Raid the Fridge
Using what you have on hand to create a nutritous lunch.
Feeding my family healthy dinners comes fairly easily to me. Breakfast also doesn’t require much preplanning. But lunch? Lunch is completely different. I don’t know what it is, but I often find myself in a rut. We eat the same couple of things day after day, and when I have to pack a school lunch, forget about it. PB&J every time.
Of course corn dogs, chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese are options that my children enjoy, but those tend to be a little lacking on the nutrition side and full of artificial ingredients and fat. So, while these foods do make an occasional appearance in our lunch, I spent my summers branching out and keeping our lunches easy, delicious and nutritious. Many of our favorites have been items I have thrown together from our fridge. I have been inspired by www.100DaysOfRealFood.com and their posts on school lunches.
Different lunches we’ve tried have included:
- Muffin (zucchini or blueberry are favorites), organic yogurt, hardboiled egg and apple slices
- Cheese stick, lunchmeat slices, crackers, grapes and baby carrots
- Yogurt, berries, granola, apple slices and muffin
- Scrambled eggs (I hide shredded zucchini and mushrooms in the eggs), blueberries and cinnamon sugar toast
- Toast topped with peanut butter and banana, watermelon and frozen peas
- Cucumber, pepper and carrot sticks dipped in hummus, yogurt and berries
- Build-your-own pizza: spaghetti sauce, shredded cheese, pepperoni on English muffin with vegetables of their choice, served with fruit salad
- Shredded chicken, shredded cheese melted on a whole wheat tortilla dipped in mashed avocado and served with any fruit available
Lunch still stresses me out occasionally, but I have found the ease in using what we have. There are no rules that state every meal needs to balance out and contain every food group, nor does it need to “make sense.” Finding random items in the freezer, fridge or pantry can often create a healthy and delicious meal. My main goal is that each lunch contains a protein, a carbohydrate, a fruit or vegetable or both and, ideally, a dairy. I also don’t stress out if I happen to be short on something. If my children don’t get a dairy at lunch or are limited on protein or carbohydrate, then snack time will consist of filling in holes.
Using what we have on hand not only keeps us from wasting as much food, but takes no time at all. It doesn’t have to be wildly creative or complex for your kids to like it either. Sometimes keeping it simple is the best way to go.
Jessica Heine is a labor and delivery nurse. She lives with her family in Olathe.