The answer to the famous question… “What do you give your child for lunch?”
Here are some ideas for kids lunches. Using cookie cutters, colors, and food picks, I try to make lunches appealing to my kids. The majority of the items in this menu are healthy options that the kids (or at least one kid) likes, and are easy for me as a parent to put together in the mornings. The kids have pizza day at school on Fridays so we only need four meal ideas each week.
In this weekly post about our school lunches, I will share the recipes, and how I packed the kids’ lunches as well as what they enjoyed. This week’s lunch consisted of mainly leftovers.
Here’s what we had this week
MONDAY
Beef Biryani* with a side of Cucumbers, yogurt pouch and Pita chips
*We used left-overs from the weekend
⚠️⚠️⚠️All three kids finished the pita chips on their ride back home. So, clearly it was too much food.
TUESDAY
Tandoori Chicken roll** and a side of carrots with ranch dressing (for dipping).
**We used left-overs from the past weekend, but its easy to make. Marinade chicken thighs in ginger-garlic paste, freshly ground garam masala, cayenne (or red pepper), salt, onion powder, cumin powder (optional), lemon juice and yogurt. Either grill or bake in the oven (discard any excess marinade before baking). There are also Tandoori chicken seasonings available at any indian. Hand shred the chicken pieces and lay them inside a Malaysian paratha (found at most indian stores, you can also use homemade Malaysian paratha or any flat bread) and roll it. I wrap these in either foil, parchment or wax paper. If your kids are more adventurous than mine, you may want to add in some sliced onions and sweet tamarind sauce (that’s how I like it, but unfortunately its a no go for the kids).
⚠️⚠️⚠️ The quantity of the food was filling though they wanted a little more. The kids suggested that the pita chips from yesterday’s lunch would have been a better addition here.
WEDNESDAY
Chicken Fajita*** with sour cream, strawberry and banana fruit kabobs, and cheddar rockets (from Trader Joes or you can use Annie’s Cheddar bunnies).
***We had the fajitas from dinner last week, and I stored away a container of left-over chicken to use for lunch this week. I cooked the chicken in an Indian/Pakistani style with, sautéed onion, ginger-garlic paste, salt, black pepper, and freshly ground roasted cumin. Once the chicken is cooked and tender, add chopped green bell peppers (or a combination of, you also julienne the peppers, but since my kids need it to be snuck in, I like to keep the pieces as small as possible), and simmer for about 5-10 until the peppers soften.
⚠️✅✅My daughter requested cheese (which I had actually meant to put in but just completely forgot).
THURSDAY
Beef Shami Kabob burger**** with a side of grapes and horizon organic milk carton.
****These kabobs were left-overs from the previous night’s dinner. To make the kabobs, boil beef cubes with chana daal (split pea lentils) in a 1:4 weight ratio (so 1/2 lb daal for 2 lbs of meat), as well as garam masala, salt, red chilli flakes, and chopped onions. Once the meat is tender, use a food processor to process it down to a dough-like consistency. Add in chopped onions, salt and red chilli flakes (to taste), and cilantro. Mix everything up using your handy-dandy fingers and make patties. These patties can be frozen for future use. When you are ready to fry the patties, dip them in lightly whisked eggs to coat, and shallow fry them in vegetable or canola oil. One egg can coat roughly 8 patties. The fried patties can also be frozen or refrigerated and reheated in the microwave. For a burger, I just placed the shami kabobs topped with cheddar cheese on a bun slathered with mayonnaise. However, feel free to dress up the burger with sliced tomato, onions, lettuce, pickles, and ketchup (or other condiments of your choice). We were all out but today’s menu is missing veggies, so if you don’t add them to the burger, consider giving it as a side – something like celery and ranch would be a great addition. Also, a great substitute for the grapes is apple fries (apples cut into sticks to resemble fries), however, I didn’t have any lemon to dip the apples in (lemon juice helps prevent browning in apples), so we opted for grapes.
✅✅✅No complaints today.
Linked below, you will find all the containers and picks I used for this week’s lunch.
Two section stainless steel container
Sauce Container for Salad Dressing
Stainless Steel Food Container for the Salad and Fruits
