Healthy Lunches for School
Healthy lunches for school meals for your child are as important as a healthy breakfast. If your child is in School, Montessori, crèche or at home it is an important meal for your child. Time to take a break, recharge their energy levels, quite time, having fun and a giggle with friends and enjoying their lunch. Variety is the key the lunchtime, be adventurous and give different daily options and this will help to encourage your child to be and have a wide range of foods in their diet.
Keep it simple and fun.
Let your child be involved in preparing their lunches.
Give them healthy choice and options, always adding fruits and vegetables.
Fish-Shaped Tuna Sandwich
You will need:
Fish-shaped tuna sandwich with lettuce on whole wheat bread
10 baby carrots with 2 tablespoons low-fat ranch dip
Small plum
1/4 cup whole-grain Goldfish crackers
Mini Mushroom Pizza
Children can get calcium and plenty of vitamin C from this Mediterranean recipe.
You will need:
1/2 medium red bell pepper
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
Cooking spray
1/2 cup thinly sliced shiitake mushroom caps
1 tablespoon sliced shallots
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 (6-inch) Italian cheese-flavored pizza crust (such as Boboli)
1 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh basil
3/4 cup torn spinach
6 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) shredded fresh mozzarella cheese
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Dash of salt
Instructions:
Preheat broiler.
Place bell pepper half, skin side up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten with hand. Broil 15 minutes or until blackened. Place in a zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand 10 minutes. Peel and finely chop. Combine bell pepper, juice, and garlic, stirring well.
Preheat oven to 450°.
Heat a small nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and shallots; sauté 2 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat; stir in vinegar.
Place crust on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Spread bell pepper mixture evenly over crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle basil evenly over bell pepper mixture; top with spinach. Spoon mushroom mixture evenly over spinach; sprinkle with cheese.
Bake at 450° for 4 minutes or until cheese melts. Sprinkle with black pepper and salt.
Pita Kebab
You will need:
whole wheat pita pocket
10 slices ham or chicken
10 cubes fresh mozzarella
1/2 c. pizza sauce
fresh veggies of choice
olives
Instructions:
Slice pita pocket into 1/2 in squares. Using a toothpick layer kebab with pita square, ham or chicken, 1 cube mozzarella, 1 olive & finish with another pita square.
Can be heated at 325 for 5-8 minutes and served warm or can be enjoyed cold. Serve with pizza sauce.
Scrambled Egg Burritos
You will need:
2 large eggs, or equivalent egg substitute
1 tablespoon 1% low-fat milk
1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
Dash of coarsely ground black pepper
Cooking spray
1/2 teaspoon butter
4 tablespoons reduced-fat shredded cheddar cheese, divided
2 (8-inch) fat-free flour tortillas, heated
4 tablespoons chopped seeded tomato, divided
2 tablespoons bottled chunky salsa, divided
Instructions:
Whisk the first 5 ingredients (through pepper) in a medium bowl.
Coat a medium nonstick skillet with cooking spray, and melt butter over medium heat. Add the egg mixture, and stir with a heatproof rubber spatula to scramble.
Sprinkle 2 tablespoons cheese down the center of one tortilla; top with half of the scrambled egg, 2 tablespoons tomato, and 1 tablespoon chunky salsa.
Roll up burrito-style (fold bottom up and sides to center). Repeat with remaining ingredients.
Summer vegetable roll-ups
You will need:
2 aubergines, preferably long and thin ones
3 courgettes, ideally about the same length as the aubergines
6 tbsp. olive oil
3 red peppers
100g ricotta
2 tsp pesto
50g pine nuts
Basil leaves, to serve
Instructions:
Cut each aubergine and courgette into 6 slices lengthways. Line a grill pan with foil and arrange the aubergine and courgette slices over it. Brush them liberally with oil, then season. Grill until lightly browned, then turn over and repeat. Remove and leave to cool, keeping the 2 vegetables separate.
Quarter the peppers and remove the seeds. Place on the grill, skin-side up, and grill until the skins are blackened. Transfer to a bowl and cover with foil. When cool enough to handle, peel off the skins.
Mix the ricotta and pesto with a little seasoning. Put an aubergine slice on your work surface and spread with a little ricotta mix. Cover with a courgette slice and spread with a little more ricotta mix. Top with a pepper slice, then roll up from one end and secure with a cocktail stick if necessary. Place on a platter and repeat with the remaining vegetables and ricotta mix to make 12 roll-ups.
Toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan until golden. Drizzle a little oil over the roll-ups, then scatter with pine nuts and basil leaves. Serve at room temperature.
Turkey Wrap
You will need:
4 large flour tortillas
1 small lettuce, washed and patted dry
3/4 pound sliced turkey breast
2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
2 Kirby cucumbers, cut into spears
1/2 cup store-bought pesto
Instructions:
In the center of each tortilla, layer some lettuce, turkey, tomato, and cucumber. Spread the pesto over the top and roll like a burrito.
Vegetable Pasta Salad
You will need:
1 red onion
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 zucchini
7oz asparagus
7 oz baby broccoli
5oz cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp dried oregano
14oz dried pasta
Instructions:
Chop the vegetables and place them in a large bowl with the olive oil and oregano. Mix well until all the vegetables are coated.
Divide the vegetables between two baking trays or dishes and roast in a 400f oven for 15 minutes, turning once.
Meanwhile cook the pasta according to package instructions. Drain it under cold water and allow it to cool.
When the vegetables have cooked, allow them to cool before mixing with the pasta.
Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Broccoli and Egg Muffins
You will need:
1 pound Sausage
1 cup broccoli florets
8 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp baking powder
salt & pepper to taste
parmesan cheese
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 F.
In a large saute pan, over medium high heat, brown Italian Sausage for about 5 minutes, or until the sausage is no longer pink. Remove from heat and stir in broccoli.
Whisk together eggs, milk, oil and baking powder. Season with salt and pepper.
Lightly spray a 12-cupcake pan with oil. Spoon out the sausage and broccoli mixture evenly into each cupcake.
Ladle the egg mixture over sausage and broccoli.
Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Bake for 15-20 minutes.
Vegetable Lasagna Muffins
You will need:
cooking spray 1/2 tbsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced
4 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1/2 c. chopped artichoke hearts (frozen, marinated, or canned would all work)
1/4 c. sliced sun-dried tomatoes
1/3 c. basil pesto
1 1/2 c. low-fat ricotta cheese
salt and pepper to taste
24 small square refrigerated wonton wrappers
1 c. shredded Mozzarella or Italian-blend cheese
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with oil or cooking spray.
Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, zucchini, and mushrooms and saute until softened and just beginning to brown, about 7 minutes. Stir in artichoke hearts; cook 2-3 additional minutes or until liquid evaporates, if needed. Add sun-dried tomatoes and pesto to skillet and stir until well-combined. Remove from heat.
Combine ricotta, a pinch of salt, and pepper to taste (I added 1/4 teaspoon) in a small bowl. Set aside.
Press 1 wonton wrapper into each cup of the muffin tin. Divide half the ricotta mixture into each cup; top this with half the vegetable mixture. Divide half of the shredded cheese into each cup. Place the remaining wonton wrappers into each cup, making sure the corners are in the opposite direction of the first wrapper; gently press down to smash everything into the cup and then repeat layering process with remaining ingredients (ricotta, veggies, then cheese). If any of this is confusing, refer to the photos above!
Bake for 10 minutes, or until cheese has melted and edges of wonton wrappers are golden brown.
Quick and Simple Quiche
You will need:
1 pie crust (refrigerated)
Meat of choice (ham, bacon, chicken)
Oil
Chopped onion
Cheese (shredded)
Eggs
Milk
Salt
Black Pepper (optional)
Instructions:
Preheat your oven to a temperature of 425 degrees F.
Place the crust in a pie dish and bake for about five minutes.
Remove the crust from the oven and reduce the temperature to 375 degrees F.
Heat the oil in a pan and add meat. Cook it over medium flame until it turns crisp.
Remove it from the pan and place it on a paper towel to drain the excess oil.
Use the remaining oil in the pan to sauté the onions. Remove the pan from heat. Shred the meat and add it to the onions in the pan.
At the bottom of your pie shell, sprinkle half the amount of cheese you’ll be using. Add the meat and the onion mix over this.
Whisk the eggs in a bowl. Add the milk, salt and pepper. Pour this over the meat and the onion. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese. Bake until it turns golden brown.
© Teresa Boardman, Nanny Options 2017.
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