Here are some quick ideas for the children’s lunch box. I hope you enjoy these tips and ideas. I have also included some recipe links that you could keep for future reference.
Egg Salad Sandwich
Chop hard-boiled eggs. (Tip: Use a potato masher. With only a few strokes, the eggs will be mashed to pieces!) Add mayonnaise and season with pepper. Mix well, and spread into sandwiches.
Hard Boiled Eggs
Eggs are rich in protein and it’s a healthy food for kids. Remove the egg shell and you now have an instant lunch box idea. Pack it into the lunch box along with some crackers and yogurt. These are easy to hold and easy to eat for the kids.
Note: If you want make perfect hard boiled eggs, pls. refer to this article, How to Make Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs.
Chicken Salad Sandwich
Steam or boil chicken breasts. When cooled down, use a fork to shred the chicken. Or you can use your hands to quickly shred them too. Then add mayonnaise, and season with salt and pepper. Spread into sandwiches. You can use any type of bread, such as dinner rolls, hotdog buns, hamburger buns, etc.
Chicken Macaroni Salad
When you’re going to steam or boil chicken breasts to make the chicken sandwich above, it’s a good idea to add some extra chicken breasts so you can have a totally different lunch for the following day. Chicken macaroni salad! Mix some boiled macaroni pasta, shredded chicken breasts and mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper. You can also add boiled and chopped potatoes and carrots. For an added twist, add pineapple tidbits and sweet green relish. You can pack the chicken macaroni salad into the lunch box the night before, so you’ll have it ready in the morning.
Hotdog Rolls
Put a piece of cooked hotdog on a hotdog bun, wrap with plastic wrap, and it’s done! If you have those small packets of ketchup or mustard you can add them in the lunch box too. Tip: I always preboil the hotdogs before pan-frying or grilling them. This way the hotdogs become less salty. Also, if you do not have hotdog buns, you can use other kinds of bread. Just slice the hotdogs into pieces that will fit into the bread.
Left-overs from the previous night’s dinner:
After you have your dinner, pack the left-over for tomorrow’s lunch. Therefore it’s advisable to make some extra for dinner so it will cover tomorrow’s lunch! Everyone is pressed for time, so the less preparation and cooking time involved, the better =)
Mini hamburgers
Children like to eat things “mini”. It’s easier to eat and easier to handle. Children like to quickly eat so they can go outside and play. Make mini hamburger patties in advance and freeze them.
Cold Pasta Salad
The good thing with pasta is that you can add any ingredient you like, and be as versatile as you want. When I make pasta salad I add chopped ham, cucumber and tomatoes and cheese. Mix them all with macaroni or the pasta of your choice. Add parmesan cheese if desired.
Sushi
Many sushi places offer half price discounts at a certain time. For half price sushi, I find it even cheaper than buying all the ingredients separately and making the sushi on your own. This is a quick and easy idea to pack in a lunch box!
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich
The old time favourite! Spread peanut butter on one piece of bread, strawberry jam on another piece of bread, put them together and it’s an instant sandwich. Please note that some schools do not allow peanut butter to be brought to schools due to nut allergies.
Ham and Cheese Crackers
Pack ham, cheese and crackers separately and let the child assemble the pieces during lunch. It’s a fast and easy lunch idea for kids.
Chopped Fruits
Fruits are always good to pack in a lunch box. Pack different kinds of fruits, such as apple, pear, orange, banana, kiwi, strawberry, watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, or grapes. Alternate them so that way there’s a variety. When chopping apple or pear, it’s best to have an apple slicer. It’s a huge time saver! You just have to press the apple slicer once, and all the pieces are sliced instantly, and the core removed too
Pancakes or Waffles
If you want an easy pancakes or waffles recipe, try this: Perfect Pancakes Recipe or Delicious Homemade Waffles Recipe. These pancakes and waffles are also great ideas for the kids’ lunch box.
Vegetable sticks
Pack an assortment of vegetable sticks such as carrots and celery. Cucumber slices are also easy to prepare. These are nutritious snacks for the children.
Dried Fruits
Dried Fruits keep longer, and I always keep some of these in the pantry. This is very fast to pack and add to the lunch box. There are many dried fruits available such as apricots, cranberries, raisins, etc.
Trail Mix
This is a combination of dried fruits, seeds and nuts. Some examples of seeds are pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, etc. There are also many different kinds of nuts available to buy even in bulk, such as almond nuts, cashew nuts, etc. Please note that some schools do not allow nuts to be brought to schools due to nut allergies.
Muffins
I love making carrot muffins for the children. Please see this recipe if you want to make carrot muffins - The Best Carrot Cupcake Recipe. I use a food processor to quickly shred the carrots.
Popcorn
Popcorn is a great snack idea to add to the lunch box. Home-made, air-popped popcorn is much better than microwaved popcorn (and healthier too!). If you would like to learn how to make your own popcorn, visit this recipe “How to Make Your Own Healthy and Delicious Popcorn”
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