Need Fun and Creative Ideas for Lunches

Hi! Healthy eating does not have to be complicated or time consuming, you just need a variety of fresh ingredients and some ideas. I really like open-faced sandwiches at lunchtime, which are easier to eat because they are not as tall and and the stuff doesn't slip out when you bite down. Try a bagel with cream cheese and taking it to the next level with sliced tomatoes, sprouts, or sliced avocado (I like a little salt sprinkled on the avocado) and if you eat fish, smoked salmon. Hummus also makes a good, protein-rich sandwich spread. If you have a toaster oven, melt a cheddar and tomato open faced sandwich--yummy! Also, pesto sauce makes a great spread instead of mayo.

Also, Rachel Ray recipes are great for beginner cooks:
http://www.rachaelray.com/food_search.php

See also this related site: http://www.yum-o.org/

Polenta is super easy to cook. You can buy it in at Trader Joe's or Fred Meyer for cheap. Put some spaghetti sauce, green beans or zuchinni on it, parmesan and stick it in the over for 40 minutes. Super yummy, quick and easy, plus the kids love it!

Try the Kraft Food and Family Magazine or there web site foodandfamily.com. I think they have great ideas, fast fun things, and there easy!!
I try them out on my 5 year old and she thinks its fun when i let her help me with something new.

A couple quick ideas...Rachael Ray's "365 Meals, No Repeats" cookbook. You might want to check out http://www.savingdinner.com. There are lots of menu options (you can pay a small fee for a weekly menu plan but there's free stuff on the site to get you started), including vegetarian. You might also check out allrecipes.com. You can just type in whatever food you're thinking of preparing and get any number of recipes and you can pick and choose for your growing skill level.
(And that's 100% free).

It helps a lot to plan a weekly menu, even for the lunches (which can be as simple as Monday is sammie day, Tuesday is noodle day...etc). It makes shopping easier (and more economical), it helps folks know what to look forward to and it makes your life easier because you're not frantically running around at 4 p.m. trying to figure out "what's for dinner".

Congratulations, btw, on expanding your repitoire. I love to cook and it makes me happy to see other folks getting into it, too. And it is also not to soon to get the boys involved in the cooking process. There are things even the 1 year old can do in the kitchen. Get them to help and they won't get resentful of your "busy" time. Plus, it will teach them soooo much and give them some wonderful skills. (Our daughter was in the kitchen with us from the time she could stand on a stool to "help"...and while it may have required some extra patience from time to time..."Me help, me help"..."No, only mommy gets to use the knife, honey"...at 14 she has become a very good cook in her own right and quite an accomplished baker.

You aren't just getting your kids fed, you are bringing your family together. That is a beautiful thing.

My boys are now 13 and almost 11, and it was always challenging finding stuff they would eat and enjoy.

They also love grilled cheese with a mug of tomato soup for dipping, veggies with ranch dip, homemade pizza and garlic bread.

An easy dinner is vegetable soup and so easy to make. Just a couple cans of cream of mushroom or celery (or whatever cream soup) in your crock pot/slow cooker. Then cut up veggies or just throw in some canned veggies and enough water until it looks the right consistency. Throw the lid on, leave on high for about 15 minutes, stir, then turn to low and let it simmer all day. A tossed salad with some boiled eggs (sliced or cubed) in it adds protein, and you can put some little bowls out with optional add-ons for the kids to sprinkle on their soup and salad; shredded cheese, chopped olives, sliced mushrooms, lentils, sunflower seeds, croutons, etc. My kids have always loved choosing what they will and will not add to "my own" dinner.

We love soup and it's soooo easy. They sell "soup mix" in the dried bean section of your store. It's in a plastic bag and has directions on the back. You just put the contents (usually beans and lentils) into your slow cooker and add the water and spices, let it simmer, and you have a healthy, easy dinner. There's usually plenty left over to have for lunch the next day with the sprinkle add-on options to make it fun and colorful. Split pea soup is easy as well and my kids have always loved eating "snotty soup"...yes, well, it's green and boys love to say gross things! lol

My kids have always loved growing a small garden and eating for dinner what we picked out that afternoon. They were more willing to try something new that came from our garden, that they helped grow, pick, and wash than if I bought the same thing at the store. They even love brussel sprouts!

There are some great, simple cookbooks with kid-friendly recipes. Take heart, my friend! I was a total know-nothing about cooking when I got married at 18...my repertoire including mac & chz, tuna, and cereal. Today I cook dinner just about every night for "my guys" and they are good sports about my misadventures. Slowly but surely, you will add more and more that you can do!

God bless,
T.
http://www.bornagainresale.net

E.,

First of all, I think your boys have the coolest names! Second, congrats on the soon to be arrival and third, I am totally with you on the eat at home healthy and say no to gas prices. Instead support your local neighborhood! So, I have a few recipes I use from when I was little and I've asked my mom to come over so I can get it right, but I also found a website that you can learn to cook from kids with videos (don't worry there is a pause button). I plan to figure out the easiest way to go about cooking for my daughter and then when she is old enough (another year she'll be 3 years old) then she can start making them too.

Here is the website: http://www.spatulatta.com/recipebox.html

Also, the Food Network is cool too because they have recipes that only take 15 minutes, but sound amazing:
http://search.foodnetwork.com/food/recipe/cooking+for+kid...

One more thing, I am not going to try it, but I thought I would mention it for fun. There are a great deal of companies I found on the internet that deliver healthy meals that are frozen, just like companies do for diet plans, but for your kids! I thought that was interesting...

Anyway, take care and happy cooking to you!
G.

This is my 2 1/2 year olds lunch repertoire:

quesadilla (it's really a burrito but that's what he calls it) We do it with beans and cheese and add rice and/or avocado if we have it. He loves just a little green salsa. He eats this ALL the time. Try whole wheat tortillas.

turkey sandwich (I usually make it a hot one with cheese in the toaster oven)

pbj

rice & beans (he LOVES this!)

mac & cheese occasionally (with peas)--I do it with Annie's shells and then the peas kind of get "stuck" in the shells and he thinks it's cool

I pair one of the above with fruit and call it good. Eventually we'll branch out but he's pretty picky right now! Good luck

I make grilled cheese sandwiches and quesadilla's that I've cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Though my 18month old really could care less lol, but makes me feel like I'm doing something special. Also sometimes I make her breakfast for lunch on the days she sleeps in. Like pancakes with silly faces using chocolate chips, fruit and whipped cream or yogurt. I haven't done it yet, but a friend of mine uses food coloring when she makes sandwiches/pancakes/french toast and her kids LOVE it. Good luck!!

Rachael Ray has a cookbook out called Kids food: Top 30 30minute recipes. I just put it on hold at the library but it looks great and healty for the most part. Also, in your mac and cheese if you have done so, add a jar of baby food squash. I do this with my kids, it is the same color as the cheese sauce and they can't tell. Plus, I think it gives it a sweet taste. Hope this helps.
K.

My 18mo old son loves rice. If you have a rice cooker it just takes a minute to put the rice and water in and push the button then it takes care of itself. I also give him fruit and offer a veggie. He loves most fruit and is warming up to veggies. I have some small cookie cutters that I use to cut fun shapes in the veggies or cheese to make it more exciting. My son also likes pinto and black beans, I mash them and spread them on a tortilla then roll it up and he loves it.

E.~
We make octopuses out of hotdogs, that swim in noodles. Cook your "hotdog" (my SIL is a vegan, and she eats some sort of veggie and tofu hotdog) cook as per directions and then take kitchen scissors and cut one end (until about half way up the "dog")so that it looks like tenticles. I usually cut it in half then in half again and so on. Then take some ketchup and make some eyes (little dots), mustard for a nose (little dot) and alternate mustard and ketchup (little dots) for a smily face. Cook some top raman (or any long noodle) and "swim" (fan out the tenticles) in the noodles. My daughter gets a kick out of it everytime. As for dinner, have your tired looking into any of the 30 minutes meal cookbooks? I have a whole bunch of them and they save the day for most meals. Most will offer a main dish and a side dish in under 30 minutes. Have fun with your food!!

Hey E.! I got Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook "Deceptively Delicious" for Christmas, and it is full of really great recipes for kids. They are easy and kid friendly. Her thing is "sneaking" veggies into the recipes, so her kids can't even tell. She basically makes puree's of all different kinds of vegetables, and freezes them, then uses them in her recipes. I haven't tried the puree's yet, but I've tried some of the recipes, and they are great and quick!

My boys love Dino Nuggets (lightly breaded chicken nuggets shaped like dinosours. We get them at Costco or Thriftway). I usually add a few berries & some cheese, & it makes a decent meal that gets eaten. Another simple thing they love is baked beans on toast. For fruits & veggies, we pretend like we're animals ~ bunnies for carrots (cook a bag of frozen ones), horses for apples, dinosours for brocoli & spinach. Silly, but it works sometimes. Boboli pizzas are easy & kids can help.

I am the only vegetarian in my family, so usually I make what I want (or have time for) & cook a few pieces of chicken on the george forman grill for everyone else. Hint: if you get the frozen chicken, if you rinse them under water before cooking them, they turn out better. It took me a couple years to figure that one out :). Hope some of these help. Good luck!

M.

How old are you kids? Have them help you!!

I like to do assemble your own tortillar/pizza. Use tomato ketsup,strawberry jam, hoisin sause, mayo, hammus or salsa (aka whatever) as spread and add anything in the fridge. Cut up fruits, microwaved carrots, canned tuna, boiled eggs, lettuce, cheese, left over pasta, left over stir-fried vege. etc will go in there. (not all together, I mind you). My kids' favorite "mama pizza" involves a slice of bread, tomato ketsup, sliced apple and cheese. Broil until top is brown.

If you have a bread machine, make pizza dough, and let kids loose with a bottle of spaghetti sauce, cheese and choices of stuff they like. My kids have been doing this since they were preschool, and they love it. Too much cheese, a bit burned? They don't care, and they have so much fun. They sometimes want to put bottled teriyaki sauce as an experiment. It was good.

Enjoy.

K.

my girls love to make grilled cheese sandwiches. we get different kinds of breads - sour dough or baked bread. we add ham to ours but you can leave it out. the other thing we make are mini pizzas. we take hoagie rolls and break them open and lay them out on a cookie tray and just add the jarred pizza sauce, shredded cheese and they pick out whatever toppings. olives, mushrooms, pineapple, tomatoe slices...etc. this is very fast and they have fun helping.

Hi E.!

It's great that you have been enjoying spending more time at home and are starting to feel like doing some more experimental cooking. I LOVE to cook! I'm not talented in art or music so it's fun for me to have area where I can try to be creative.

If you don't have one already, I would recommend buying at least one basic general cookbook - Betty Crocker, etc. If you can follow directions you can cook! Sometimes the terminology might be confusing at first like what does "fold in" mean, but start out with a recipe that sounds simple and expand from there. You can also ask friends or relatives that make something you like if they will show you how they do it and let you help. Eventually you will start to "play" with recipes and make changes to suit them to the tastes of you and your family and next you'll start making up your own!

Since your boys are still toddlers, I would recommend finger foods and since you are mostly vegetarian you could do a lot with fruits and vegetables.

One easy thing to do is to either grill or "oven blast" vegetables. Take zuchini, bell peppers, asparagus, mushrooms, broccholi or nearly any vegetable you like.

Put them in a plastic bag with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil (enough to coat the vegetables) and a little salt & pepper and either grill them on your barbecue or put them on a cookie sheet and cook them in your oven that has been pre-heated to 500 degrees. You only need to cook them for a few minutes until the edges of the vegetables start to brown so keep on eye on them!!!

To go with it you could make some pasta in a fun shape that is easy for little fingers to handle. Just follow the directions on the pasta package and then rinse the pasta in cold water after it cooks. (Make the pasta before you make the vegetables and let the pasta cool a little while the vegetables cook.)

Although it isn't vegetarian, jello blocks were always popular with my kids when they were toddlers.

There are also some great vegan meat substitutes out there that are made with tofu. If you don't tell your husband he might not notice! Boca makes a great hamburger substitute, both patties and ground. You can use the ground bocca burger to make tacos which is also really easy.

Hope this gives you a few ideas!

V.

There are SOOOOOO many websites that cater to lunches for kids - and many of them are vegan/vegeterian.

One of my fav's is http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/ and http://shmooedfood.blogspot.com/- J. writes so conversationally, and her recipes are easy to follow, and kid friendly!

Another fun one is cottage-recipes.com - there are lots of different types of recipes over there for just about every meal

These are other food related sites - some of the food is VERY asian themed, but not all of it. All of these are run by moms too.

http://www.bentoyum.com/
http://www.cookingcute.com/recipes.htm
http://justhungry.com/recipes
http://whatsforlunchhoney.blogspot.com/
http://www.veggiemealplans.com/

I hope that some of these perk your interest and get the creative lunch juices flowing within your brain!

I gotta go eat lunch now! All this talk of food is making me hungry ;~)

Good Luck!
J.

Fried sliced tofu (a bit of liquid aminos with onion powder on it in a skillet) and then add vegenaise (mayo) and ketchup and fixings and make into a sandwhich.

Avocado and tomato sandwhiches

Tofurkery and vege cheese sandwhiches

Mashed tofu with chickenish seasoning, with chopped celery with a few sunflower seeds, salt and onion powder and a dash of tumeric (for yellow color) put with pickles, lettuce, fixings into sandwhich.

Hummus (can buy or make = make it with 3 cans of garbanzos, drain two and use the juice from one, 1/2 tsp -1 tsp salt, 2 T lemon juice, 1 T tahini, 1/8 + cup olive oil, fresh or ground garlic to taste, 1-2 tsp onion powder, mix in the food processor or blender). have with vegies or put in a pita pocket with lettuce, cucumbers, avocado, sprouts, tomato - great as a dip also. good with Taboli salad also easy to make or buy.

Also there is a store in Spokane that has many vegetarian cookbooks and vegie food substitutes....it is calle the Adventist book center you can also look online for it.
best wishes for your meals, I sometimes have to force myself to open a cookbook and try something new also!

oh, one more is better than cream cheese with olives in a sandwhich.

Hello -

I just discovered and LOVE Cynthia Lair's cookbook called Feeding the Whole Family. There are lots of ideas for lunches and dinners - most of them vegetarian. My kids really like some of the things in there. She uses alternative sweeteners like maple syrup and barley malt syrup for her sweets. Veggies, whole grains and beans play a big role. I got a copy form the library. I hope you enjoy it.

Hi E.. I'm a lazy cook, here are some quick and easy lunches that my kids like. Alot of the ingredients are easy to keep on hand in the pantry.

mini-pizzas: Lay English muffin halves on a cookie sheet. Spread a big spoonful of bottled spaghetti sauce on top. Top with a slice of cheese and (optional) slice of deli ham. Broil til warm and cheese is melted.

chili mac: Cook up a box of mac and cheese. Microwave some canned chili and pour it on top.

glop: Mix together cooked rice (good for leftovers), a can of vegetable soup, some frozen peas or corn, parmesan cheese and cut up leftover meat (op). Heat in microwave.

Baked potato bar: Microwave potatoes til soft. Cut in half lengthwise. Set out one or more toppings for each person to choose: shredded cheese, cooked ground turkey, cooked broccoli tops, heated canned chili, sour cream....

Easy pasta: Cook pasta, drain, put back into pot. Throw in a glob of butter, some shredded parmesan and mix. Or add a can of turkey or chicken and some microwave cooked frozen vegetables.

Taco, burrito or tostada: Heat tortillas in microwave or use crisp corn taco shells from grocery store. Fill with ground beef, salsa, shredded cheddar, canned beans, lettuce and tomato, canned roast beef...whatever you have on hand.

For dinners, Costco has many frozen items to help cooking go faster. Have you tried the mixed frozen vegies, cooked meatballs, stir frys? We also like Trader Joes for frozen mini tacos, potstickers, tamales etc. In summer, I buy the box of triple washed salad and we eat that for dinner topped with diced meat or cheese, tomatoes and sliced fresh raw vegetables.

My kids enjoyed making fruit art, and then eating it. I would slice apples, bananas, and use grapes, raisins, peanuts (like a trailmix)and then I would let the decorate a face on a paper plate. They would eat it afterwards, or when they wanted to change the face. They loved it! When I made sandwiches (it worked best with P&J or grilled cheese) I used cookie cutters to cut shapes.

You can get children's cookbooks. They have a lot of fun recipes to make with and for your children.

Rachel Ray has a great cook book out called Cooking with Kids (i'm pretty sure that's the title). Anyway it's really fun ideas for simple kid friendly stuff that they can help with. I would definitely suggest it and if they are helping then maybe you would have a little more than 1/2 hour :).

Hi E.,
I use to put babyfood vegi's in the mac n cheese, grilled cheese, in jello, skettio's, spaghetti, whatever I could get it in without them noticing. You just pick the same color and put it in there.

Also I have a very picky family so I have to come up when I get a new recipe that they will eat I kinda overkill it. But here's a recipe for Indian Taco's that I got from my friend. Her son is a vegitarian so she has him put the vegi meat on it. They are great but gotta remember to start it about 2 1/2 hours before dinner.
It looks like a lot of work but it's yummy.

INDIAN FRY BREAD

INGREDIENTS
4 TBS. honey
3 TBS. Oil
1 Tsp. salt
2 cups hot water
1 TB or pkg. yeast
3 cups flour
1 TBS. baking powder
2-4 cups additional flour
Start the dough mixture about 2 to 2 ½ hours before serving.
Mix honey, oil, and salt. Stir in hot water. Mix well. Sprinkle yeast on top of mixture. Cover with cloth and allow to stand 10 minutes or until yeast bubbles.
Add flour and baking powder. Stir well. Knead in more flour until mixture is firm and does not stick to the hands. Use from 2 to 4 cups flour for that step. Place in greased bowl; turn once to grease top. Cover and allow to rise until doubled (1 hour).
Punch down and divide, just in half then each half into 8 parts. Form each piece into a ball and let rise until ready to cook (about 1 hour).
Heat deep fat for frying. Take ball of dough and flatten with a rolling pin. Fry in deep fat. Drain on paper towel and serve right away.
Top with pinto beans, hamburger, cheese, lettuce tomatoes, opt. guacamole and sour cream.
For dessert: use butter, cinnamon and sugar, or honey

The other thing I make is soy chicken and rice. You take boneless chicken thighs and soak them in soy sauce, garlic, and lemon juice for 20 minutes or so and then BBQ them. They are fabulous and great for when you have guests. Then just add plain or fried rice. Yummy.

I also have a cinnamon roll recipe that I make often for breakfasts. Oh and anothe tip for breakfast.........oatmeal with applesauce. My kids love it and they are 8 and 10. And it's so healthy for them.

Okay I'll quit buggin ya for now.........if I think of more I'll get it to ya.
M.

Ingredients:
Dough:
2 pkgs. active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
2/3 cup plus 1tsp granulated sugar, divided
1 cup warmed milk
2/3 cup butter (melted)
2 tsp. salt
2 eggs, slighty beaten
7 to 8 cups of bread flour

Filling:
1/2 cup butter (melted)
1 cup brown sugar
2 tblsp cinnamon

Preparation:
In a small bowl mix together warm water, yeast and 1 tsp sugar and set aside. In a large bowl mix milk, remaining 2/3 cup sugar, melted butter, salt and eggs. stir well and add yeast mixture. Add half of the flour and beat until smooth. Stir in enough of the remaining flour until dough is slightly stiff.

Turn out onto a well floured board. Knead 5-10 minutes. Place in well-buttered glass or plastic bowl. Cover and let rise in warm place, free from drafts, until doubled in bulk.....about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

When doubled, punch down dough and let rest 5 minutes. Roll out onto floured surface into a 15x20 inch rectangle.

Filling:
Combine butter, sugar and cinnamon and mix well. Spread over rolled out dough with rubber spatula. (I find I actually need to double the filling recipe) Roll and then use a piece of floss to cut……works great!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 25-30 minutes or until rolls are nicely browned. Cool rolls slightly.


Frosting:
Ingredients:
1lb butter
1lb cream cheese
2lb powdered sugar
2 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla

Preparation:
Allow butter and cream cheese to soften. Beat together. Slowly add powdered sugar. Once all of the sugar is added beat for an additional 12 minutes (YA right......cuz I have that kind of time......I find it's just as good at 1/3 of that time). Add lemon and vanilla and finish mixing.

ENJOY!!!!!!

Hi,

My daughter loves IKEA meatballs. You can keep them in the freezer and pull out what you need and microwave them. She eats them plain, but you could also add BBQ sauce, Sweet and Sour sauce, etc. She also eats cottage cheese, yogurt, Dinos (chicken nuggets made for kids, which are healthier), chicken noodle soup, string cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, and scrambled eggs.

Hope it helps!

Lunch: Try making your own mini pizzas using english muffins for the bread and any toppings. The kids love to make them themselves. Just bake them for about 7 mins at 350. Dinner: Veggie curry in a hurry. Saute 1/2 finely choppped onion with 1/4tsp salt for 6 mins. Add 2 tsp of cround curry cook for 1 min longer. Add 1 can coconut milk, 1 cup canned diced tomatoes and 2 T. tomato paste, simmer for 5 mins. Add 1 can drained garbanzo beans, some chopped frozen broccoli and cauliflower, 1 inch pieces of carrot. Cover, simmer until veggies are tender. Add about 2 cups fresh baby spinach, let sit until the spinach is wilted about 3 mins. Serve over brown rice. Even my sassy 4 year old will eat it without complaining! Plus your husband will be sooo impressed!

I am personally a Mac&Cheese nut, but my sister adds chopped chicken and broccoli, and the kids seem to dig it. She makes it all in advance, then just mixes it all together when she cooks up the Mac&Cheese. I also regularly do the quesadilla thing with whole wheat tortillas, cheese and black beans. My 20 mo old loves to dip it in mild salsa...a bit messy, but at least he eats it!

E.,
I have found that my kids will eat just about anything they can dip, stab with a toothpick (the frilly ended ones are the best!), or eat as true finger foods. A fun and simple way to get a balanced lunch in them is to give each child an ice cube tray or mini muffin tray and put a tiny portion of food in each one. Try things like olives, assorted raw veggies, raisins, cheese, sunflower seeds, nuts, bread cubes, crackers, nut butters and dips, even beans or tofu. (Obviously adjust for allergies and chewing ability!) A different way to serve lunch would be to skewer everything on a wooden kitchen skewer with the sharp end trimmed off. It can vary each time or be something special you do once a week. I found that my children would eat almost everything served these ways even if it wasn't their favorite ordinarily. Other standbys at our house are--Whole grain tortillas (they work with lots of things: RF beans, cream cheese, ranch, etc. Meats, tofu, veggies, leftovers...) Pizza on a slice of bread; nachos; Egg sandwiches; Soup--let the kids help you make it even if you're using a can as a starter and adding a handful of fresh ingredients. If your kids are old enough, let them spread the beans on their tortilla, peanut butter on celery, or pizza sauce and grated cheese on their bread. Child participation is key. Kids will eat more in quantity and variety if they help buy, grow, and prepare their foods. Have fun lunching!