Not all school lunches in Alexandria, VA, are healthy, which is why many people include them in their meal prep plans. By making the lunches at home, you can ensure that your child will at least be given a healthy option, even if he or she doesn’t eat everything. You can boost the potential by creating healthy options for kids that taste delicious and are fun. You also can make ones the whole family will love.
Planning the meals is a step toward success.
If you preplan all the meals, you’ll be using food more effectively with little or no waste. Leftover chicken can be a chicken salad or a salad in a jar. Did your child love the meal? You can use leftovers for school. Make roll-ups for a unique option. Use the protein source, such as chicken, turkey or beef roast and if dice it fine. Mix with some chives and cream cheese and spread on whole wheat bread that had the crusts removed. Put a midget or baby gherkin at one end and roll the bread around it, making a log. Put in toothpicks about an inch apart and slice the log for pinwheels. It’s a fun meal and you can vary the recipe to suit your child’s taste.
Always include a container of fresh fruit with nuts, cheese or peanut butter.
Keep it simple and let them assemble a healthy lunch. It makes it more fun. Include the utensils for spreading peanut butter or cream cheese on sliced fresh fruit or veggies. A plastic spoon works well. If you want to assemble something fun for a treat, make ants on a log. Fill the center of a piece of celery with peanut butter and top with a line of raisins, to look like ants crossing a log.
For older children, assembling tacos is a treat.
Include all the fixings and several soft taco shells. Include leftover taco seasoned meat in one container, chopped lettuce, tomatoes and onions or other taco fixings mixed in others. Include a spoon and it’s ready to assemble. You can make healthy muffins that contain all the nutrients of a meal, which include veggies. A hard-boiled egg, hummus dip, fresh fruit and veggies can all be the basis to build a meal. You can even include salsa and chips for scooping.
- To keep fresh cut fruit like pears and apples fresh, toss in a 1:1 mixture of lemon juice and water. Then store them in an airtight container. Topping sliced avocados with lemon juice can also prevent it from browning.
- You can make sandwiches ahead, but always seal in the freshness of the bread, so it doesn’t get soggy. Use a fatty spread like butter or mayonnaise. Toast the bread lightly before assembly, add the spread and assemble,
- If your sandwich tends to be wetter, with ingredients like saucy condiments or tomatoes, store it in parchment paper wrapped deli-style to prevent it from getting soggy. If it’s a drier sandwich, make it ahead and store it in a plastic bag to prevent drying out.
- Make lunches fun. Include pita pockets and containers of ingredients to stuff them. Flat bread roll up sandwiches are also more fun. You’ll be amazed at how your kids will eat a salad with chicken bits when it’s stuffed in a pita pocket.
For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness
