Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Summer Time Lunches

This is the last week of school for our (not-so) little friends so next week it will be time to fix lunch for four munchkins instead of two!  With my kids, I'll admit, I get into a serious rut of serving 2-3 different lunches over and over again.  When I'm feeding extra kids, I feel more responsibility to provide a few more options.  Truth be told, though, kids really like what they like and often could eat those few foods 2-3 times a week.  Needless to say, I've spent some time on Pinterest looking for some inspiration and I came across Family Fresh Meals which shared over 30 Summer Camp Lunch Ideas.

Not only are there a few "main dish" ideas I will use from this list there are some great "sides" too.  I think sometimes I struggle with what to serve with things other than chips so having some other ideas will be helpful.  Only one of the four likes salads - the rest are a little harder to please!

Here's this list I've come up with for main dishes.  Ultimately, I'd like about 10 lunch ideas - so a two week rotation.

1. Corn Dogs
2. Pizza - I have a couple of new recipes to try for different styles of pizza plus just regular frozen pizza are all options!
3. Spaghetti
4. Waffles or Pancakes
5. Sandwiches
6. Tacos
7. Meatballs
8. Chicken Nuggets
9. Mini Ham and Cheese Sandwiches
10. Sloppy Joes/Pulled Pork/Pulled Chicken
11. Lunchables - store bought lunchables are my go to lunch anytime we are going away - a picnic in the park, a field trip, anything like that just to keep life easy!

You might notice that Mac and Cheese is missing.  I have one child (my own!) who has very specific tastes so I'm reserving Mac and Cheese (his favorite) to serve on days I make things he doesn't like.  Sometimes he will get Mac and Cheese and sometimes a Peanut Butter Sandwich.  Just depends on the day (and what's for dinner!)

So, what about sides?  Here's a list of ideas
1. Chips
2. Any kind of Fruit (depends on sales)
3. Applesauce
4. Cheese and Crackers
5. Goldfish
6. Mini Muffins
7. Pretzels
8. Popcorn
9. Rolls
10. Cheese sticks
11. Hard Boiled Eggs
12. Carrots/Ranch
13. Salad
14. Mini Candy bar/Kisses
15. Cookies
16. Rice Krispy Treats
17. Water melon Slushies

Now, to keep it real, I think only the princess eats anything on the vegetable side of things but I still put it on the table just in case one of the guys decides to taste something!! I also don't serve a sweet every day at lunch so some days it's a nice treat.

We won't even get into snacks! HA!  Actually, they get to pick their own snacks - Poptarts, Cereal, Crackers, fruit, or even a cookie.