As a parent, you want your kids to have some lunch packed in their bags for their recess. But when your kid is starting to lose interest with the same old PBJ sandwiches that you’ve been making, it is time to come up with more creative ways to prepare their food. The good news is that preparing lunch boxes for kids doesn’t have to be that difficult nor too time consuming to make. After all, these no-sandwich lunch box ideas are perfect for children who need to have their stomach filled during their break.
Energy Bites
This energy bites recipe is good for kids who want something light but filling. You will need to mix 1 ¾ cup of quick cooking oats with ¼ cup of honey, ¾ cup of peanut butter, and some chocolate chips. Stir the ingredients thoroughly then form them into balls before popping them in the fridge. Add some dried cranberries, sugar snap peas, and apple slices too.
Quesadillas
You will need 2 to 3 cups of filling such as shredded meat, cooked beans, cooked rice or grains, or any leftovers for that matter, 2 teaspoons of butter or vegetable oil, divided, 4 large flour tortillas, and 2 cups of shredded cheese of your choice. Prepare the filling by warming them up especically when you are using leftovers. Melt ½ teaspoon of oil or butter in the skillet and warm it up over medium-high heat. Add tortilla and top it with cheese. Add about half a cup of filling in a single layer on one half of the tortilla. Make sure that you don’t use too much filling. Wait for the cheese to melt before lifting a corner to check the underside. Once you see some golden-brown spots underneath, fold the quesadilla in half. Transfer to a cutting board and slice into wedges and add to your kid’s lunch box. Add some avocado slices, a bit of crackers or chips, and you’re done.
Rainbow vegetable spring rolls
How about a little bit of rainbow vegetable spring rolls for your kid’s lunch box? You will need 1 medium red bell pepper, 1 large carrot, 1 medium avocado, 1 ½ tablespoons of rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, ½ to 1 teaspoon of Sriracha or other hot sauce, 1 medium yellow bell pepper, ¼ small head purple cabbage, 1 cup of microgreens or sprouts, 1 teaspoon sugar, ¼ cup of mayonnaise, 10 large rice paper wrappers. Trim the tops and bottoms of the bell peppers. Make sure that the seeds are also removed. Slice the peppers lengthwise as thin as you can manage. Peel the carrot then slice into thin shreds. Slice the wedge of purple cabbage into thin pieces. Cut the avocado in half, remove the pit, then slice into thin slices. Whisk the rice vinegar, sesame oil, and sugar in a small ramekin then get another dish to whisk Sriracha and mayonnaise. Submerge a spring roll wrapper in warm water then lay some vegetables on it. Fold the sides of the wrapper before rolling it up.
