Need Healthy Lunch Ideas for the Kids

My kids love tuna, chicken salad and egg salad. I try to make huge batches so we have a couple days of lunch. Little pizzas on english muffins are also a fun lunch :)

Kraft.com has some great ideas for kid friendly meals that are cheap and easy.

We love mini pigs in blankets. Get a package of cocktail wieners and a package of crescent rolls. Unroll the dough and cut it into little triangles and wrap the triangle around the hot dog. Cook for 5 minutes on 400, the kids love helping to make them!

We got a book called "Silly Snacks" for $3 at the Borders bargain bin. It has tons of fun recipies and everything so far has been good! My daughter is 10 and she loves to cook, plus there are good pictures so we can see what everything is supposed to look like. Suddenly lunch time has become Fun Time!

Mini pizzas - hamburger or hot dog buns, cheese, chopped up veggies and pizza sauce. Kids can make their own and its fun for them.

Cheese plates - cut up cheese, dried fruit, sumer sausage (or rolled up sandwhich meat) and crackers.

Quesadillas - tortillas, cheese, avacado or guacamole, microwave - voila!

Mix minced carrots into tuna fish w/a dallop of mayo for sandwhich or dip.

Pasta, diced tomatoes, heat in a little oil in pan, mix and serve.

Bagel chips or pita chips w/hummus.

Kidney beans (or any bean) and cheese rolled up in a lettuce leaf.

Quesadillas (cheese, chicken, peppers, onions, etc.), spaghetti, make-you-own sandwich (anything is more exciting when you can put what you want in it!), leftovers, tacos, franks & beans, salads (pasta, lettuce, etc.) and vegetarian burritos (rice, beans, peppers, onions, salsa, cheese) are some of my go-to lunches when I am running out of ideas. Hope this helps!

Frozen potstickers from Costco..steam in water, then add sesame oil to brown.

Bean and franks

Tuna melts

Hummus and pita chips

Quesadillas with leftover chicken

We eat a lot of leftovers from dinner. I prefer to make a bigger dinner then use what's left. Any pasta dish is always better the next day.

Here's my super easy, kid friendly lasagna recipe:

Brown 1 lb ground turkey
Add 1 carton Cottage Cheese
Add 1 jar or can of Spaghetti Sauce, rinsed out with 1/2 c of water or broth or wine

Layer the sauce above with lasagna noodles. You do NOT need the no-boil kind. Layer sauce-noodles-sauce-noodles, etc..
Repeat and end with sauce on top.
Bake at 350 for 1 hr.
Top with Italian cheeses and bake for 10 more minutes.
For extra flavor add Parmesan cheese with the layering.
Enjoy!

Veggie sticks with hummus (you could also do a little peanut, almond or cashew butter for dipping)

Yogurt with chopped fresh fruit - buy the large size plain or Greek yogurt - the flavored ones (including gogurts) are LOADED with sugar and way more $$- chop up any kind of fresh fruit (berries, melon, pineapple)

Cottage cheese with fresh fruit and side of fresh veggies (cut into sticks or other shapes if you are creative)

Salad

If they like eggs - frittata - you can make them in advance, they freeze well and you can load them up with any veggies you like - asparagus, broccoli, peas, sweet potatoes - they all work.

Beans & Greens - Steam dark leafy greens (kale, mustard, etc) with a little olive oil and (a lot) of garlic, mix in navy beans (I use canned) once the greens are wilted and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Great cold or hot.

Stuffed peppers - stuff peppers (red or green) with cooked brown rice or quinoa, chopped veggies +/- cooked ground turkey or tofu - cook until hot in the center and peppers are cooked - also good cold so great make ahead dish. Pick you seasonings based upon what you put in - raisins/craisins with middle eastern seasoning, sauteed onions/peppers/eggplant/feta with oregano, etc.

Salmon (canned or fresh) on brown rice crackers. I chop carrots into it.

my kids (and hubby) love tostadas. I buy the premade shells, can of refried beans, lettuce and shredded cheese and leftover Taco Bell sauce packets! And sometimes we get crazy and add sour cream and guac if I have it in the fridge. And its basically no cook too, just heat the beans in the micro and you're done!