OT: easy, healthy lunches for picky kids?

[kvmck]

Or perhaps I'm just asking for too much?
I'm not one who enjoys making food and I feel like breakfast and lunch are major time stealers (the making and cleaning up part, the eating part doesn't take too long at all!). I can't just throw a hummus filled pita or bean burrito at my kids b/c they won't eat it, although I will say they are becoming much less particular, but lunchtime just isn't the time for experimentation. Ramen, peanut butter and marshmallow creme sandwhich and tyson's honey breast tenders are some of their favorites. But as you can see, not a whole lot of nutrition happening and I'd love to have meals that they can make for all of us by themselves!! They love fruit and the girls really like veges so we have those with every meal.
My 3 year old eats about anything (including sand, paper, crayons...) so she really isn't an issue (unless you count climbing on the counters while trying to get lunch ready )
Kix and corn flakes, yogurt and bagels are typical breakfast fare, but they get bored with these options.... but then don't eat oatmeal and the like. They love eggs and pancakes. Its enough of a challenge for me to make good dinners so having to stress about the other two meal really isn't fun.

I would love to know what other moms do about this as I find meal prep. to be just about the most challenging part of homeschooling!

[MamaPajama]

I was going to recommend veggies and dip for lunch, but I see where you've said they already eat veggies with every meal. What about hard boiled eggs (you could make these ahead of time), "breakfast" burritos, mac and cheese with peas and carrots mixed in, tomatos and cucumbers in Italian dressing, turkey/ham sandwiches, subs, pita sandwiches.... That's all I can think of right now. I'm curious what others will say because I'm always on the lookout for new ideas too!

[inHistiming]

Cheese and crackers w/ fruit
Cream cheese with bagels
Crackers and peanut butter (honey added if they like it)
Muffins are a great option for breakfast here, and freeze well so you could make a big batch at once. Same with pancakes or waffles.
Mini pizzas on English muffins or tortillas, very quick and can be made ahead as well and frozen.
You could even make sandwiches and freeze them...taking them out 30 min. or so ahead of time should have them ready to eat by lunch time.

Jut a few ideas...hope that helps!

[1GirlTwinBoys]

I already replied to this thread, but don't know where it went?

Keeping frozen batches of muffins is great for the kid's to just have something quick and filling.

Flatbread with tomato sauce, spinach, mushrooms and feta cheese heated in the oven is also good and easy. That's what we're having today.

[creativemommy]

Some of our favorites are...

whole wheat tortilla roll-ups - spread with sunbutter (ds allergy to peanuts) & jelly - rolled up, sometimes cut and spread on plate to be a "snake" or "earthworm" with mini chocolate chip eyes. You could also do this with cream cheese, regular deli meat & cheese, too.

homemade mac'n'cheese - this freezes well so you can make a huge batch on the weekend or weeknight and portion it out into freezer bags (or pyrex pans) for the next few weeks. We rarely add the breadcrumbs due to my kid's preference. http://easierwiththefreezer.blogspot.co ... heese.html

popcorn & smoothies - one of my kids favorites! We pop a big bowl of popcorn using our air popper and I make pure fruit smoothies.

homemade burritos - these are so good! My dh will take them for his lunch, too! http://easierwiththefreezer.blogspot.co ... ritos.html

flat bread pizzas - Arnold flat breads opened and topped with various pizza toppings. They take only a few minutes to bake.

pizza bites - a special lunch treat! My kids devour them & the marina recipe on the site is so yummy, too. We will even make this a weekend meal sometimes. http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/06/stu ... rolls.html

[psreit]

Breakfast here is most often cereal and occasionally bacon and eggs. Occasionally I will make waffles with meat and gravy for supper. If I have leftover waffles, I will freeze and use them for breakfast or lunch with syrup on them. They can be thawed nicely in a toaster oven.

Lunch is a struggle sometimes. Sandwiches and chicken nuggets (tenders) are often had. DD(21) is usually my 'problem'. She was born with spina bifida and some intestinal problems, which resulted in short bowel. She needs to eat more, because things move through her so quickly. But, she is a very picky eater. She eats very little fruits and veggies. She wants to eat 'meat and potatoes' all the time. One thing she really liked when she was younger was tuna melts. Mix mayo in tuna, spread on bread, top with cheese and put in oven (probably around 300 degrees) until cheese is melted and bread is toasted on bottom a little. We haven't made them in a long time, so I guess I'll have to get dd(21) to make them today if she can't find something else. Often we will eat leftovers from supper the night before if there are any.

Pasta salad is something easy to do. Do your kids like hoagies(subs)? If so, I have a recipe for hoagie pasta salad. It is made with the tri-colored pasta and includes everything you would find on a sub, meat and all. It has oil and seasoning to make it taste just like the sandwich. I'm not a big pasta salad fan, but I love this. If you're interested in the recipe, pm me.

[momtofive]

This is such a great post! Aren't you all getting so hungry!

Sometimes it's not so much "what" to make, but how to get it all together without much time and energy. I find it really helps me to have a little menu or even a list of meal ideas that I can pull together at mealtime. Sometimes just knowing what I'm going to make later, helps the meal prep. time to go much smoother. You could even have those meals rotate if you like that idea: Mon-Pancakes & Sausages, Tue- Eggs & Toast, Wed- Bagels & Smoothies, etc. . . . .

The ladies are giving such great ideas on things to include in your list of possible ideas for breakfasts and lunches. Another thought would be freezer cooking. You could make up some meals ahead and freeze them. Then the night before, just pull them out of the freezer and heat them up at mealtime. Then you can concentrate on your schoolday with the children, and not worry about what to make. Making lunches in the morning might also relieve a little stress, too. Ziploc and Gladware make some cute divided dishes with covers. You could put together lunches in the fridge in the morning and just pull them out later and eat! I don't have them, but love the idea!

If clean-up is an issue, there's always paper plates!! I tend to think that with my family of seven, that this is a huge waste! I usually just use our regular dishes and throw them in the sink, and just put any food away in the fridge. And, wouldn't you know, they are always patiently waiting for me later, when I have time to do them!!! You could even assign one of your children to clean up the table after a certain mealtime. I have my three older ones each take a mealtime to be responsible for table clean up. They are doing a great job with this and I don't have to do all the work. I can just be putting food away or loading the dishwasher, while they clear the table and wipe it off. It might not seem like much, but really helps with the flow of the day. It also gives them such a great sense of accomplishment and joy in a job well done. (This aspect might take a little training time! But, much worth the efforts! )

I wanted to thank you for posting this question. I believe that this is so helpful for all of us! I think we all struggle with this same thing from time to time. I have been seeing this as something I need to devote more time and organization to lately! I'm sure if you just think over some things your family really enjoys for these mealtimes, that you can put together a plan that will work out great for your family and relieve a little stress on Mom, at the same time!

Blessings!

~Lisa

[kvmck]

Thank you for all the great ideas! I had forgotten all about tuna and pizzas... yummy
Frozen muffins are a great idea. I do enjoy baking and have been looking around for some new healthier quick breads (just made banana bread with whole wheat flour and honey... very good out of oven but is a bit too dense when eating as a "leftover"). My kids consider muffins to be "cake" so they will be excited about those. Those pizza rolls look good, and I think my kids would like making those.
I really love the idea of keeping meals in the freezer, I will have to re-investigate that.
Creativemommy--could you tell me how you make your fruit smoothies? Do you use frozen fruit and yogurt, or juice??

[/Sometimes it's not so much "what" to make, but how to get it all together without much time and energy. I find it really helps me to have a little menu or even a list of meal ideas that I can pull together at mealtime

that is so true!! ... One reason I love HOD is that I no longer have to plan out what to do each day... I just open the manual and do it!! I have tried to do a rotating menu in the past, I am going to do that again now that my kiddos are a less picky (they didn't even like tacos or noodle dishes b/c the food was all mixed together but now they're fine with it) My older kids do the dishes now... so that is very helpful. I've even been giving them "lunch duty" sometimes as well (when we are just having subs or sandwhich which they can easily make) and that way I can go fold laundry or something else that is equally as exciting!
While I was typing this my son just came in and said "holy cow this banana bread is good" so I guess its not too dense.

[rainbowacreshs]

OOH my tummy is growling. I personally like to make double batches of spaghetti at dinner, and then portion off the left overs into containers. I store the left overs in the freezer and just reheat when we want it.

Same thing with chili, and then pour that over microwaved potatoes for a fast lunch.

Anyone ever try "Bologna Mountains"? -- You can use left over mash potatoes or even instant potates... place bologna slices on lightly greased cookie sheet or baking pan. Top w/ mash potatoes and shredded cheese, heat until potatoes are hot and cheese nice and melted. Serve w/ a veggie or fruit.

Beenie weenies is a fast favorite around here too.

One poster mentioned freezing left over waffles.. we do that too except most times its pancakes. Sometimes I'll make smaller sized pancakes and make our own griddle sandwiches..usually buy the quick heat sausage patties.
chicken nuggets is a staple too..

LOL enough I think I need to go fix lunch lol...

[crlacey]

My kids are picky eaters too. Here are some of their favorites:

1. Waffles. I make a large batch on the weekend and freeze them. Then pop them into the toaster like store bought waffles. For added kid appeal, we bought a waffles maker that has Mickey Mouse on each waffle.
2. Crackers and cheese.
3. Yogurt and crackers.
4. Pancakes usually with cinnamon chips or such thing added.
5. Banana bread, apple bread, zucchini bread (you get the idea).

1. Crackers with pepperoni (or other meat) and cheese on top put in the microwave for 10-15 seconds until the cheese is melted. My kids at 4 and 7 can do all but the microwave part themselves. (The microwave is too high for them.)
2. Peanut butter and jelly made into the "uncrustables". I got a great round pastry press to seal the sandwich which cuts to crust off too. The kids love this since it looks like the store bought food, yet we can use whatever they like inside. They make this by themselves.
3. Tuna spread on crackers. If the tuna is mixed, they can do this alone.
4. Baked sandwiches. Take crescent rolls and keep 2 triangles together to make a rectangle. On one half of the rectangle add meat, cheese, chopped veggies. Then fold the other half over on top of the fillings. Pinch the edges together and bake at temp listed on the package for 15 minutes.
5. Taco platter. Take the leftover taco meat from last night and spread onto tortilla chips and cover with cheese and any other toppings you like. Again my kids can create these all except for the microwaving part.

[creativemommy]

To answer your question, kvmck, I use fresh fruit, frozen fruit, 100% fruit juice and even veggies! Sometimes yogurt and rice milk or almond milk, too. Our favorite green smoothie right now is 3/4 c. white grape juice + 2 c. spinach + 1 1/2 c. frozen fruit blend (strawberries, mango, pineapple, peaches). I'll also mix almond milk with blueberries & flax seeds. Frozen bananas are great in smoothies, it makes them so creamy without the yogurt taste. Buy the clearance-priced very ripe bananas to peel, break into chunks & store in freezer bag. Pull out a few to add to any smoothie. I have a Vitamix (high-powered blender) which takes the whole fruits and totally liquefies them. It's great for my super-picky ds. Strawberry & raspberry seeds are gone in just seconds mixed into the smoothie!


Maybe this post can help you get started making freezer meals!
http://mycrazyadoption.org/crazy-guest- ... ze-recipes

Here's a blog that I keep to share freezer recipes that work for our family and you can access the recipes using the labels on the right column. http://easierwiththefreezer.blogspot.com/

A few helpful books to read are Don't Panic - Dinner's in the Freezer & Frozen Assets if your local library has them. And there are a lot of websites out there devoted to recipes for the freezer.

[Samuel'sMommy]

I have a picky eater too and it is a struggle to get things in him that are healthy. For breakfast, we mainly do cereal. He will eat just about any kind of cereal - but only if it's dry - so that's pretty easy for me and then I just give him a glass of milk with it. He also loves waffles so I try to make big batches of those once in a while and freeze the extras and then I just pop them in the toaster when he wants them.

Lunch is harder. I generally make enough dinner each night for DH and I to eat leftovers for lunch, but DS usually won't eat leftovers unless they are spaghetti or pizza. He also won't eat sandwiches. He usually ends up just having "snacks" for lunch - basically just bits of different things that he likes. Usually he has some combination of peanut butter toast, peanut butter crackers, plain crackers, cheddar or mozzarella cheese, fruit, and cottage cheese. He ends up asking for some really weird combinations sometimes like today he had a piece of peanut butter toast, a bowl of cottage cheese, and some fruit but all of that was easy to get together and at least he got some protein and fruit in. I will also occasionally make spaghetti for lunch because that's pretty easy to just cook the noodles and then I keep a jar of sauce in the fridge so I can just mix in enough for 1 or 2 servings.

[amarie]

Hi, we have a picky eater too...we do a lot of peanut butter and jelly (or just a bowl of peanut butter), chedar cheese slices and crackers, toast, lunch meat sandwiches, mac and cheese, cereal...mostly easy-to-chew foods. Sometimes I feel like I should be putting more effort into their meals, but I figure the ingredients in a grilled cheese sandwiches, for example, are bread and cheese, and if he is just as delighted in a chunk of cheese and some crackers or a slice of bread, why not just go with that instead of buttering the bread, heating the pan, cooking it, slicing it and cleaning up? I made a huge batch of pancakes this weekend and stuck them in the fridge for easy breakfasts/dinners. It feels good to have something ready.

Also, in my attempts to save money on our grocery bills, I have been trying to use up what is in our pantry more. So, in an effort to "hide" my frugal attempts, I've been dressing up dinner plates more, or "presenting" that plain old spagetti and left-over meat sauce from the freezer on a pretty platter. LOL! My husband raves over those dinners, and its fun when the boys come to the table to hear them delighting in whats there instead of watching them slump into their chairs and bracing myself for a lengthy discussion/argument about why they need to eat their dinner. Just a thought to throw out there.

Hang in there...the daily grind with picky eaters can be frustrating!
Amy