Stellar Sandwiches Make Tasty School Lunches
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- Category: School Lunch Ideas
- Published on Monday, 22 August 2011 17:05
- Written by Kathy
- Hits: 867
Sandwiches are the quintessential lunch and they never have to get boring. If you’re looking to stretch your food budget they are a perfect go-to lunch.Try buying a re-usable sandwich bag to keep it green. They wash up easily and you’ll avoid all the BPA’s that can be found in some plastic containers. Plus if they leave it behind at school it’s easily identifiable!
Save those leftovers from dinner for a sandwich or two the next day. And, as you can see below, if you have a can of chickpeas you can make the whole family some mock-tuna sandwiches.
Don’t forget everyone's favorite, the peanut butter sandwich. It’s easy, inexpensive and the variations are almost endless. Add bananas and nuts, serve on apple slices, or even coat it with cornflakes and grill it.
Mock-Tuna Salad
Prep time: 15 minutes
Serves 4
- 1 (15 ounce) can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 stalk celery, minced
- 2 tablespoons raw onion, minced (optional)
- 3 to 4 tablespoons mayonnaise (use a vegan mayo to make it vegan)
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala (or curry powder)
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- sandwich bread or wraps, for serving
Add in the other ingredients, mix, taste and season again if needed. This is a great last minute sandwich spread!
More sandwich inspiration:
- Strawberry Lavender Chicken Salad
- Asian Barbecue Baked Tofu
- Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches (pack the filling in a thermos to keep it warm)
- Green Mint Chutney & Cheese Sandwiches
- Cilantro Lime Black Bean & Sweet Potato Filled Pitas
School Lunch Ideas: Muffin Recipes
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- Category: School Lunch Ideas
- Published on Monday, 22 August 2011 12:50
- Written by Joy
- Hits: 709
I enjoy making muffins. Muffins are low-key, self-satisfying little cups of deliciousness that store well, trot along in a knapsack for later and fit perfectly in kid-type hands. An adventurous parent can easily decrease the sugar and increase the fruit content to produce something more nutritious than the traditional store-bought version.
A few years ago I threw some ingredients together from my eclectic pantry, substituting sunflower seeds for walnuts, (school-safe) applesauce for oil, and when the aroma from the oven filled our little home with warmth, I knew I had the morning glory muffins I had always wanted.
I don’t like to think of myself as picky, (I prefer ‘particular’) but one such particularity is that I do not like nuts in my baked goods. Incidentally, our local schools are all nut-free and so with this in mind as I compiled this list of delectable muffins. At the bottom of the list is a recipe from the very lovely Karina Allrich, a gluten-free blogger who creates some of the most inspiring recipes I have ever seen. It is for this reason I have included her Gluten Free Almond Cherry Muffins. Why not surprise your little people with an extra special after school snack and have a chat about your day over warm muffins?
Almost Morning Glory Muffins
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 3 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ cup sugar*
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ginger
- ¼ cup oil
- ½ cup applesauce
- 2 eggs
- ¾ pineapple juice
- ½ cup crushed pineapples
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ sunflower seeds
- 4 small carrots, shredded
Preheat oven to 400º.
1. In a mixing bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients including spices.
2. In another bowl or large mixing cup, mix together oil, applesauce, eggs and pineapple juice (this is the juice from the can).
3. Pour the liquid mix over the dry ingredients and stir until they come together and it’s lumpy. Add the remaining ingredients.
4. Spoon into a greased muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes (a bit longer if you are using regular sized muffin tin).
A few more muffin recipes for you to try!
- Apple Coffee Cake Muffins by Baked by Rachel
- Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins from Karen at Chasing Tomatoes (original recipe from Whining and Dining)
- Whole Wheat Molasses Bran Muffins from MMMis for Mommy
- No Sugar Banana Branners from Katie at The Muffin Myth
- Gluten-free Almond Cherry Muffins from the Gluten Free Goddess - These beauties are also dairy free!
Enjoy your kitchen escapades, the kids will love stirring and mixing and that is a sure way to get them eating and showing an interest in their food.
Peanut Free Snacks for the Lunch Box
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- Category: School Lunch Ideas
- Published on Monday, 22 August 2011 03:17
- Written by Jan Scott
- Hits: 1991
Years ago, many school lunches were composed of a simple peanut butter sandwich. Two slices of bread slathered with peanut butter made for a meal that was often rounded out with an apple and two cookies.
Most of today’s children haven’t experienced that kind of lunch due to the increased number of peanut allergies facing our young ones today. While we strive to keep our schools peanut-free, making snacks and lunches can be a challenge for many who aren’t sure what is and isn’t acceptable in the classroom.
More and more companies are getting on board with the concerns of the parents and are going to great lengths to label their foods as “peanut/nut-free”. The following companies/manufacturers are “allergy aware” meaning they provide responsible labeling when it comes to their products. This does not mean that each item made is safe, but it’s almost certain there will be some sort of identification on the product:
- Nestle
- Hershey’s
- Kraft
- Quaker
- Kisko
- Trebor-Allan
- Christie
- Dare
- Hostess Frito-Lay
- Weston Bakeries
- Peek Freans
- Humpty Dumpty
- Dempster’s
- Kellogg’s
- Chapmans
- Concord Confections
- General Mills
In the case of peanut-free snacks, unpackaged food is almost always best. Here is a list of items that are sure to be acceptable in your child’s classroom:
- Sliced and whole fruits
- Dried fruits
- Pretzels
- Veggie sticks
- Rice crackers
- Raisins
- Cheese strings
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Homemade muffins, cakes, cookies (be sure to include an ingredient list if sending these items into a class party)
For more information on peanut free safe snacking, please visit any of the following websites:
Anaphylaxis Canada
Health Canada – Allergies and School Lunches
The Peanut Bureau
The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network
School Lunch Ideas: Healthy Snack Ideas
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- Category: School Lunch Ideas
- Published on Monday, 22 August 2011 12:02
- Written by Joy
- Hits: 2379
The challenge with feeding children, particularly children we would like to keep healthy and eating their fruits and vegetables, is keeping them interested. ‘An apple a day’ is indeed a portable and healthy staple for your child’s snack, but if you don’t add a sparkle of creativity, your best intentions might end up in the teacher’s garbage bin. So, what to do?
What we need are a few healthy snack ideas. I have ideas. It’s like food magic over here, I tell you.
Ants on a Log: Remember that childhood favourite healthy snack (yours not mine – celery and I don’t get along)? A smear of peanut butter down a stalk of celery and you mustn’t forget the “ants”: Plump raisins. If this healthy snack will be making its way to school, you should swap out the p.b. for some pea butter – I like No Nuts Golden Pea Butter.
Dried Fruit/Seed Mix: A few dried apricots or even papaya as a healthy snack will satisfy a child’s sweet tooth and tide them over for a while. Dried fruit packs a high caloric and fibre punch which is too much for a child’s system. One cup of unsweetened, dried apricots hides 8 grams of fibre and 200 calories, that may not seem like a lot but the average 9 year old girl needs only 1600 calories a day.
Peanut Butter Banana Sushi: For this snack you will need one whole wheat wrap, peanut butter and one banana. Spread the peanut butter across the wrap, place the peeled banana near the bottom of the wrap. Roll tightly and slice with a sharp knife. Ta da!
Hummus and Veggies: There are so many healthy snack possibilities with hummus. You can have straight up traditional garlic hummus or this Sweet Pea version.
Happy Face Plate: Not nearly as fast food as it sounds. Look around the kitchen for various fruits; pineapple, bananas, raisins, grapes and apples work best. A cheeky apple slice doubles as a tongue! Kiwi slices and berries make some ultra fancy eyes!
Aside: Make a fruit dip out of Greek yogurt. Stir in a teaspoon of cinnamon or jam to plain yogurt, in the end you’ll still be better off sugar-wise than buying flavoured.
Popcorn!: Store in an airtight container and it’s a lovely healthy treat in a lunchbox for an unsuspecting child who has no idea mom has topped it with nutritional yeast so it tastes cheesy but is both vegetarian-friendly and packed with vitamins. Bonus points for air popping.
There is a reoccurring theme to these snacks; each can packaged and sent off to school with the kids, with minor modifications. Keep in mind that most schools are nut-free these days and to protect other children in the classroom (and save your kid’s lunch), follow the modifications. Have fun with it. Most children are pickers and will snack on foods instead of eating a huge meal; totally go with that and give them healthy snacks with a nutritional punch.
Trail Mix Recipes: School Snack Ideas
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- Category: School Lunch Ideas
- Published on Monday, 22 August 2011 03:08
- Written by Rebecca
- Hits: 2066
When thinking about school snacks it’s a balance to make sure they are easy to pack, tasty and nutritious. In our house, Trail Mix has become a go-to snack. Even when creating a trail mix without nuts (because of school regulations), trail mix can still be a great protein source. Trail mix meets all of my requirements for snack time, is easy to make and easy to transport – to school, work, or when travelling. You can buy some pre-made trail mix, but try to make sure there isn’t too much sugar or salt in them, or added ingredients you may not want.
Instead, why not make your own? You can select what you want to put in it and customize it for your family. Here’s a list of our trail mix ingredients:
- Unsalted Almonds
- Unsalted Walnuts, halved
- Pumpkin Seeds
- Dried Cranberries
- Raisins
- Salted Sunflower Seeds
Looking for more trail mix recipe variations?
- Homemade Trail Mix: Including different dry fruit ideas and tasty extras
- Sweet & Salty Trail Mix: Toasted with maple syrup and spices
- Hot & Spicy Pumpkin Nut Mix: A spicy twist on traditional trail mix
- Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free (& No nuts) Allergen-Free TRAIL MIX or GORP: A creative way to be able to send trail mix to school when allergies are in consideration
- Healthy Trail Mix: Chocolate Covered Cherry, Pb + Banana, Neopolitan & Superfood: A Collection Of Healthy Trail Mixes With Lots Of Chocolate Options
