School ending soon... running out of lunch box ideas

[velochic]

I posted this before (at the beginning of the school year). Only a month or so left of school and I am quickly running out of ideas to send to school. Please... anyone who can give me some ideas so my daughter doesn't come home with a full lunch box anymore!!!!

 

[Pinon]

My kids loved flour totillas spread with favorite fillings and rolled up and sliced to look like pinwheels. Favorites included PB & J, ham with cream cheese, bologna with Cheese Whiz (I thought that was disgusting but my son loved it).

 

[vyapti]

My kids loved flour totillas spread with favorite fillings and rolled up and sliced to look like pinwheels. Favorites included PB & J, ham with cream cheese, bologna with Cheese Whiz (I thought that was disgusting but my son loved it).

That's definitely guy food.

My kids go to school with a sandwich, vegetables, usually broccoli or carrots, and a container of ranch dressing

 

[IcyMist]

Have you tried making peanut butter and banana sandwiches out of flour tortillas? I will admit to having one every once in a while. It is really yummy and very filling. You could cut the banana in half lengthwise if a whole one is too much or you could cut the sandwich in half and eat one half.

 

[velochic]

Thanks for the ideas. I've tried wraps before, but I really can't get what you get in the US, so they've always bombed in the lunch room. We don't do processed foods (and they don't have things like cheese whiz here, anyway), so I'm looking for whole and unprocessed foods and all lunch meats must be nitrite/nitrate free (they use that stuff in fertilizer... yuck!!).

Typical lunch box: a container of leftovers from the night before... chicken casserole, whole grain spaghetti, beans and rice, turkish mezes or a sandwich (nutella or pbj if we have the pb... pb is not readily available here and what they have stinks); a fresh, in-season fruit; raw veggies and dip... usually carrots, broccoli, cucumber, or snow peas; yogurt or cheese. I guess I'm old fashioned in the "4 food groups" way. But she is REALLY starting to get tired of the same old, same old. I might try wraps again if I can find some tortillas or lavash in the Turkish grocery.

 

[urmaniac13]

How about a little homemade tart/quiche type treat?
Use the puff pastry (blatterteig), make a boat or line it in a muffin pan, prebake it lightly (it will be cooked again with the filling... poke some holes on the bottom with a fork, line the inside with a wax paper and then some dried beans to avoid excessive raising).
Thin fill it with some egg and cheese (I use ricotta and some diced fontina and/or parmigiano) mixture with diced veg (spinach, broccoli, asparagus etc.), some chopped ham or speck. Return it in the oven and bake until the filling is settled and the crust is golden brown. They also make a lovely appetizer, good also in a room temperature.

 

[expatgirl]

Easy Low-fat tortilla (wrap) recipe: I live overseas where you can't get a lot of products but found this recipe to be indispensable as well as low-cal. This recipe makes about 8 tortillas and you can freeze them. I make a bunch at a time. Hope this helps---kids love them spread with shredded cheese, maybe some sprinkled ham or chicken bits (if you want meat) and then microwaved. Adults can add the onions, garlic, jalapenos, peppers, as they like. I love them with pureed homemade beans, sour cream, cheese, onions, avocado, etc. Good luck!!

Homemade Tortillas (makes about 8 tortillas)

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup water plus 2 Tablespoons
1 Tablsespoon oil (I"ve use both regular as well as olive oil)
Directions:

Dissolve oil and salt in water until nearly boiling--I use microwave for this.

Mix flour and baking powder and sift into a medium bowl. Make a well in the center.

Add water, salt, and oil mixture into the well a little at a time, stirring around after each additon using a large fork. Mix well. Flour should be on the sticky side when you finish. DON'T be AFRAID!!

Dipping your hands into some flour (I just dip my clean hands into the sack of flour as I go along) knead the dough for 5 minutes. As the dough starts to stick to your hands dip them into the flour again and go at it. Eventually your dough will be workable. After 5 minutes cover the dough with a damp towel and let rest for 20 minutes.

20 minutes later--using the thumb and forefinger clamp off enough dough (golf-ball size) and roll into a ball. Place on a greased plate and cover with a damp cloth and let rest 10 minutes. You will have around 8 balls when you finish.

After 10 minutes, take one of the balls and press it between your palms until it flattens out a bit (like a hamburger pattie) and then roll it out with a rolling pin until it's very thin, (about 6-8 inches in diameter--these will NOT be totally round like you are used to buying--not a problem--it's okay) then place in a heated nonstick skillet. When it puffs up a bit, then turn it over with a tong and heat on the other side---we're talking less than 30-40 seconds here. You don't want to burn them.

Place on a paper-towel lined plate and keep covered until you're ready to use them. Bon apetit!!

 

[purrfectlydevine]

Have you ever made them with whole wheat flour?

 

[expatgirl]

Dear purrfectlydevine,

No, I haven't made them with whole wheat flour because you can't get it at the local markets here or I definitely would. I never made them in the states as you could buy great ones at the Texas supermarkets. But I would start out by using half-white and half wholewheat and see the results for stickiness (whole wheat dough for bread dough tends to be stickier) and then gradually go from there.

 

[Yakuta]

Some more ideas and I use this with my kids and it works well.

Kebabs

I make mine with whatever ground meat (mostly beef but sometimes chicken as well). Season it however you think your kids will like it. I am Indian so my kids are used to the spices. I season mine with ground cumin, corrainder, chili powder, cinnamon, black pepper, freshly chopped corrainder leaves and mint leaves and some grated ginger. Mix it together, marinate for a little time, make patties or sausage type kebabs, grill or bake in the oven and freeze them in foil (individually or two or three small ones). I reheat them in a skillet and get them nice and hot. Wrap them tightly in foil and off they go to school with my kids.

Patties:
Boiled potatoes, shredded chicken, freshly chopped cilantro, finely chopped bell peppers (red, green, yellow), seasonings like black pepper, ground cumin and a finely minced jalapeno, slat and mix it all together. Make patties. Dunk them first in bread crumbs and then in egg and fry it. These freeze very well too. Warm in a skillet, wrap in foil and once again off they go.

You can make a sandwich out of them or just send them as is to school.

Egg Sandwich

Cut a nice size square from french bread. Slice it from the middle and toast it in a toaster oven. Crack an egg in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave it covered for a minute (I beat my egg slightly with a pinch of salt and black pepper). On the toasted bread add a slight spread of mustard (I use the stone ground honey mustard) then place the egg on it. Next goes a slice or couple of slices of cheese and then finish the sandwich. Again wrap in foil and my son cannot stop raving about how good it tastes even at room temperature.

A lot of kids are pretty finicky so these may work or may not work. My kids are pretty adventurous and will eat different things (including different kinds of foods and cuisines) so I can push the envelope with them. They like regular kids favorite like nutella and pb&j but the ones I listed above are also a real hit with them.

I also send in eggrolls and samosas from time to time and my son loves to eat them at room temperature and they are not only a hit with him but also with his American friends. He always takes more and shares .

 

[amber]

This site looks good not only for lunch ideas but many other things for family fun.

http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/ The chicken fingers on a stick sound good.