~ Lunch Ideas and Snack Tips ~

Lunch:

Granola, quesadillas, omelets, spagahetti, cereal/oatmeal with fruit, grilled cheese sandwich, tuna, egg or chicken salad sandwich, tuna salad and crackers, soup and crackers, scrambled egg with cheese, turkey sandwiches, macarni and cheese, hot dogs, pizza cut into bite-size pieces and salad.

Refried beans: spread on toast and sprinkle with cheese; broil until cheese bubbles.

Toast with spaghetti sauce & cheese melted on top.

Rice with vegetable, mixed with teriyaki sauce.

Hot ham and cheese sandwich: toast bread, melt cheese and warm the ham on the bread in the microwave.

Ants on a log: celery with peanut butter inside and raisins on the peanut butter.

Canned baked beans: hot dogs slices or a spoon of plain yogurt maybe added.

Noodles with cream-of-something soup (mushroom or broccoli)

*We do alot of these ideas especially the rice with canned tuna or chicken with teriyaki or soy sauce.  The dc love to make seasoned noodles too.  They use rotini, macaroni, thin spaghetti, egg or whatever they can find on the shelf and will add seasonings like cajun, curry, french fry, seafood or just cheese, any kind or simply add salt, pepper and butter. Delicious!

Snack Tips:

Have a snack sitting at the kitchen table ~ for the kids when they come home from school.  This way they won't be grouchy from being hungry.  This will also prevent them from digging though the kitchen cabinets looking for something themselves and smessing up your neat, well-organized pantry.

To discourage bad snack habits ~ don't buy unhealthy snacks or keep them in the house.

Present your snacks with a plate ~ a placemat, napkin and maybe a flower from the garden.  This way your snacks always look inviting.

Have jars sitting on the counter ~ with sunflower seeds, raisins, granola, prunes or peanuts for the children.  If they see healthy snacks they're more likely to want them.

Pre-bag chips, cookies and snacks ~ place in a basket for easy access for kids.

Try "out of the box" snacks ~ such as popcorn balls, Chex Mix, choclated dipped fruit, etc.

Kids whine and fuss because they are either hungry or tired ~ make sure they are given snacks to keep them from being grouchy.

These have been some wonderful reminders for me.  I use to do most of this when I worked full-time, but since homeschooling some of these things I just stop doing.  I will be re-evaluating my routines to add more of them back in because they do simplify my life when we do them.

I'll post some of the snack ideas and recipes tomorrow.  I must go to bed now ~ work all day at the library tomorrow.

Have a blessed weekend!