Great School Lunch Ideas
Autumn equinox is just around the corner and while summer winds down to its official end, over here we’re in the full swing of back to school. As you know, eating well is central to our family and so coming up with great school lunch ideas for the first week was important. I still have a lot of ideas I’m excited to prepare for my kids but I thought I’d give you a look at what I prepared for my kids school lunches this week. A couple of pro tips:
Great School Lunch Ideas Tip 1: Repurpose Leftovers
Day 5 I was able to create a really delicious beef schnitzel sandwich with some quality leftovers. It reduced the amount of prep time—which is always important on those early mornings rushing to get out the door and to school on time.
Great School Lunch Ideas Tip 2: Keep it Simple
There’s no shame in preparing classic school lunch! Sunday late afternoon we moved into our new place and so I had to keep the Monday morning prep to a minimum which brings us to our third pro tip…
Great School Lunch Ideas Tip 3: Stock Up Well
In our refrigerator we have a shelf dedicated to school lunch foods. By having quality sliced deli meats and cheeses and pre-washed greens on hand you can still make a great school lunch even when in a rush. On that shelf we keep yogurt, fruit, pre-sliced veggies, apple sauce, etc. to pack a complete lunch.
I hope that the video is useful and I’ll include the ingredients below.
School Lunch Day One: Salami and Cheese Sandwich
For this, just use your kids’ favorite meat and cheese. Use a quality multigrain bread and spread with butter, or mayonnaise, or vegansaise, and mustard. Add some organic greens and you have a great school lunch!
School Lunch Day Two: BLAT Wrap (Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado, Tomato)
The BLAT wrap is a classic and pretty simple prep. Dice one tomato, halve, scoop and cube one avocado. Season tomato and avocado with salt and pepper. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon or one lime over the avocado. Chop lettuce (I like to use organic romaine). Bake the bacon in the oven at 400 degrees until it reaches your desired texture (some like it crispy some like it soft!). Spread mayonnaise on a wrap and add tomato and avocado mixture, lettuce, and break 2-4 slices of bacon into the wrap. Tuck, roll, and it’s ready to go!
School Lunch Day Three: Kalbi Beef Sandwiches
This school lunch required the most prep but I had a lot of fun doing it. The night before school I marinated steak in my Quick Asian Steak Marinade (video below). I let the steak strips marinate overnight in the refrigerator. The next morning I enjoyed the cool autumn air and fired up the outdoor grill. After grilling and resting the steak, cut into bite size pieces. Spread two slices of bread with mayo, add the kalbi beef and you’re good to go!
Marinade Recipe: 3/4 cups soy sauce 1/4 cup Mirin 1 tablespoon sugar 2 teaspoons garlic, minced 1 teaspoon sesame oil
School Lunch Day Four: Pesto Caprese Sandwiches
All you need is a hearty bread (I used ciabatta but baguette would work well too), pesto, mozzarella and tomatoes. Spread the pesto on both sides of the bread and then layer tomatoes and mozzarella and voila! You have an delicious vegetarian school lunch option.
School Lunch Day Five: Beef Schnitzel Sandwich
Pound out a 4 ounce piece of beef tenderloin. Season well with salt and black pepper. Dredge in flour, then one beaten egg, and panko. Shallow fry (oil should come up half way over the schnitzel) in a large frying pan over medium high heat. Use thermometer to check temperature, should be 375 degrees. Then one a hearty bread spread mayo, mustard, and a drizzle of honey. Add the schnitzel, close sandwich and cut. Ready to go!
