Just a quick post tonight :)
I hope all my Aussie friends had a particularly lovely Easter Sunday and I hope my overseas friends are waking up to one right now :)
Tomorrow will be a bit of a spring-clean around Lizzie's Home. I have some projects I want to dabble in (seriously, have you ever seen anything more adorable than this?) but I've promised myself no craftwork until the laundry is caught up and the house scraped back into order.
Something I do have on my mind tonight - lunchboxes. I know, strange considering we've just entered into a two week break from school. Might as well get a move on now though. We're all a bit sick of the same old sandwiches so I thought I'd try and work up a 'school term lunch menu' during the next couple of weeks and that's where you guys come in!
I need suggestions for non-sandwichy-type lunch options BUT there are three restrictions. First, and most importantly, it has to be kid-friendly. Second, it needs to be able to survive at room temperature (thankfully the weather has turned so no more brutal heat) - no access to a refridgerator in any of the kids' classrooms and preferably something that doesn't require a soft cooler type lunch sack (although at a pinch I could purchase some - I just hate them because they're hard to keep clean. I also have some icebricks if that helps). And third, it can't require heating (foods that can be served both hot and at room/icebrick temp (safely, of course) such as rice, homemade pizza etc are good options, so think along those lines). When you remove 'sandwich' from the equation, things get a bit tricky, hence the roadblock. Special extra bonus points for anything that can be assembled or packaged the night before, as that's how I do all the kids lunches.
I kind of thought we'd still have a variation on the standard 'two slices of bread' deal (rolls, wraps, etc) for two days a week or thereabouts and an alternative lunch meal on the remaining three days. So far I've got Fried Rice, Pasta Salad (would have to find a my-kid-approved recipe first though plus the 'non-refridgeration/non-heating' conditions might also limit some recipes due to the ingredients they use), Sandwich Sushi, Homemade Pizza and what we call Kids Bits (chopped up 'bits', smorgasbord-style).
Any help much appreciated, so chime in!
6 comments:
Cheesesticks and tubs of chopped fruit?
Same old sandwiches cut in different ways? Cookie cutter shapes? Stars, hearts, christmas trees........
I'm brain dead here.
Cookie cutter sandwiches kind of annoy me - all that wasted bread! LOL.
Our 'Kids Bits' meal, which we sometimes have for dinner on a particularly hectic day, covers things like cubed cheese, ham, salami, kabana, fresh fruit, carrot sticks, crackers, sometimes salsa or cottage cheese etc etc. Not everything every time, of course, but whatever is to hand. They all think this is the BEST and regularly ask for it. And that kind of thing is easy to prep the night before. It's definitely on the list :)
Wasted bread? No. If you cut the bread before making the sandwiches, leftover bread can be slow-oven dried to make breadrumbs. If you make the sandwich first, then cut out the shapes, someone else at home gets to eat "invisible" star sandwiches.(heart, tree, whatever)Or serve the sandwich "frame" with a fruit centrepiece.
LOL - you've obviously been at this game longer than I have River, LOL....
A few things we do: Jatz (or other crackers) with vegemite (or whatever) on them.
Carrot sticks, celery sticks.
Fruit - sometimes cut up if it's easier to manage.
Dried fruit (buy the big pack and split it rather than the boxes or sultanas - cheaper and less packaging if you reuse your containers)
I make homemade muesli bars when I'm feeling all domestic and stuff.
I don't know home much you want to do packaged good - there are things like fruit jelly cups, muesli bars etc, some are ok, some are just sugar and packaging. Check the labels and look at how much they cost per serve.
If your kids like biscuits like Shapes or Tiny Teddies, try buying the big packs and splitting them up into small plastic containers/ sealy bags - cheaper than buying the individual serves.
Frozen fruit is great in summer (although the super hot weather has gone). Cut up an orange, put it in a sealy bag, and freeze. Whatever you do, cut it before you freeze it! Put a paper towel/ paper napkin/ tissue into the lunch box for sticky fingers and faces.
Do you send a popper or a drink bottle? Can you freeze them - they can help keep things cold without needing an ice brick. WIll be ok to drink bu lunchtime (but not morning tea)
For 'interesting' sandwiches, what about flattening the bread (roll it with a glass) and spread it with whatever, and roll it up to make a jam/ vegemite scroll? I cut the crusts off to do this.
Good luck1
I'd forgotten about vegemite scrolls. I used to cut them into one inch lengths. For weekend lunches we'd make cheese scrolls, flatten the bread, cut off the crusts, spread with grated coon cheese, roll up, secure with toothpicks, pack fairly tightly together into a baking tray, ( I used a swiss roll tin),brush with melted butter then bake until golden brown. Remove toothpicks for small children, the older kids used to hold them by the toothpicks. These would probably be okay in a lunchbox if the kids don't mind eating them cold.
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