Lunch Ideas

Some creative ideas for healthy lunches are sometimes difficult to think of in the morning as everyone is dashing off to school and work. Thinking ahead is paramount for offering healthy lunches for your family.

Roast a turkey breast, beef roast or ham to have an alternative to sandwich meat. I also like to make chicken salad to have on hand as well. This is a frugal lunch meat alternative although it takes time to cook the meat. Baking two loaves of bread a week is wise with one loaf for the family to consume during dinner and breakfast with the other loaf specifically for lunch.

Hummus is a Mediterranean dip made from chick peas, extra virgin olive oil, lemon or lime juice and spices. My children and hubby loves for me to make this wonderful dip. I put it in a plastic container along with a separate container with flat bread and tabouleh (Lebanese) salad. You can do this with any favorite dish they like and send the extras. During the winter you can purchase cute thermos bottles and send your home made soups to enjoy or left over spaghetti.
It is so much better than the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches which can get monotonous.

If the little darlings enjoy fresh veggies make their favorite dressing and send some carrot or celery sticks. One of my daughters loves cherry tomatoes while the other hates carrots. I send home made apple sauce instead of carrots for Miss Picky. Both love grapes and kiwi fruit and orange slices so I keep fresh fruit available at all times.

I send small cloth napkins with my girls to school to keep cost down on paper napkins and towels. I also purchased inexpensive stainless spoons at Sam's Club at the beginning of the school year for carting back and forth to school. They bring them back with their plastic ware along with the cute 9 x 9 napkins. Also I put cute little notes in their lunches to encourage them from time to time. Because they're in high school they no longer take a lunch box to school. It's just not cool. So I find cute paper sacks. Sometimes you can get stores to give you a higher quality paper sack (small size) with their logo which can be interesting conversation for the teens. They like the Cracker Barrel logo or the local health food store stamp.

My husband can heat his lunch at work so I send left overs in a divided dish (microwave safe) or for example some of the roasted turkey with green beans and fresh made bread. I also send a container full of pumpkin seeds or walnuts and cashews for his desk to munch whenever he feels the need to snack. Nuts and seeds are better than high sugar or high fat snacks which can be easily accessible and high in protein. Home made pies and cakes that are low in sugar are good for snacks as well as long as you don't send half of the cake at once. Smaller portions keep temptation down.

Keeping lunch important will keep your family happy and healthy. Happy planning!