Please join me on September 10th at Cornerstone Sonoma and Sunset Magazine’s Outdoor Test Kitchen for a parent/child hands-on demo on how to make packing school lunches a breeze. Register here.
There is nothing wrong with PB&J. There, I’ve said it! I know that parents all share the same goals when it comes to sending their children to school with the best food they can to help their growing minds and bodies excel. The trick is in getting them to eat those healthy lunches.
When Lisa Yokota and Claudine Wong asked me back on their show, Bay Area People, KTVU Fox 2, to cover healthy back-to-school lunches and easy weeknight meals, I jumped at the opportunity. Not only do I love working with these two talented news journalists, but I also receive this request often from the families I work with. “How can I work variety into my child’s lunchbox but without feeling like a short order cook every morning—AND avoiding waste?”
Whether it’s those weeknight meals or back-to-school lunches, I always use my 3×3 method to quickly plan and execute healthy meals that children and their parents will love. It all starts with 1) what does your family enjoy eating, and 2) what’s already in your pantry. Then, I put together a very short list of fresh ingredients you’ll need from the grocery store and a game plan that ensures you’ll use the perishable items multiple ways during the week with zero waste.
When you are packing your child’s lunch this year, think about my 3×3 method—always pack a:
- Fruit
- Veggie
- Protein
When choosing ingredients, keep in mind:
- Color
- Crunch
- Taste: Salty + Sweet
I also love to throw in some “food hacks” from already made ingredients you can pick up at your local grocery store, such as my unique flavor twists made fast from store bought hummus (see recipes below):
- Avocado Green Dream Hummus
- Creamy Carrot Curry Hummus
The key to making it feel easy during the week is to prep ahead on Sunday for the following three days:
- Cut carrots and cucumbers for next 3 days
- Make flavored hummus and granola bark
- Cut fruit for next 3 days
Here are a few ideas I’d love to share with you that will make this year’s school lunches more fun to pack with your children:
Menu:
Meatless Monday
- Hummus, cucumber, carrot wrap
- Take one piece of whole wheat bread and roll it out with a rolling pin until ¼ inch thick. Spread store bought hummus on the bread and top with shredded carrot, diced red bell pepper, and some torn basil leaves. Roll and cut into four small rounds.
- Roasted chickpeas
- Rainbow carrots cut into “sticks”
- Strawberries/Mango
- Granola bark (see recipe below)
Tuesday
- Taco Tuesday wrap: chicken, cheese, and avocado hummus
- To make avocado hummus: take ½ cup of store bought hummus and blend it with ½ avocado, 1 garlic clove, a pinch of cilantro, and a pinch of cumin. Spread on whole-wheat wrap and top with shredded rotisserie chicken, and shredded cheddar cheese. We also love to add in some of our diced red bell pepper and extra cilantro before rolling up and slicing into two pieces.
- Mango/Blueberries
- Cucumber sticks
- Roasted chickpeas
Wednesday
- Chicken salad wrap-diced chicken, yogurt, honey, curry powder, dried cranberries
- Make curry yogurt sauce: 3 tablespoons yogurt, 1 teaspoon curry powder, 1 teaspoon honey, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard. Take one piece of whole wheat bread and roll it out with a rolling pin until ¼ inch thick. Spread curry yogurt sauce on bread, top with shredded rotisserie chicken and some dried cranberries. Roll and cut into four small rounds.
- Carrot curry hummus
- To make carrot curry hummus: take ½ cup store bought hummus and blend in 2 leftover roasted carrot sticks (from previous night’s dinner!), 1 teaspoon curry powder, 1 clove garlic, and a pinch of salt. Eat with carrot and radish dippers.
- Rainbow carrot half moons + rainbow radish half moons
- Blueberries
Thursday
- Chicken gyro wrap: plain hummus, chicken, shaved carrots, garlicky yogurt sauce
- To make garlic yogurt sauce: mix 3 tablespoons yogurt, ½ teaspoon cumin, 1 garlic clove, ¼ lime, and a pinch of salt. Spread store bought hummus over whole-wheat tortilla wrap, top with shredded rotisserie chicken, garlic yogurt sauce, and grated carrots, and roll up and slice into two pieces.
- Roasted chickpeas
- Strawberries
- Granola bark
Friday
- Strawberry n Sun Butter “sushi roll”—new take on a PB&J!
- Take one piece of whole wheat bread and roll it out with a rolling pin until ¼ inch thick. Spread sun butter (or your favorite nut butter) on the bread. Line up sliced strawberries on the edge closest to you and roll the bread like sushi. Cut into small “sushi rounds.”
- Rainbow carrot rounds
- Carrot curry hummus
- Granola Bark
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 3 Tbsp. oat flour*
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. cinnamon
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
- ¼ cup dark chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
- 3 Tbsp. melted butter
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 ½ tsp. water
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Stir together the rolled oats, sugar, salt, cinnamon, dried fruits, chocolate and seeds. NOTE: if you don’t have some of the seeds or dried cranberries, you can substitute with the dried fruit, nuts, and seeds you have in your pantry. The total amount is 1-½ cups, so you can play with the ingredients to use up what you have on hand vs. buy new items. I use this recipe to “clean out my pantry!”
- In a separate bowl, mix together the melted butter, honey, and water.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well.
- Spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and press them in firmly. Bake for 15 minutes, or until they are brown around the edges.
- Allow cooling and setting for about 15 minutes before cutting bark.
- *Tip: to make oat flour, simply grind rolled oats in a food processor
