The Healthier School Day Lunch

My daughter returns to school in two weeks, so I am starting to think about packing her lunch box.  Even if you homeschool, a busy day might leave you short on prep time for the midday meal.  Below, I list a week’s worth of lunch ideas, for the lunch box, or the busy family at home.

As you know from reading other posts, I make most of our meals from fresh whole foods.  My daughter attends public school, and even though our school district makes an effort to include whole grains and fresh foods on the menu, much of the offerings are processed and/or overcooked, often with lots of added sugar and salt.  So, I try to limit her school lunch purchases to once a week.  Even though her school lunch is inexpensive, buying often can add up, so bringing lunch from home saves money.

One way to stock the lunch box with something besides sandwiches is to make use of leftovers from dinner or weekend lunch (another great way to save money on lunch instead of making something special).  My kids won’t always eat something a second time, but there are some things they really like.  In the plan below, I share some of our go to leftovers (and suggest some from recipes I have posted on this blog).  In particular, I list the things my daughter likes to eat cold, because she doesn’t have time to wait in line for the microwave (she is a slow eater).  Plus, our ceramic food containers (no plastic in the microwave) are too heavy for her to carry back and forth.

The key to packing a varied lunch is to have a good set of plastic containers.  Just a note: I am not a big user of plastic containers.  I use glass as much as I can, but glass is not practical for carrying to school (or anywhere). 

I was planning to recommend the plastic jars we use, but apparently they have been discontinued.  I suggest a set of round or jar shaped plastic containers with screw-on lids that your child can easily operate.  Unfortunately, screw-on lids are not spill proof, but jars that seal well are difficult for children to open.  If you plan to send liquids, try a soup thermos.  Whatever you use, make sure you get something that is made without BPA.

Also, don’t neglect the safety of the lunch box or bag that you buy.  Look for ones that are lead free, BPA free, and PVC free to avoid exposure to dangerous substances.

If your children are not in the habit of drinking water at lunch, try sending it one or two times a week, or dilute juice with water to cut back on sugar.  Get a BPA free water bottle and send a non-sweetened drink along with the usual to start a healthier habit.  Sometimes, I send chamomile tea, and this year, I may try sending naturally flavored water.

In addition to the protein choices I list below, I send fruit every day.  Most days, I send the fresh fruit that is in season (we cut up big fruits like pineapple and keep them in the refrigerator so they are ready to go).  Occasionally, I pack dried fruit.

5 Healthy Lunch Ideas

Monday = Sandwich day.

Peanut or other nut butter and jelly or fruit sandwich, with cut up veggies on side (carrots, cucumber, jicama).  See my post about the healthier version of this sandwich.

Tuesday = Pasta day. 

Leftovers, such as pasta with sauce, pesto, or fresh tomatoes and sunflower seeds, plus salad on the side.  Boil vermicelli or angel hair quickly in the morning if you don’t have leftovers.  Pour sauce or pesto from a jar or pull it from the freezer.  Or, pack leftover Sesame Noodles.  Add a cheese stick or grate cheese on the pasta for more protein.

Wednesday = Bean day.

Refried beans and veggies wrapped in a tortilla or a pita pocket filled with hummus and veggies.  Or, leftover Curry Lentils or Cilantro Lime Chickpea Salad.

Thursday = Yogurt day.

Plain yogurt with fruit and granola and a trail mix of nuts, seeds, and dried fruit on the side.

Trail mix of pecans, peanuts, raisins, & sunflower seeds.

Friday = Egg day.

Leftovers, or boiled eggs with a salad (boil extra eggs at breakfast earlier in the week), or buy from the cafeteria.

Of course, there are many other healthy things to pack for lunch.  I hope you’ll leave your favorite lunch ideas in the comments.

Need ideas for healthy breakfasts?  Find them here.

In 2013 I am linking with: Motivational Monday, Better Mom Monday, Welcome Home, Try a New Recipe Tuesday, Back to School, Weekly Kids Co-op

 
In 2012 I linked with: Catholic Bloggers Network, Menu Plan Monday, My Favorite Things, Tiny Tip Tuesday, Your Green Resource, Frugal Friday, Tea with Saint Anne, For the Kids Friday, and Food on Fridays.

MyPlate Birthday and Recipe Review

MyPlate, the government’s replacement for the food pyramid, is celebrating its first birthday with a revamped website that includes new resources and recipes, as well as tips for celebrating events with healthier food and by including movement and exercise as part of the festivities.  You can find the links to the celebration resources and more, including the place to wish MyPlate a Happy Birthday by clicking below.

A year ago I promised to review the original recipes from the MyPlate site when I wrote my post about the change.  You can find their original recipes here.  So, in honor of MyPlate’s first birthday, I present my reviews of the salads from their original recipe list.  So far, we have liked everything we have tried.  I explain my adjustments for each recipe below, if any.

As I mentioned last year, we like the Outtasight Salad (page 5).  We use whatever fresh vegetables and fruits we have on hand, usually doubling the amount to two cups each.  The more vegetables and fruits, the less noticeable the greens are, and my children prefer the salad this way.  Also, fresh pineapple is our choice over canned.  And for the dressing, we leave out the vinegar, keeping the dressing thicker and creamier, so it can coat the chunks of vegetables and fruits.

We usually eat this as a light lunch, with nut butter or cheese toast.  Leftovers make a good side salad for dinner.

The Fire and Ice Watermelon Salad (page 9) is a refreshing and new way to eat watermelon.  I really like the kick of the dressing, but my children prefer to eat the fruit mixture without the dressing, so I just reserve it on the side.  We were almost out of white vinegar the first time I made this, so I used half white and half apple cider vinegar.  You could probably use all apple cider vinegar too, although I have not tried that yet.

This recipe makes a lot, so you may be eating this watermelon for a couple of days; it is good as a snack, or a luncheon side dish.

We have also tried the Bulgur Chickpea Salad as a side dish (page 10).  I actually prepare my bulgur off the stove, using warm water.  I use fresh parsley instead of dried, and shredded carrot instead of chopped.  This dish offers an interesting flavor combination that is light and fresh, perfect for summer.

These last two recipes are great ways to use the green onions we grow on our windowsill.

If you have tried any of the MyPlate recipes, let us know how you liked them.  You can find additional new recipes and resources at this page.  With so many links, I have plenty of new recipes to try, so look for more reviews in the future!

Linked with Catholic Bloggers Network,  Welcome Home, Making it Count, Tea with Saint Anne, Pay It Forward, Your Green Resource, My Favorite Things, Tiny Tip Tuesday, Healthy 2Day Wednesday, Try aNew Recipe Tuesday, Food on Fridays, and The Better Mom.

Peach Harvest

Due to a mild winter, our peach tree bloomed a couple of weeks early this year, so we have been harvesting peaches a few weeks earlier than usual.

One of our favorite ways to use our peach harvest is to can our own fruit cocktail.  I had hoped to make significantly more fruit cocktail this year than last year, but my kids and husband ate some of the organic fruit I bought before canning day, so I made nearly the same amount: three pint and a half jars plus 4 pint jars (17 cups) versus the eight pint jars I made last year (16 cups).

I used exactly the same fruits as last year: peaches from our tree, apples, and pears.  However, this year I forgot to add the lime juice, so we won’t try to save a jar to see how long it keeps (acidic environments are less likely to spoil).  We opened the final jar from last year a couple of weeks ago, and it was just as good as the day we made it.  I doubt this year’s jars will make it to fall.  My girls love our homemade fruit cocktail; maybe we’ll make some in winter with other fruits.

You can find the link to the fruit cocktail recipe, as well as the Peach Salsa and Peach Popsicles we made both this year and last year at this post.  I opted to puree all of the peaches for the popsicles, because the diced pieces were really hard to chew from last year’s batch.  That post also discusses the nutrients found in peaches.

I repeated a recipe from last year that I did not include in that post: Spiced Peaches by Dorothy from her blog Shockingly Delicious.  I like to call these sweet and sour peaches; however, they do not taste like the red stuff you will find in a Chinese restaurant.

I also made a great Peach Barbecue Sauce by Katie from So Tasty So Yummy that I served with her Chick-fil-a Chicken Nuggets.  Although I haven’t tried making variations of this sauce yet, I bet it would taste great even without the peach.  We have been eating this sauce with grilled meats and even with baked potatoes.

And, I made a version of Katie’s Peach Oat Muffins that I found highlighted on another blog through the Secret Recipe Club Dorothy and Katie both participate in.  Here is the other version.  I actually merged the two versions, but I'm sure these muffins will turn out great whichever recipe you use.  We definitely liked them.

Finally, I made a Peach Custard Pie using this Good Housekeeping recipe for Nectarines.  The custard part is really good, but we used the last of our crop and the peaches tasted sour.  I think this is because we harvested most of those peaches before they were ripe in order to keep the birds from getting them all!

If you have a favorite peach recipe, I hope you will share it; I am always looking for something new to try.

In 2013 I am linking with: Backyard Barbecue Bloghop, Motivational Monday, Better Mom Monday, Healthy2Day Wednesday, Shoe Lace 

In 2012 I linked with:  Welcome Home, Farm Fresh Friday, Making it Count, Tea with Saint Anne, My Favorite Things, Show Me What You Got, Open House with Four Moms, Food on Fridays, and Try a New Recipe Tuesday.