The Challenge of Kid Lunches

Turkey and Cheese Sandwiches, PB & J, Carrots and Ranch...these seem to be the lunches we eat most often.  There's not a thing wrong with that.  I just get tired of preparing the same thing every day.

So I wanted to try some other ideas, and I've been feeling a little bit inspired this week.  Here's what happened in our kitchen at lunch time:

An Assortment of Dippables with Honey Dijon Garlic Sauce

There is no right or wrong way to do this.  Serve the foods you like to prepare, or that your kids will eat.  On my plate: Pan-grilled Chicken Tenders, Roasted Zucchini slices, Baked Brussels Sprouts (Muscle Sprouts my son calls them) and Sweet Potato Fries (the last two are from the frozen section at the grocery store-i just threw them in the oven with the Zucchini and baked on 425 degrees).

Honey Dijon Garlic Sauce

1 cup Greek Yogurt

1 heaping tablespoon course grain Dijon Mustard

1 teaspoon Honey

1 teaspoon Garlic Powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

*Mix all the ingredients until well-blended and serve.  Just about anything is delicious dipped in this sauce!

Movie and Popcorn Lunch

My kids and I love going to the library.  There are several great ones in the Birmingham area.  Emmet O'Neal in the Mountain Brook area and Avondale Public Library in our community are our favorites. We usually go right before lunchtime and they often pick out a movie or two.  Today, my daughter asked if they could go ahead and watch the movie (Ice Age) as soon as we got home.  My natural response was going to be "No, we have to eat lunch and go down for a nap", as if we were on some sort of military style schedule.  But then I thought, "why am I being so uptight?  they're kids, what would it hurt to watch the movie now?"  So I decided to make their lunch movie-friendly.

Popcorn Platter

This was so simple!  I just popped some popcorn, and threw some other easy-to-eat foods on the plate along with it: Pineapple, Carrots, rolled up Turkey deli meat, and Grapes.  

The idea worked well because, to them, it's a treat to eat popcorn on the couch and I tricked them into eating a few more substantial foods as well.  

 Curry Fish

I don't have a perfect little picture of this dish to include.  I actually just remembered it as I was writing this post.  It works for a quick lunch or a quick dinner.

Recipe:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a roasting pan with aluminum foil.

Drizzle a little olive oil on the foil before you add the thawed fish (however many you want to make).

Top those fishies with the following seasonings (however much you want): Ginger, Curry Powder, Chilli Powder, Turmeric, Lime Juice, Salt and Pepper.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until fish falls apart.

I just use store-bought frozen fish.

As I've mentioned before, these are all my favorite
seasonings.  This photo is from a previous
blog post...something having to do with
Sebastian the Crab.  You'll have to look
it up to find out!

So there you have it, my attack on the Kid Lunch Challenge.  These are only a few ideas.  If you have more, I'd like to hear them.  Let's help each other out!  It is always my intention to help and inspire other food lovers!