dish and let children top it with shredded coconut, fruit, peanuts, sunflower seeds, and other fun toppings of their choice. They will love crafting their own banana boat and will love eating it even more.

10. Pasta Bar

If your child loves pasta, try making a pasta bar. Boil some pasta for them and let them choose the toppings. You can have cheese, pasta sauce, veggies, pepperoni, shredded cheeses, chicken cubes, and other toppings to make it unique.

See how fun and easy lunchtime can be? Give these 10 quick and easy lunch ideas for toddlers a try and see what fun you can have! They are sure to make lunchtime more enjoyable for all.

What’s your toddler’s favorite meal for lunch? 

Filed Under: In the Kitchen, Lunch, Recipes, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , ,

English Muffin Pizzas – Simple Toddler Meals

February 19, 2013 by

English Muffin Pizzas

Lunch time always proves to be a challenge when it comes to figuring out what to make. The kids either don’t want what your making, you’ve already served it 3 days out of the past 5, or it just doesn’t sound appealing.

So I created a cheat sheet of sorts. For lunches. You know, to take the guessing game out of the picture AND always have ingredients on hand for meals my kids will actually eat.

You can find all of my quick, easy toddler lunches here  but I thought I’d share an all-time favorite in our home, English Muffin Pizzas! And the best part is these take less than 10 minutes to make from start to finish (unless the kids are helping…).

Remember, the toppings listed below are just suggestions. There are countless other combos that would make this pizza just as tasty. These would probably make some tasty appetizers too if you’re looking for a quick fix.

This post contains affiliate links. 

English Muffin Pizzas

Preheat your toaster oven to 425 (or use your large oven if making many). Line a toaster oven safe tray or cookie sheet (for oven use) with foil.

Grab an english muffin and cut it in half. Add all of the ingredients into small, separate bowls in an assembly line. Move a stool over and let your child hop up to counter height, or assemble on the kitchen table.

Have your child spread about a spoonful of sauce onto each muffin half. Then have them take a small amount of each topping and add it to the sauce. Let them top each pizza with a pinch of cheese (careful not to over do it).

Before placing the pizzas in the oven, let your child sprinkle the top of each pizza with a little bit of Italian seasoning. Put pizzas on prepped tray and bake in the oven for 5-7 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and golden. Let cool for a minute or so then serve and enjoy!

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Tomato Zucchini Soup {Lunch Recipe}

July 23, 2012 by

 

I love simple lunches. Something I can whip up or reheat easily is key. So when I was figuring out what to do with all of the tomatoes we have coming in right now from our garden, I knew that a soup would be perfect. Now I normally roast my tomatoes with some other veggies to make the base for my marinara sauce so I thought why not roast up some tomatoes for a soup as well.

This recipe, from start to finish, takes 30 minutes and can easily be made in larger quantities to store for future lunches (or dinners!). It’d go great with a grilled cheese and a salad. The kids loved it as well!

Tomato Zucchini Soup

  • 4 Roma tomatoes, diced
  • 2 medium zucchini, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 handful fresh basil, stems removed
  • Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Line rimmed baking sheet with foil and lay tomatoes and zucchini on sheet.

Mix olive oil and garlic together in a small bowl. Drizzle over vegetables. Roast for 15-20 minutes or until slightly golden.

Remove veggies from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Add to Magic Bullet, food processor, or blender (your choice!) and blend for a few seconds until just combined. Add basil and salt and pepper. Blend until it’s at the consistency you like.

Pour and serve. This soup can be served cold, lukewarm, or hot. It tastes good either way!

Serves 2-4 depending on portion size

What type of soup do you love? 

Filed Under: Lunch, Recipes, Soups & Salads, Uncategorized, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Quick Toddler Lunches: 5 Easy Solutions

July 8, 2012 by
5 Easy Solutions for Quick Toddler Lunches

One meal that I find the hardest to make for my children is lunch. I don’t know what it is but every time I go to fix lunch my mind draws a blank. So I’ve come up with 5 easy solutions for quick toddler lunches. That means that in less than 10-15 minutes your kids will have a healthy, delicious meal to eat for their mid-day meal.

Frozen Foods and Pasta

Grab a bag of whole grain pasta out of the cupboard. Or let the kids decide what pasta they want. Then go into the freezer and grab a few nitrate free hot dogs and some frozen (or fresh) veggies. Now you’re ready to make lunch in under 10 minutes!

  1. Boil water
  2. Add Pasta and set timer (cook for however long the bag says)
  3. 1/2 way through, add frozen hot dog. 
  4. When 2-3 minutes remain, add a handful of frozen veggies
  5. Drain, cut up hot dog, and serve!  – cutting up is optional for children over 3*

Usually takes less than 10 minutes and the kids love it!

Change it up! Don’t want to use hot dogs? Toss the noodles and veggies in some olive oil or butter and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Toss some pepperonis or deli meat in for a change in flavor or cube up some cheese.

Mmmm!

*If cutting up the hot dog, remember to cut up length wise first, then width wise to reduce the chance of choking.

Roll Ups and Fresh Fruit

Another lunch idea that takes less than 10 minutes. Simply pull out some lunch meats and cheeses and put them on a plate along with a few veggies. When your kids are deciding what to put in their roll ups, wash and cut up some fruit to go on the side!

Once they’ve decided it’s time to start building! Here’s what you do:

  1. Place a slice of meat down
  2. Add some mayo or mustard (or other spread)
  3. Add cheese on top
  4. Sprinkle with veggies (easier to slice up or shred)
  5. Roll up and eat!

Serve with some fruit on the side and enjoy.

Quesadillas 10 Ways

Quesadillas are super easy. The most work spent on them is the time prepping what goes into them. And that can be done in as little as 5 minutes. You just have to know what you want in them! Here are a few suggestions for what to put in your quesadilla:

Now it’s time to make your quesadilla!

  1. Heat up pan and butter one side of tortilla. 
  2. Put tortilla in heated pan, butter side down
  3. Sprinkle with cheese and other ingredients
  4. Fold over into a half moon and cook until golden brown
  5. Flip, cook other side, and serve!

I love serving my quesadillas with some left over rice and some ripe avocado and salsa. The kids love theirs with apple slices and tortilla chips.

Pizza Perfection

What kid doesn’t love pizza? In our home pizza comes in all shapes and sizes. Don’t have pizza dough? That’s ok! Grab one of the following to get started:

1. Base
Tortilla
Whole Wheat Pita
English Muffin

Then move on to the sauces. I love just grabbing whatever jarred pasta sauce we have in the pantry:

2. Sauce
Pesto
Marinara
Meat sauce
Alfredo sauce

And for the fun part!

3. Toppings! Toppings can range anywhere from veggies to meats to cheeses. And variety is key. When you give your kids a few options you’ll be surprised to find what they choose for their pizzas.

Simply go in this order: Base, Sauce, Toppings when creating your pizza pie masterpieces.

Then just use the oven (or a toaster oven) and cook at 400 degrees for a few minutes or until cheese is bubbly and slightly golden brown! Looking for a great pizza dough recipe? Check out this one here.

Salad Bar

Just because your two year old hates lettuce, don’t rule out the power of an awesome salad bar! And as always, get the kids involved. Ask your kids to pick 5 fun toppings to add to their salad. I suggest having fruit, veggies, nuts, and some sort of crunch for them to choose from.

Then give them a few lettuce options. Spinach is a favorite in our house with romaine coming in close second. But they also love the crunch of cabbage and the pretty shapes and colors in micro greens.

Here are a few great ideas for Salad Bar fixings:

Once the kids have chosen their 5 topping choices I give them dressing choices as well. From oil and vinegar to ranch dressing and everything in between, giving them 2-3 options makes our salad bar a success.

What’s your favorite lunch time fast fix?

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