Lunch Time!!

A good friend recently asked a group of her mom friends for lunch ideas for kids. I'm always looking for new ways to introduce new foods and flavors to the kids, so here are some things that work well for our lunch bunch.

Short cuts
When I'm pressed for time, the grocery deli and sushi bar are great. The kids love:

• Cous cous salad (with dried fruit, etc.)
• Pesto pasta salad with peas (I also make this quickly by using either pesto in a jar, or a Knorr pesto sauce packet.)
• California, Shrimp, Avocado, Cucumber or Veggie rolls
• Sliced salami, ham, turkey, havarti, etc.
• Rotisserie chicken

And, the sneakiest way ever to fit in more servings of veggies...

• Kagome, RW Knudsen, Bolthouse, V8 Fusion, or Vruit brands of juice — primarily vegetable juices, sweetened up with blends of fruit juice. 100% juice, no added anything. One 8 oz. glass of most is 1 full adult serving of veggies AND fruit for the day. And, if you start giving it to your kids early... they think that's what juice tastes like (real juice, not corn syrup).
  

Favorites
New and old faves:

• Cocktail bread (especially rye) spread with Philadelphia Smoked Salmon cream cheese (new fave - Gavino, Solomon, and Madeline loved this. E like the bread plain.)
• PB&J or almond butter & jelly, or lunch meat and cheese rolled up in flour tortillas and sliced like pinwheels.
  
• Any sandwich made on King's Hawaiian rolls (soft and sweet, and they do have Whole Wheat now too) — Light tuna with dill mixed in is one occasional fave.
  
• Sliced fruit and yogurt "dip"
• Baby carrots, snap peas or broccoli with salad dressing dip
• Breakfast for lunch — mini pancakes or waffle pieces with syrup to dip in, or sprinkled with pwdr sugar. Scrambled eggs (they even eat them cold — I keep leftovers in the fridge), and Morningstar veggie patty "sausage".
• "Psgetti" or any sort of Asian noodle dish
• Soup in a cup, especially creamy tomato with crackers and cheese
• English muffin mini pizzas (even M, who does not like pizza, likes these)
• Stouffers (or homemade) spinach souffle
• Leftovers of dinner food (lasagna, etc.)
• Laughing Cow cheese wedges, or Baby Bell minis
  
• "Pickies" small pieces of whatever we have on hand — cut up meat, cheese, veggies, fruit, etc. that they can eat with their fingers (like a Bento lunch)
  

Sides
Things they love with their lunch, or for snacks

• Any sort of cut up fresh fruit (especially cool things like Star Fruit) or dried fruit
• Berries (in a category of their own)
• Canned Mandarin Oranges
• Cherry tomatoes or halved mini plum tomatoes
  
• Organic raisins (also known as "gummies" in our house Bwahahahaha!)
• Sesame sticks
• Pretzel crackers
• Pirates Booty or Veggie Booty
• Pickles
• Olives
• Frozen yogurt in "tubes" — Stonyfield Farm brand
• Cheese slices (Tillamook Medium Cheddar) or cheese sticks
• Whole cooked pinto or black beans
• Banana bread
• Fruit smoothies
• Leaves with dip (Lettuce or fresh spinach)
• Applesauce
• Rice crackers