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Hello,
Today we have Back to School breakfast and lunch ideas. Even if you don't have kids heading back to school, some of these ideas may be useful for work lunch as well. I hope everyone in the states has a great Labor Day weekend.
Thanks for reading,
Susan
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Tips
Back to School Lunch Ideas
By Brandie Valenzuela
It is that time of the year again - back to school! While some are returning this next week, others have been back for quite a while...my own children returned to school over a month ago. However, it go without saying, that no matter if your children have been back for a while or if they are just now starting to get ready for the big day, you can never have too many lunch ideas!
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School Lunches the Frugal Way!
By Cyndi Roberts
It seems that school starts earlier every year. So it's time to start thinking about what to put in those school lunches every morning.
My children always wanted to bring their own lunches because they didn't really like what was offered in the school lunchroom. But it was sometimes a little difficult to make their lunches nutritious and tasty and also to put a little variety in their lunchboxes without spending a small fortune.
If we let ourselves, we can spend a "lot" on individual servings, lunchables, and treats for lunches. Here are a few ideas to help you meet the "Frugal Lunchbox Challenge".
Go to the Dollar Store and buy a few of those individual serving-size storage containers. These are very inexpensive and they are worth every penny.
You can use them for any number of things--like making your own fruit cups and pudding cups.
And they can also be used to hold dip for carrot or celery sticks or fill with peanut butter and pack a zipper bag of pretzels for dipping.
Also at the Dollar Store or discount store, you can pick up one or two of the small "blue ice" cold packs. They will help keep lunchbox items cold and safe. Sandwiches such as egg salad or tuna salad need to have a cold pack. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, on the other hand, can be packed without one.
Those zipper bags we all love come into their own when packing lunches! They can hold vegetable sticks, popcorn, crackers, homemade cookies, etc.
Muffins hold up well in a zipper-top bag, as do slices of banana nut bread, or most any other quick bread.
When the weather turns cool, a small thermos will come in handy for homemade soup or chili. I see lots of these for sale at garage and yard sales, sometimes for as little as 25 cents.
A thermos is also handy to hold whatever drink your child likes to take.
Try to put some fun in the lunchbox: keep a stash of small, inexpensive toys, cut sandwich bread into cool shapes with cookie cutters, write little notes to your child, cut out funny cartoons. Children love surprises.
A good routine to get into is while you are cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, put leftovers in the storage containers, or make sandwiches and place in the fridge in a designated area for lunch items. Get your kids to help--the more they are involved, the better!
Put napkins, etc. in lunch boxes or bags and place them where all anyone has to do in the morning is fill with the prepared items. Now you can all be out the door in minutes!
Here are a few recipes that will help get you started this school year:
Apple Surprise
Cut apple in half. Carefully, cut out the core of the apple. Spread peanut butter where the core used to be and over surface of apple. Sprinkle raisins over the peanut butter.
Trail Mix
Combine all ingredients and store in an airtight container.
A small serving of this goes a long way!
Peanut Butter Balls
Mix all ingredients and form into balls. Roll in sesame seeds.
This is a good recipe for the kids to help with-- they love to roll the dough into balls.
NOTE: sesame seeds are cheaper in bulk at a health food store. You can get unsweetened coconut there, also.
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Saving Money on Packed Lunches
All four of my kids take packed lunches to school. To save money on the snacks that go in, I buy big bags of chips, cheeses, whatever, and bargain sandwich bags, then pack the snacks in them. Saves a lot over buying the individual snack packs that are made to fit into the lunches. I make my own peanut butter crackers too, with saltines or Ritz-type. It takes a few minutes extra in the morning, but it does save money.
Marjorie
Post your ideas below.
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My kids LOVE the Danimals brand drinkable yogurts, but they are such small servings and quite expensive. I make my own drinkable yogurt in a glass or plastic drink shaker. Combine 2 cups of any yogurt (blended, fat free, sugar free, any kind!) with enough milk to smooth it out and shake a few times. This will serve 3-4. Add more milk to get desired consistency. Serve or store in refrigerator. I put this on the table and the kids LOVE to see what kind of "Danimal" I've made.
To pack for a lunch, use a sturdy plastic beverage container, or save those single-serve chocolate milk bottles with lids, run thru dishwasher, and serve in those.
Finally, here's a super hint: You can FREEZE this drinkable yogurt in ice cube trays. Add a toothpick and you have a yummy popsicle or fun cubes to use in milk or more yogurt drinks or shakes. Enjoy!
By Missy W
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Packing a Lunch Without a Soggy Sandwich
I recently went on an airplane and bought one of the sandwiches they had available. The sandwich was not thrifty, but was actually very good, and was not at all soggy like most pre-packaged sandwiches.
The secret was that they placed the meat and cheese on the bread and wrapped it in one baggy. Then they placed the lettuce and tomato in another baggy. Finally, mayonnaise and mustard were provided in condiment packages.
This same technique would work well for school lunches or any packed lunches. By separating the soggy items from the dry items the resulting sandwich can be very crisp and good.
[fletcher] from Bellevue, WA
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The right lunch can boost kids' brainpower, cut down on sick days and give them steady energy. Here are the best foods to keep school kids in tip-top shape:
By Kathy
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I am always looking for ideas for my kids lunches since they don't like to eat at school. When I go to various restaurants (ie, McDonalds, Burger King, Wendys to name a few) to eat we usually have leftover "ranch" of any dipping containers. I take them home and use them to put in my kids lunches for dipping carrots and other veggies. They love it!
By Reneé
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Easy, Frugal Breakfasts!
By Cyndi Roberts
We all know breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And that children that eat breakfast do better in school than those who don't.
However, we also all know that it isn't always easy to find time to prepare that all-important meal or to convince our children to eat it!
One way to create a positive attitude toward breakfast in your children is by showing them that you enjoy breakfast!
Eating breakfast as a family is a great opportunity to spend some quality time together. Spending time together, making breakfast can turn out to be a child's favorite part of the day!
By being creative and maybe just a little bit organized, you can make a variety of tasty and healthy breakfasts. Try these ideas:
Mix all ingredients in blender till smooth.
Breakfast doesn't have to be ham and eggs anymore! Nor does it have to be cold cereal. By using a little creativity you can have a healthy breakfast every morning!
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Back To School Breakfast Schedule
We use to struggle with what to have for breakfast. The kids wanted poptarts every day (not nutritious enough for us) and the delay in deciding what they wanted was enough to make us miss the school bus!
My children have come up with a breakfast schedule and they posted it on the fridge. It works because they created it. They listed days of the week and the breakfast meal that will be served that morning. It looks something like this:
This has saved our sanity and provided a more nutritious start to our day when we add a glass or milk and juice as well as our multi-vitamin.
Now if I could just get them the eat something besides turkey for lunch!
By Diana from Prospect, KY
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I have an eight year old and we're always rushed on school mornings, so I make up a batch of waffles ahead of time and freeze them in individual serving sizes. Then you take them out of the freezer and put them in the toaster and they come out awesome! They're crispy and chewy and my son loves them!
By Julie Kolvek
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Juice Pouch Lunch Bag
By Stella Rivet
This lunch bag is easy to make and durable. It makes great use of Kool-Jammer or Capri Sun pouches.
Supplies:
Preparation:
After the juice has been drank use an x-acto knife to slit the bottom of the juice pouch.
Clean the inside of each pouch with hot soapy water and let dry.
The Front and Back:
Take four juice pouches and sew them together 2 by 2.
Do the same with four more juice pouches, having two sets of four. These are the front and back of the bag.
The Sides:
Sew two juice pouches together, one above the other, two tall one wide.
Do the same to two more juice pouches, have two sets of two. These are the sides of the bag
The Bottom:
For the bottom of the bag you will need to determine how long it will need to be by taking two juice pouches and laying them next to shorter side of the set of four juice pouches. Instead of having one juice pouch full size and having a small part of another showing for the bottom I layed them on top of each other and sewed down the middle of them both to make it the appropriate length. Then I cut off the extra bit, leaving approximately and 1/2", then sewed that end down flat.
Putting It All Together:
The next step is to sew the bottom to one of the sets of four.
Once you have done that sew the other set of four to the other side.
Next sew one of the sets of two to the bottom, then the other.
Now sew all the ends together, the front to the sides and the back to the sides.
Finishing:
Add a piece of velcro to the top inside of the bag.
Fold over the top of the bag approximately an inch and a half, then place another piece of velcro under the fold.
Now your lunch bag is complete, everyone will be impressed by your creative recycling
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