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melanie
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| Posted: Sept 11 2009 at 1:10pm | IP Logged
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What do you all do for lunches? I want some healthier, but quick lunch ideas. I've tried dinner leftovers, but really we don't usually have enough leftover anymore to feed everyone a second time around. So my dh usually takes leftovers to work for lunch, but there's rarely enough for more than that. Here's what we've been doing. Most of this is not healthy, really...lunch time has become my time to rely on convienance foods too much.
macaroni and cheese
noodle soup (not homemade  )and chicken breasts cut into strips
frozen burritos (I could make this healthier I think by making homemade ones and freezing them)
grilled cheese and tomato soup
cold sandwiches
frozen fish fillets and tater tots or fries
ravioli or spaghetti
All of these are served with fruit and juice
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Melanie
homeschooling Maria (13yo), Kain (10yo), Jack (5yo), Tess (2yo), and our newest blessing, Henry Robert, born 4/23!
slightlycrunchycatholic.blogspot.com
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Red Cardigan
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| Posted: Sept 11 2009 at 8:54pm | IP Logged
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No suggestions, just watching this thread eagerly!  We've been in a "lunch rut" here and school starting up is making it worse. Can't wait to read others' advice!
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Sharyn
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| Posted: Sept 12 2009 at 6:11am | IP Logged
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I'd like to be more creative, but mostly we just have sandwiches. My 3yr old asked for Vegemite with Nutella the other day. I had to ask him twice to be sure, but that was what he wanted; and he ate it all,so evidently a nice combination 
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Kathryn
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| Posted: Sept 12 2009 at 11:31am | IP Logged
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Melanie, your ideas already sound so good! I saw my neighbor's public school menu the other day and thought "hmmm...maybe I should just copy some of their ideas". They are trying to be healthier in the schools so I thought about going on-line and seeing what ideas I could come up with.
I'm discovering this new role of lunchroom monitor now that we're homeschooling and finding myself hitting a drive-thru waaay more than I should b/c it's fast and easy. They usu. split something like the nuggets or burger and then I give them a cup of water at home w/ a piece of fruit and some animal crackers or teddy grahams for dessert.
Then I remind myself that my kids ate a sandwich every day when they were in school last year so why can't I just do that now. ?! I guess I think they need variety. Plus I agree that we try for healthier but I just don't think that makes for quick.
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Sept 12 2009 at 11:39am | IP Logged
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I think that if you like burritos, that is pretty easy to do from scratch and keep the separate ingredients ready to assemble individually. We'll keep a pot of beans, a pot of brown rice, some grated cheese, and chopped green onions. All that goes together quick in a wrap and people can assemble and heat up their own in the microwave.
What if you tried to do variety, just not variety in the same week. So, if you found a meall that could be spread over lunch for a few days, you could have the same things a few days in a row for lunch. Next week, do something a bit different that still means you don't have to cook every day.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
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Martha in VA
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| Posted: Sept 12 2009 at 12:17pm | IP Logged
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We are in a rut too but in the past here are some things that have worked well here:
tuna salad on crackers
egg salad on crackers
hummus
quesadillas - cheese or bean and cheese
baked potato bar (everyone "dresses" their own)
protein smoothies and bagels
nachos with beans and cheese
paninis (got a panini press for Christmas - these are a hit)
Watching for more ideas!
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: Sept 12 2009 at 4:25pm | IP Logged
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Previous threads from the archives have some good ideas.
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Suzanne in ID
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Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
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LucyP
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| Posted: Sept 12 2009 at 5:15pm | IP Logged
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For a few weeks, we have been having green smoothies for lunch. The children love them, and if they get hungry later I offer bread sticks, krisprolls etc as a snack. It works well for us, is so quick and easy and keeps up the momentum of our day - I stand in awe of women who actually cook at lunchtime and still home educate etc.
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Maddie
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We do quesadillas once a week and I warm up leftover meat and veggies tat the children can add. I use my griddle to cook them so I can cook least 5 at a time. Very quick and easy.
With some planning you could make homemade pizza then have leftovers for lunch next day too. 
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Christine
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| Posted: Sept 13 2009 at 11:43pm | IP Logged
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We were having sandwiches until recently. I am tired of eating sandwiches each day. The children enjoyed homemade tomato soup and quesadillas last week. The tomato soup recipe came from Large Family Logistics Lunch Recipes. Even my child who dislikes tomatoes enjoyed the soup.  We will be trying a few more of the recipes this week. For those of you who observe meatless Fridays, Tuesdays and Fridays recipes can be switched.
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Veronika
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| Posted: Sept 24 2009 at 6:24pm | IP Logged
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Maddie wrote:
We do quesadillas once a week and I warm up leftover meat and veggies tat the children can add. I use my griddle to cook them so I can cook least 5 at a time. Very quick and easy.
With some planning you could make homemade pizza then have leftovers for lunch next day too. |
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Those tortillas make a great pizza crust too. We like to put a spoonfull of canned pizza sauce on 'em and sprinkle them with shredded cheese and extra oregano then pop them into the toaster oven.
We also like to keep leftover sticky rice for making nori rice balls. They roll a handful with some shredded nori and then in toasted sesame seeds and dip them in soy sauce. With some snow peas or those little baby carrots from the "ready to eat" section of the produce aisle, we're somewhat balanced and good to go.
Soups go over big among the kids this time of year too.
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Veronika
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Topic: lunches
