Quick and Easy Lunch Ideas
Last week, I posted this on Twitter and Facebook, but thought I should ask for your help here too :)
As summer break comes, I need to have a game plan for quick and easy lunch ideas for the boys. Two of the boys have nut allergies so that eliminates any quick PB sandwiches. Here are a few items I have come up with so far:
- Veggie Tray with Homemade Dip or Hummus
- Cheese, Crackers and Fruit
- Fruit Tray (or Kebobs depending on how fancy schmancy I wanna get)
- Ham and Cheese Rolls or Wraps
- Chicken Salad (minus almonds)
I asked for ideas on Twitter, and got some great suggestions too!
And, my Facebook Fans delivered with some great suggestions as well! You can see those here (there are too many to list).
I happen to know that Erin of $5 Dollar Dinners is working on a new cookbook with lunch ideas. Hurry up and publish it already, girl!! This momma needs some ideas!! :)
What ideas do you have for a quick, easy and nutritious lunch?
I’m cracking up over all the suggestions for lunches with tortillas!
We eat quesadillas a lot because they’re quick, the filling can be lots of different things (mostly leftovers), and they’re not all that messy!
And yes! A cookbook full of lunch ideas would be awesome! Hurry up, Erin! :)
My kids love meatballs dipped in ketchup. You can make up a large batch and keep them in the freezer. They thaw very quickly in the microwave. One recipe we like is porcupine meatballs – do an internet search and find the recipe that you think you kids will eat.
I can my own tomatoes so one of our favorite lunches is macaroni and tomotoes. I boil the macaroni first for 7 minutes, drain, and dump in a can of maters. Add a couple tbs of sugar and yumm-O!
This information would be useful for my family as well. I also have 2 boys with peanut and tree nut allergies!! All three of my children are allergic to eggs also. They do eat a lot of fruit, fresh carrots, cottage cheese, lunch meat, string cheese, etc. I also do grilled cheese and tomato soup once a week for them. We do love the tortilla wraps too!
Are your boys in school?
My daughter used to be allergic to peanuts, eggs, and milk, and we had A LOT of sunflower seed butter (sunbutter)-jelly sandwiches. I couldn’t even tell the difference, and of course she couldn’t either. Trader Joe’s has the best price. Or they used to, I haven’t checked lately.
My favorite lunches when I was a kid were Salmon croquettes and fish sticks, both with katchup. Oscar Meyer hotdogs split longways and a wedge of cheese in the split under the broiler for a few minutes..
Nannys Bbq burgers are a quick easy lunch.. Add bbq sauce to a can of corned beef.. and serve on buns.
One of my favorite lunches for my 3yr old is to get one of those divided plates and put a variety on it…crackers, cheese, veggies with ranch to dip in, grapes, apple slices, rolled up pieces of turkey or ham. I tell him we’re having a little picnic. He usually eats most of it, but some days he picks and chooses.
Some days he requests breakfast for lunch….cheesy eggs, sausage and pancakes!
We usually do ‘picnic lunches’ like Cathi. Yesterday it as hard boiled eggs, cheese, crackers, carrot and cucumber sticks with hummus, green beans and sliced pear. A little bit of eveything. I also like to defrost/heat up a little bowl of mixed vegetables or peas. I feel guilty for not having a veg at lunch – I don’t know why! I’ll sometimes serve these with frozen meatballs or leftover chicken. Kid’s favorite is of course blue box mac and cheese, peas and hot dog pieces on the side! Oh – I also like to make ‘bowls’ for lunch – leftover rice/couscous/potatoes, meat and veg, usually sprinkled with a little cheese. Always a hit.
Leftovers from previous nights meal.
Pasta salads ( pasta of choice, mayo, tuna fish, cucumber and tomato cubes or use Italian dressing, cucumber, tomatos, olives, cubed deli meat, and cubed cheese. or use another favorite salad dressing )
Potato salad
Mash potato bowls ( mashed potatoes, veggie, chicken (popcorn style or other cubed pieces with gravy. could also use rice or other grain).
English muffin or refrigerator biscuit pizzas
Apple Butter Sandwiches
Hummus Sandwiches
Cream Cheese Sandwiches/bagels
Salad with meat.