It’s that time of the year again… back to school! Now that your kids have headed back to school, it is time to think about how to feed them a nutritious yet delicious meal. School lunches can feel repetitive, so we’ve compiled a list of a few lunch and snack ideas for your kids.
Lunch Ideas
Pizza Roll Ups
Ingredients
· 1 8-inch whole-wheat flour tortilla
· 2 tablespoons prepared pizza sauce
· 12 leaves baby spinach
· 3 tablespoons shredded part-skim mozzarella
Instructions
1. Place tortilla on a plate and spread pizza sauce over it.
2. Top with an even layer of spinach and sprinkle cheese on top.
3. Microwave on High until the cheese is just melted, about 45 seconds.
4. Carefully roll the tortilla up.
5. Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing into pieces, if desired. Pack the slices in a medium container.
Homemade Lunchables
Ingredients
· 10 crackers
· 5 slices of meat (ham, turkey etc.)
· 5 slices of cheese
· A few pieces of your choice of fruit (grapes, oranges, apples, strawberries)
· A small dessert (2 cookies, 1 piece of chocolate)
· 5 cupcake liners
· Tupperware container
Instructions
1. Take your meat and cheese choice and slice into thin pieces that will fit onto the crackers.
2. Take cupcake liners and add to Tupperware container.
3. Place each ingredient into a cupcake liner.
Tomato Avocado Melt
Ingredients
· 4 slices bread
· 1-2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
· cayenne pepper (for taste)
· 1 small Roma tomato (sliced thin)
· 1/2 avocado (sliced thin)
· 8 slices cheese (your favorite kind)
Instructions
1. Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on each piece of bread.
2. Sprinkle with a pinch of cayenne pepper.
3. Layer bread with tomato and avocado slices and top with cheese.
4. Broil on high for 2-4 minutes, or until bread is toasted and cheese is bubbly.
Source: Tastes Better from Scratch
Snack Ideas
S’mores Energy Balls
Ingredients
· 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
· 1 cup creamy sunflower seed butter or nut butter
· ½ cup honey
· 8 whole graham crackers, coarsely crushed, divided
· ¼ cup mini chocolate chips
· ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
· 36 mini marshmallows (about 1/2 cup)
Instructions
1. Combine oats, sunflower seed butter (or nut butter), honey, 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs, chocolate chips and cinnamon in a medium bowl; stir well.
2. Place the remaining graham cracker crumbs in a small bowl.
3. Scoop a tablespoon of the mixture and flatten it slightly.
4. Place a mini marshmallow in the center, cover it with the mixture, and roll it into a ball.
5. Roll the ball in the graham cracker crumbs to coat.
6. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Makes about 3 dozen balls.
Homemade ranch with veggies
Ingredients
· ½ cup light mayonnaise
· ¼ cup buttermilk
· 1 teaspoon dried chives
· 1 teaspoon dried dill
· ½ teaspoon garlic powder
· 4 cups sliced vegetables, such as carrots, cucumber and bell pepper
Instructions
1. Combine mayonnaise, buttermilk, chives, dill and garlic powder in a bowl.
2. Serve with vegetables for dipping. Can keep for 5 days in refrigerator.
Sweet Potato Chips
Ingredients
· 1 large sweet potato (about 1 pound), thinly sliced (about 1/8 inch thick)
· 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
· ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.
2. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. Toss sweet potato slices with oil and salt.
4. Spread in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets.
5. Bake on the upper and lower oven racks until crisp, rotating the pans top to bottom and front to back halfway through, about 3 hours.
6. Cool on the pans for 30 minutes before serving.