March is National Nutrition Month®, and that is a perfect launch pad for one of PANW’s passions: helping kids and busy parents put together healthy, nutritious meals that are actually do-able.
It’s true that “you are what you eat,” so we like to talk to our young patients and their caregivers about making it easier to eat foods that help your body thrive and feel its best.
7 Delicious and Easy-to-Make Foods For the Lunchbox
While these seven ideas are perfect for your kiddos’ lunchboxes, we say double the batches so you save time later in the week or pack them in your work lunchbox, too. If time allows, making and packing your lunches together is a good opportunity to connect and model that healthy (food) habits start at home. Plus, kids are more likely to eat a lunch they helped prepare.
1. Deviled eggs
Deviled eggs are a delicious, healthy, and protein-rich snack. And, because the recipes for the middle filling are seemingly endless, there are plenty of ways to accommodate varying flavor preferences. While some kids may be happy eating a plain hardboiled egg (how about adding a bit of lime juice and sea salt?), others aren’t fond of the plain yolks.
Here are 20 different Deviled Egg recipes from The Food Network if your kid doesn’t like plain hardboiled eggs or you’re just looking to mix things up! While classic deviled eggs are almost always a hit, you and your children may enjoy perusing creative options and finding new versions to try.
2. Celery or Banana Boats and…
Like deviled eggs, you can make multiple days’ worth of celery or banana boats and store them in the fridge so you can grab them as needed for the lunch box. Many schools don’t allow peanut butter due to allergies, but sun or almond butter work just as well.
Cut celery stalks or vertically halve bananas to manageable lengths. Spread them with:
- Sun butter
- Almond butter
- Greek yogurt
- Cream cheese or a vegan alternative
- Etc.
Then top them with raisins, dried cranberries or another dried fruit, cinnamon, whole-grain cereal pieces, broken-up pretzels, or whatever sounds good to your child.
3. Deli meat roll-ups (or cracker sandwiches)
Most kids aren’t into crust, which creates a lot of bread waste. We also have plenty of patient families who are gluten-sensitive or allergic. So, instead of making a sandwich, you might just want to deconstruct your child’s favorite part of the sandwich and roll it up instead. Lay a slice or two of meat down (overlap the end edges if you use more than one), place a slice of cheese on top, and get rolling. Some kids prefer some condiments spread on their roll-up or a piece of lettuce or two before you roll it all together.
You can also use the lunchmeat/cheese-only idea but throw in some whole-wheat or gluten-free crackers that they can eat separately or stacked in their favorite combinations. Or lay the meat/cheese/lettuce/spread condiments on a tortilla and roll that up as a wrap. If you slice it into pinwheels, a single tortilla roll-up may yield enough slices for a few days’ worth of lunches.
4. Lunch box kabobs
Who doesn’t like a good kabob? Grab a box of small, appetizer-sized skewers, and let the ideas run wild. You can alternate veggies and cheese, or different types of fruit, or meats and veggies, etc.
Kabob ingredient ideas include:
- Folded-up lunch meat.
- Pepperoni or salami.
- Leftover pesto pasta spirals or tortellini.
- Meatballs or meatball halves from last night’s dinner (or premade from the store).
- Mozzarella balls.
- Pre-cut cheese squares or cut your own.
- String cheese sliced up into rounds (try rolling in pesto or marinara for extra flavor).
- Small chunks of fruit (cut up yourself or pre-cut from the store).
- Cherry tomatoes.
- Sliced cucumbers.
- Steamed/roasted carrot rounds or sweet potato squares.
- Jicama.
- Sliced pickles or fermented veggies.
Choose your kabob theme and then start alternating the layers for a colorful and fun lunchbox treat. Feel free to include a little dip (hummus, ranch, marinara sauce, etc) on the side if your child would have fun “dunking” their kabob ingredients.
5. Breakfast for lunch
Does your family make a big breakfast on the weekends? As long as you’re at it, consider making extra pancakes, waffles, and sausage (or turkey sausage) links. Then, make roll-ups with a dipping sauce of real maple syrup or sugar-free syrup options. Yogurt can also work as a tasty dipper.
If your child has an insulated lunch box or containers that keep things warm, you can make a variety of “egg cups” in muffin tins that can be warmed up and sent off to school for lunch. These egg cups are the perfect size for kids and welcome a wide variety of sauteed veggies or cheese; just about anything that makes its way into an omelet can be added to a muffin-tin egg cup.
Extra pieces of French toast are perfect for making cream cheese and jam sandwiches, boasting the extra protein-packed benefits of the egg-soaked bread.
6. You-name-it salad
Don’t have time to make your own salads? That’s no problem. Most deli counters have a variety of salads that make great lunchbox additions. Bring your child to the deli and let them sample different types of salad to find the ones they like best.
- Potato.
- Chicken.
- Tuna.
- Orzo.
- Egg.
- Pasta.
- Tortellini.
- And so on!
These salads can be eaten plain with a fork or spoon. Egg, tuna, and chicken salads taste great with carrot, cucumber, and celery sticks. Any of the above salads can also be stuffed into small, hollowed-out tomatoes, lettuce or cabbage cups, or those colorful red, yellow, and orange baby bell peppers that are all the rage these days.
And, speaking of colorful veggies, make sure to check out the Kids Eat in Color program. PANW patients get a discount!
7. Rice balls
Next time you make a batch of rice, make a little extra. Then, you can use the leftovers to make rice balls. Like the egg cups mentioned above, rice balls can accommodate just about any chopped-up leftovers you may have on hand, and all rolled together in a manageable size for your child.
Here’s a recipe for Tasty Chicken Rice Balls to give you an idea of how they come together. Just a smidge of oil (neutral or sesame) will help bind the ingredients, and then you can add just about any veggies and/or meat to create versatile kid-specific flavors. If you don’t have rice, you can also use leftover oatmeal as a binding agent.
Pediatric Associates of the Northwest Is Here to Support Healthy Lifestyles for Busy Parents
At Pediatric Associates of the Northwest, we understand that life can seem too busy to honor all the nonstop healthy lifestyle recommendations. That’s why we’re dedicated to supporting our patients and their busy parents with easy meal-planning ideas like these. Once you get into the groove, your family will start coming up with all kinds of creative lunchbox ideas that come together in a few minutes.
If it feels overwhelming, start with one or two ideas, or aim for a couple days a week rather than every day. And despite what the internet says, you don’t have to cut your kid’s cheese or fruit into cute shapes! Find the right balance for your family. There’s no better way to celebrate National Nutrition Month!
