We're a couple of months into the new school year, and lunches are already starting to get a little boring. Am I right?!? Are you looking for a few fresh ideas? Today, I am sharing 5 tips for making school lunches that kids will actually eat.
1) Make snacks for lunch - My kids love things that are easy to grab and eat, and serving snacks for lunch works perfectly. Some people opt for fancy Bento boxes, but my older kids prefer a collection of individual dishes. It also makes it easy to hit all the different food groups and create a balanced lunch.
2) Make breakfast for lunch - My kids love breakfast foods, so taking french toast or pancakes in a thermos is always a popular lunch option. Cereal is a simple choice too!
3) Stock the freezer with homemade goodies - I love having individually wrapped goodies in the fridge ready to pop in the lunch boxes. My kids love taking homemade biscuits and cookies.
4) Mix up some smoothies - Smoothies are wonderful healthy options, but making them in the morning can be time consuming. Making them in bulk and freezing them in these jam jars is perfect. Check out the full "how to" here.
5) Include a sweet treat - A sweet treat is something for kids to look forward to receiving in their lunch box, and it can be a good motivator for encouraging them to eat the healthy items. In our house, the rule is that the cookie can't be eaten unless the other items are eaten too. Clever, right?!?
I love finding new, creative, and EASY ideas for kid's lunches, don't you? What are your favourite ways to add variety and fun to lunch boxes? It's a long school year, so I can use as much help as I can get!
When it comes to cooking for my busy family, I love a good shortcut. It's always helpful to have ingredients for quick meals in my pantry, so this "make ahead" pancake mix is wonderful. It's great to have on hand for making a quick breakfast before school... and the leftover pancakes can be cut up and popped in a thermos for a simple school lunch.
To make pantry pancake mix:
Mix the following dry ingredients in a bowl, and use a funnel to put the mixture into a jar:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
Then, add a fun tag to the jar.
To print the tags I designed:click on the picture below, right-click, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 8x10 photo.
When you are ready to make the pancakes: 1) Dump the contents of the jar into a bowl. 2) Add:
1/4 cup melted (cooled) butter.
2 cups buttermilk (or 2 tbsp vinegar and enough milk to make 2 cups)
2 eggs
3) Stir (just until most of the lumps are gone). 4) Add approximately 1/4 cup batter to a buttered/heated skillet. 5) Cook pancakes on one side until bubbles appear, and then flip.
6) Cook the other side until lightly browned.
We serve our pancakes with maple syrup and fruit, and they are delicious!
Pancakes are fantastic served fresh, but you can make them ahead of time and freeze them too. Let them cool, put them in a freezer bag, and place them in the freezer. When you are ready to eat them, pop them in the microwave for about 30 seconds or reheat them in the toaster.
I absolutely love having this homemade pancake mix in my pantry. It's simple to make and the pancakes are light and fluffy.
My kids love pancakes, and I love a good shortcut, so this pantry pancake mix is perfect for my family. What's in your pantry that you couldn't live without? Do you have any good mealtime shortcuts to share? I'm always looking for new ideas. ♥ Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)
The first day of school is a special day that requires an extra special treat. This little lunchbox treat is perfect for a child's luncbox, and it is wonderful for kids to share with classmates too. I'm even sharing the "punny tag" for free for you to use below.
My kids love Fruit by the Foot, so I thought it was the perfect first day of school treat to include in their lunches this year. To add some extra cuteness, I designed a "Put Your Best FOOT Forward" tag to attach to the treat.
Seriously, isn't it cute? Who doesn't love a good pun?
To download the tags I designed for free:click on the picture below, right-click, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular 4x6 photo.
And it's simple to make a bunch to share with friends and classmates too!
Do you have a special first day of school lunchbox treat you like to share? I think these "Froot by the Foot" treats are simple and cute, don't you? ♥ Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)
Packing healthy lunches doesn't need to be stressful for busy moms and dads. Sometimes a few little shortcuts is all that is needed to make life a lot easier. Today, I am sharing a few lunchbox shortcuts that will help you make school lunches like a boss!
1) Pre-made or "make ahead" smoothies - My boys are always in a rush to get outside and play, so they like when I pack them things that they can eat quickly. Smoothies are perfect!
Hans Dairy* makes a pre-made smoothie with all natural ingredients that your little ones are sure to love. My boys are big fans of the strawberry flavour.
Or you can make a big batch of homemade smoothies, stick them in the freezer, and pop them in the kids' lunchboxes each morning.
2) Lunch of snacks - My boys aren't huge fans of sandwiches, so I often fill their lunches with their favourite healthy snacks. Using individual containers makes it easy to customize lunches for picky eaters. Check out this lunch of carrot sticks, strawberries, Hans Dairy's* rice pudding, a hard boiled egg, pretzels, applesauce, and a homemade ginger cookie.
A yogurt parfait is another fantastic choice for a healthy lunch that feels like a snack. You can mix fresh fruit and Hans Dairy* natural yogurt with some granola for a tasty and nutritious lunch that kids will love!
3) Quick grab bins - When it comes to making lunches, a little prep goes a long way. Pack your own single serving snacks and lunch staples in bins so that the contents can be easily "popped" into lunch bags.
4) Fill a freezer - Filling a freezer with individually packed homemade goods can save time and money... and it will help you avoid filling lunch boxes with processed snacks that contain unwanted preservatives. Freezer staples in our house include: lunchbox biscuits, chocolate chip cookies, and ginger cookies.
What are your favourite lunchbox shortcuts? I hope you find my tips helpful, and I encourage you to check out Hans Dairy's* healthy choices for school lunchboxes. You can feel good about their products because they are free of any artificial sugars, flavourings, colourings, and preservatives.
♥ Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)
*Disclosure:I have partnered with YMC and Hans Dairy and have received compensation for this post. All opinions in the post are my own.
Making lunches is one of my most dreaded tasks, and I know I am not the only parent that feels this way. So, when I find something that makes packing lunches a little easier for me, I want to share the idea with as many people as I can. Today, I am showing you how to make healthier (and more environmentally friendly) "lunchables" that kids will love and parents can feel good about.
The key to these simple lunchables are these cute little Lock & Lock round containers. I love them because they are a perfect size, and kids find them easy to open and close.
Then, you just fill the containers with whatever you want. I like to use preservative free pepperoni or lunch meats, multi grain crackers or pretzels, cheese, and fresh fruit or raw veggies... but you can use your child's favourites (or whatever you have in your fridge/cupboard).
I think this is a fun option for lunches, and it would be easy to have your child help fill these containers with healthy options. What would you put in your homemade "lunchable"?
♥ Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)
Disclosure: The link to the lunch container highlighted in this post is an affiliate link. If you purchase this container using this link in this post, I will receive a referral payment. Thanks for supporting my blog and all the free content I provide!
Hard boiled eggs are easy to make, and they are protein packed (and healthy) snack. They are also great for lunches. Today I am sharing some tips for cooking and peeling hard boiled eggs.
First, place eggs in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over medium-high/ high heat.
Then, remove from the heat, cover, and let stand for 14 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, and peel. You will end up with perfectly cooked eggsand none of the yucky grey stuff on the inside of the eggs.
Check out this video for a little trick for peeling the eggs. Clever, right?
My boys love a hard boiled egg as a quick after school snack before one of their sports practices. Are your kids fans of hard boiled eggs? How do you cook hard boiled eggs? If you give my method a try, let me know how it works out for you.
Making 15 school lunches each week makes me crazy, so I am always looking for ways to make my life a little easier. My oldest son isn't a big fan of sandwiches, but he loves homemade biscuits. Today I am sharing my lunch box biscuit recipe and a school lunch HACK that I find really helpful!
Here's the recipe I use...
Ingredients: 2 cups all purpose flour 4 tsp baking powder 3 tsp white sugar 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 cup cold butter 1 large egg 2/3 cup 2% milk
Directions: 1) Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 2) In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. 3) Use a pastry cutter to cut in the butter until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. 4) Whisk the eggs and the milk together in a small bowl. 5) Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir (just until moistened). 6) Move biscuit dough to a well floured surface knead/fold about 15 times. Roll to 3/4-inch thick, and cut with a 2-1/2-inch biscuit cutter. You'll end up with a dozen biscuits. (Note: I always roll the dough out on a piece of wax paper for easy clean up.) 7) Place on lightly greased baking sheet or Silpat, and bake for 8-10 minutes.
Now, here's my secret shortcut...
I let the biscuits cool completely. Then, I cut them in half, butter them, individually wrap them, and stick them in a freezer bag. I leave them in the freezer, and I just take them out as I need them for lunches. Simple, right?
My oldest son likes to take a biscuit, rolled up (preservative free) ham or organic pepperoni (from the farmer's market), and some yogurt. I add some fruit, and we end up with a lunch that we are both happy with. Do you have any school lunch HACKS you'd like to share? I can use all the help I can get!
♥ Gina (aka East Coast Mommy) PS... You can find more of my family favourites here.
Recently, I saw a post for lunchbox smoothies at One Good Thing by Jillee, and I knew I needed to make a batch of lunchbox smoothies for my freezer. I LOVE the idea of making a big batch of smoothies at the beginning of the week, sticking them in the freezer, and popping them in the lunch bags each day.
To make your own Lunchbox Smoothies, start with a big batch of your favorite smoothies. Here's the recipe I use: 4 cups frozen strawberries 2 bananas 1 cup orange juice 1 cup vanilla yogurt 1 tbsp honey I blend everything together, and I end up with 5 cups for lunches, and a few extra glasses to drink right away.
Each year has 195 school days, and I have three boys -- that's 585 school lunches each year. Making easy and nutritious lunches that kids will actually eat can be challenging, so today I am sharing some school lunch hacks that will help make the process a little less painful!
1) Breakfast for lunch - My boys aren't big sandwich eaters, so breakfast for lunch is a popular option in our house. I often make a big batch of French toast (made with whole
wheat bread, eggs, milk and a touch of cinnamon) and freeze it. Then, I take a
slice out of the freezer each morning, heat it up in my toaster oven, cut it
up, and stick it in a thermos. Hard boiled eggs are fantastic too.
Cereal is another simple “breakfast for lunch” option. I
fill a thermos with a low-sugar cereal, and my boys add milk at lunchtime. With
the addition of some fruits and vegetables, it’s a pretty nutritionally
balanced meal.
And dollar store dressing cups make perfect holders for a bit of maple syrup!
2) Stock the pantry and the freezer - I love to bake in large batches, wrap the items individually,
and store them in the freezer. Then, each night, I just pull what I need from
the freezer, and pop them in the lunch bags. This method works great for
biscuits, muffins, and cookies.
A well-stocked pantry is also a must. I always buy lunch
staples (like granola bars, raisins, unsweetened applesauce, etc…) in bulk when
they are on sale. Then, I take them out of their original packaging and put
them in plastic containers from the dollar store. This little trick helps save
money, makes lunch items quicker to access, and frees up cupboard space.
3) Free lunchbox notes - I love to leave little notes in my boys' lunches because it lets them know that I am thinking about them while they are at school. To download the notes I designed (for free), right-click on one of the pictures below, save it to your computer, and print it like a regular photo. (FYI: The apple notes are 8X10 and the bear notes are 4X6.)
4) Apple trick - My middle son is missing some of his baby teeth, so he can only eat an apple if I cut it up for him... and he doesn't like when an apple starts to turn brown. The solution: cut an apple, put it back together, and secure it with an elastic, and cover it with some plastic wrap (to keep the air out).
5) DIY ice packs - Frozen yogurt tubes are fun to eat, they keep lunches cool, and they thaw in time for lunch. A damp sponge in a Ziploc sandwich bag also makes an easy DIY ice pack that they can use to clean there hands after they eat.
6) Lunch box smoothies - Make a batch of smoothies, freeze them, and pop them in the lunches each morning. You can find details on the jars I use and the recipe for lunchbox smoothie HACKhere
7) Lunchbox biscuits - These biscuits are delicious, but the school lunch shortcut is even better. You can get the recipe and read all about my lunchbox biscuits HACK here.
I hope these school lunch HACKS help make "back to school" a little less painful in your home. Do you have a school lunch HACK you'd like to share? I can use all the help I can get!
