super easy whole foods lunch ideas?

[caedmyn]

I am so stuck in a lunch rut and I won't even list the awful things my kids have eaten for lunch lately. I need really easy, whole foods lunch ideas. Must be dairy free...would prefer wheat free too but I can usually come up with a substitute for breads, etc.

[sbrinton]

One of the easiest things our kids like is to make a snack tray or box.

For us, this usually includes whole wheat bagels, pita or crackers; peanut butter or hummus; string cheese, sliced chicken or hardboiled eggs; grapes, apples or other sliced fruit; and sliced vegetables. My kids like eating everything sort of plain and it's fun for them to assemble what they want to eat. This works especially well out of the house.

We eat a lot of leftovers at lunch too. With a family of 5, I've recently started to cook more at dinner to have leftovers more of the time.

We'll make simple pasta or grain salads, sandwiches or wraps, whole grain noodles mixed with steamed vegetables and edamame, yogurt parfaits, smoothies, soups. For soups, we'll make a big batch of something my kids like (broccoli cheddar is their favorite) and freeze in containers big enough for me and the kids to have lunch. Another favorite lately is sweet potato fries. We'll have this with some chicken or fish sticks (healthier brands).

[cristeen]

What kinds of foods do your kids like?

We eat a LOT of leftovers for lunch. In fact, I plan dinners around having leftovers for lunch the entire week.

[Zevy]

My son is not a meat eater, but he LOVES beans. A really simple lunch for him (he's 2) is beans and corn and green peas mixed together.

He also loves yogurt and cottage cheese. Oatmeal is good, mixed with some form of nut butter. I'll occasionally make whole wheat pasta and melt some cheese on top of it. I also make my own bread to make cheese sandwhiches for him. He actually likes veggies, so steamed broccoli/carrots/cauliflower are good. Baked tofu works pretty well too. Eggs as well.

[caedmyn]

Originally Posted by cristeen

What kinds of foods do your kids like?

We eat a LOT of leftovers for lunch. In fact, I plan dinners around having leftovers for lunch the entire week.

My 18 MO eats absolutely anything, including dirt, sand, small objects, goat food, gravel from the fish tank, etc My 4 YO is pretty picky but she likes to dip stuff, likes pasta and beans and anything that resembles bread.

I could probably do some leftovers, but honestly my dinner menus have also been less-than-stellar lately and without much variety and I don't know that we really want to eat the same boring things again. I really need a maid, or a cook, or something!