It's almost here...Back to School! I have to be honest, I don't understand why our school district starts so stinking early. Tomorrow is the first day of school here, and I am just sad for them. It's still hot. It still feels like summer here.
My husband and I are fond of telling our kids when they complain that their lunches are getting monotonous about how when we were kids, lunch every day was a peanut butter and jelly or bologna sandwich, a plastic baggie with some chips and either a piece of fruit, cut up carrots or, if we were lucky, a fruit cup. And a quarter for a carton of milk. Every day. The entire school year. So cries of monotony fall on deaf ears around here. I don't make them eat that limited a menu myself, but we are going to be repeating some things pretty often this year.
One thing we've realized is that my kids really like pasta salad. It had never occurred to me to pack pasta salad as a main for lunches. But they really like a simple salad of pasta, tomato, cucumber and Italian salad dressing. Sometimes I add onion or pepperoni, my mom adds black olive slices and green pepper. They like all the ways. So for sure that is going to make a regular appearance. Especially since it gets them to eat more vegetables.
Another thing we discovered is that tons of younger kids have lunchables for lunch. These are super easy to create by buying the store brand Ritz crackers, breaking up a slice of cheese and throwing 4 slices of pepperoni! Way cheaper than a dollar, and depending on the kind sliced cheese you buy, better tasting, and saves a lot of plastic from the landfill. I encourage them to make them cracker sandwiches using two crackers so they are more filling. A homemade lunchable, some grapes, and a couple of cookies are a popular lunch.
A few other winners from this summer:
Quesadillas- I cooked a bunch, let them cool, then sliced and put in the fridge. My kids did not mind eating them cold or room temperature, plain or dipped in sour cream.
Homemade peanut butter crackers- peanut butter between two saltines. We eat open faced ones with three or four chocolate chips as a snack or treat, but they liked having the sandwiches too.
Leftover pizza- they don't mind eating room temperature
One thing that did not work is rice. None of my kids liked rice that wasn't warmed up, so won't be adding that to lunchboxes, or cold mac and cheese.
What easy, cheap ideas do you have for kids school lunches? Please share!
Here is this week's menu plan, have a great week and good luck with school!
Monday-
- Breakfast- Leftover pancakes, banana
- Lunch- Pizza quesadillas, pretzels, sliced cucumber
- Dinner- Pork chops with BBQ sauce, microwave baked potatoes, corn on the cob
Tuesday-
- Breakfast- peanut butter oatmeal, banana
- Lunch- Sandwiches, pretzels, grapes
- Dinner- Spaghetti with Simple Spaghetti Sauce, salad, garlic toast
Wednesday-
- Breakfast- toast, eggs, banana
- Lunch- Homemade lunchable, pretzels, carrot and celery sticks
- Dinner- Fake jambalaya, green beans, garlic toast
Thursday-
- Breakfast- peanut butter oatmeal, banana
- Lunch- Sandwiches, pretzels, grapes
- Dinner- Tacos made with ground beef and lentils, corn
Friday-
- Breakfast- toast, eggs, banana
- Lunch- Peanut butter crackers, pretzels, grapes
- Dinner- Black bean burgers, roasted potatoes, roasted frozen broccoli
Saturday-
- Breakfast- Fried bologna and egg sandwiches
- Lunch- Ramen, boiled egg, carrots and celery sticks
- Dinner- Cheesy Pinto Beans (using a potato masher instead of blender), rice, Mexican Street Corn Salad using parmesan cheese as a substitute since my local doesn't carry cotija cheese
Sunday-
- Breakfast- Oatmeal Pancakes , homemade pancake syrup, scrambled eggs
- Lunch- Leftover cheesy beans made into quesadillas, canned pineapple
- Dinner- Roasted Chicken Legs, pasta salad making extra for lunch tomorrow, green beans, biscuits
Have a good week!
~ Sarah
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