I don't know about you, but it always takes me a minute to get into a good summer routine with having all my kids home. They all want different things from me all day long and it can be overwhelming to take care of everyone all the time. I do really love being home with them and setting simple routines really helps us all enjoy our days together. After a couple weeks of Summer, we seem to be hitting our stride.
I am used to packing lunches for the kids every night, but suddenly having to have fix them a hot lunch or something yummy in the middle of the day takes extra preparation on my part. We rarely swing through a drive thru or go out for lunch. It's easily $40 to do that and I hate spending that kind of money on lunch. I've come up with a list of things the kids enjoy having for lunch that won't take you long to make and won't break the bank. These are all affordable meal options for you to eat at home.
1 // Soft Pretzels
These Super Pretzels cost under $3 at Walmart and just need to bake for about 4 minutes in the oven. They come with the pretzel salt and 6 good sized pretzels. My kids love them. I pair them with meats, cheeses, fruits and veggies. The kids are always excited to have these for lunch.
2 // PF Chang's Chicken Lo Mein frozen meal
This was a new find from the freezer section. The kids said it was a little saucy, but both big kids ate their own servings. It was easy and quick to fix in a skillet. I did remove the celery for my kids and would probably remove some of the frozen sauce chunks if we got it again.
3 // Leftovers
I had Kevin grill a couple extra burgers the last time he grilled and they made lunch prep so easy the next day! I will definitely do this again for burger night. I do the same thing for taco night - make extra meat and toppings for an easy taco lunch for everyone the following day. It's so nice to prep one meal and get to enjoy it for several different meals.
4 // Peanut Butter
This is a lunch that I always have on hand - peanut butter! Sometimes we do sandwiches, sometimes crackers or sometimes crunchy peanut butter and apple slices. It's not glamorous, but it's inexpensive and easy.
5 // Dirty Rice
My kids LOVE this stuff so much. You can brown the ground beef ahead of time so that the meal comes together so fast for lunch. One of my kids love to sprinkle cheese on top.
6 // Noodles
My kids love any kind of noodles. I will regularly make them spaghetti for lunch with fun shaped noodles. They'll ask for Ramen or Vegetable Lo Mein from the frozen section at Sams. I try to always keep a variety of noodle lunch options on hand for them.
7 // Lunchables
My kids love the pizza and nacho Lunchables. They're under $2 each and I try to keep them in the fridge for the days when we get home right at lunch tine or when I don't have time to prep and chop lots for lunch. It's an easy button kind of lunch.
8 // Soup & Sandwiches
My kids love picking out a soup to eat and sandwiches. I usually tell the big kids to go pick out a soup from the pantry that they agree on and then I take their order for a sandwich. Grilled cheese is a popular choice for my boys.
What do you like to fix your kids for lunch in the Summer? I'd love to have some new ideas!
The pretzels are such a fun idea! I never thought of making them a part of lunch. We always bought those for snacks. Great lunch ideas.
ReplyDeleteGreat lunch ideas!!
ReplyDeleteLunch is my least favorite meal to prepare! It feels like we just cleaned up breakfast and that I"m thinking ahead to dinner...lunch just is in the way, haha! We have it year-round with homeschooling so there's no transition for summer-- is that a good thing or a bad thing, I don't know, lol. We do a lot of "homemade lunchables" with crackers, protein like boiled egg or cheese, fruit/veggie. Also leftovers like you said. Sometimes I do a muffin for the main dish and fruit/veg on the side. Buttered pasta is a fave with my kids. Anything that's simple to make and clean up, esp in the summer!
ReplyDelete