Ok some of you may know that I am slightly (ok maybe more than slightly, quite a bit more actually) obssessed about food and nutrition and how this affects me and my children (and husband-he goes in parenthesis b/c he doesn’t eat his veggies)
So as school approaches (tomorrow!) I am definitely more peaceful than I was about the whole school thing than I was last year for kindergarten. But this year she’ll be gone all day which means I need to pack a lunch and get her breakfast in the morning at a time I would rather be sleeping. But thanks to all the encouragement from friends and family I know that I CAN do it. God will strengthen me and I’ll just have to learn to lower the bar when it’s needed.
That said, I still really want to try my best to get her a healthy breakfast every morning and a simple but still healthy lunch. What we eat affects our moods and behaviors and if I don’t feed her a good breakfast or lunch she’ll be crabby at school and not be able to give it her all or even get into squabbles with friends, which I know shouldn’t matter that much in 1st grade but it would matter to her.
So below are the breakfast and lunch ideas I’ve come up with so far but was hoping to gather a few more ideas from you all out there in cyber space. (I know I’m a huge nerd for using that word)
Breakfast:
- pouridge (that’s oatmeal to all you non Brits)
- pancakes & waffles
- Scrambled and fried eggs with
- muffins, toast, fruit
- Fish and Eggs (like tilapia filets or salmon filets)
- Banana Sandwiches (with butter and honey)
- Bananas, yogurt, nuts and honey (instead of cereal)
- Leftover dinner like soups
Lunch:
- Meat sandwiches
- Tortilla wraps
- Carrot stix
- Cucumber Sandwiches
- PBJ sandwiches
- Chicken fingers
- mandarin oranges
- home-made ‘lunchables’
- Spaghetti & meatballs
- Mixed Nut Snack Bag
- Tortellini
- Broccoli
- Meatloaf & Tator Tots
We love the granola from the nuns, and it’s super healthy (and you’re supporting a good cause when you buy it). Great for b-fast or a snack. I make “Eggs in a Basket”, you cut a circle out of a piece of whole grain bread (I use a champagne flute, it’s about the right size), and then melt butter in a skillet and put said cut bread on hot skillet and crack an egg inside the circle. Salt and pepper. Flip, leave the center a bit runny, or cook it to your preference. Fry up the other little circle you cut out. Fun tasty breakfast or lunch. Well, you probably wouldn’t want to send it cold, but for the kids at home anyways.
Hardboiled eggs are another great lunch/snack. Gemma likes them with mayonnaise (her latest obsession).
Hmmm, don’t know how you feel about this, but for breakfast each day Gemma and her daddy share a protein shake. They get the EAS powder from Sams and add some fiber to it. If you can get past the fact that it’s a “shake”, it is actually pretty healthy and the protein in the AM is a great boost.
Peanut butter toast is another quick easy, nutrition packed breakfast, esp. if you’re using whole-grain bread and a “healthier” peanut butter with more goodies in it.
That’s all for now I suppose. Here’s to a great year for your fam!
Oh smoothies are great too for breakfast!! Strawberries, blueberries or other frozen fruits, vanilla yogurt, banana, protein powder in the blender = FABULOUS!
mmm yes I love that granola! i have a good granola bar recipe i forgot to add to the list, thanks!
what does EAS stand for? do they do this with the green juice?
i love the egg basket idea!
Energy Athletic Strength (I had to look on the pkg). No nothing to do with the green juice, we actually get it from Sams. This is the stuff, it comes in vanilla and chocolate (the vanilla is great for smoothies).
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003UPOK58/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_3?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00186PHZS&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=09QHAYYPF7XFN2AMTFGE
I’m all for making big batches of muffins/waffles/pancakes, letting them cool completely so they don’t stick together and then freezing them to reheat in the morning. The girls get something warm for breakfast basically every day this way, and I don’t have to spend tons of time doing it.
For smoothies we really like strawberry, mango and pineapple with vanilla yogurt and either a splash of orange juice, pineapple juice or milk to help thin it out a bit since the frozen fruit can be pretty thick. I’m pretty sure Claire would live on these smoothies if I’d let her. The days I make them (also a good accompaniment for dinner) she will basically ignore the rest of the food in front of her in favor of the smoothie, and will drink 8+ oz. of it if I let her.
If she likes apples and peanut butter that would be another good addition to her lunch. You can toss the apples in a bit of pineapple juice to keep them from browning, and the taste isn’t as noticeable as with orange juice. I buy the 100% pineapple juice for this, and then any extra I have I freeze in ice cube trays, pop them out and keep them in a freezer bag for smoothies or more apples down the road. Makes snacking easier for mom too if there’s a container of several sliced apples at the ready in the fridge. (I’m making myself hungry typing this!)
You might also look in to some once-a-month freezer cooking stuff. I’m sure there are some recipes that are good for lunches as well. I remember a girl that used to work for me would have bean burritos her mom made and frozen that she would put in the fridge the night before to start thawing and they would be ready to eat the next day at lunch (she would eat them at room temperature). I’m sure there are other things like this that could be worked out so you wouldn’t have to necessarily make something every day to lighten your work load.
Pasta salad is another one that just popped in my head if she’ll eat it. Have her help you make her lunch the night before maybe a couple times a week. She’ll enjoy the time with you and you never know what kinds of ideas she may suggest on what to pack. Good luck!
Another idea. Just saw this online
http://moneysavingmom.com/2010/08/homemade-protein-bars.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+moneysavingmom%2FmNWf+%28Money+Saving+Mom%29