SAHM in need of lunch ideas

[*Lindsey*]

My 2 little ones and I often eat some sort of sandwich for lunch. I'm wanting to get out of this rut and actually COOK something for lunch (that we could maybe have leftovers from for another day). This is in hopes that we will be eating a little better and saving money.

My DD (16 months) will eat everything. My DS (3) is slightly, no A LOT, picky. I'm just hoping that a few days of newer lunches will get him...us...out of this rut.

Thanks!

[momto l&a]

We often eat whats leftover from dinner the night before.

[rachelagain]

refried beans/burger or black beans & rice and have burritos. I like them, (I"m not a "leftover" person and dh takes leftovers for lunch anyway) because you just reheat the beans and add whatever you like on the burrito/taco and it tastes fresh. Or you can eat the "burrito filling" with chips-- "taco in a bowl".
Do you cook breakfast? if not- scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, pancakes make a good lunch.
Bagels w/ cream cheese or peanut butter
plain noodles w/ grated cheese over the top so it melts.
hard boiled eggs
homemade bread toast w/ applesauce instead of jelly (homemade works better because it's denser)
grilled cheese (also so much better w/ homemade bread)
quesidias- (sp) anything can go in this-- my kids like just hamburger and cheese and dip it in sour cream, but it's also good w/ leftover chicken or beans, etc.

[Fiestabeth]

My girls love refried beans with cheese, either by itself or in a tortilla for a burrito. We also eat a LOT of quesadillas, sometimes with chicken. For awhile whenever I was cooking chicken I would set some aside to chop up and throw in the freezer, then pull it out for quesadillas. I need to do that again.

Hmmm, what else do we eat? Grilled cheese and soup. I also do frozen stuff from Costco. They're in love with the beef taquitos and breaded chicken tenderloins. Not the healthiest choice, but I get the brands that have only natural ingredients and no trans fat. Wish they were organic, but hey, then they'd cost more! I also sometimes get a bag of organic french fries when they go on sale - they love chicken and fries for lunch.

We also do breakfast burritos. I dice up a potato and fry it, and put it in a tortilla with eggs and cheese, sometimes bacon, and some diced up green chile for me.

We also have been having a lot of mashed potatoes. They like them plain, or with their chicken. I like to put soup over the top.

[*Lindsey*]

Thanks for the ideas!

[Mallori]

I do ramen noodles. I chuck the seasoning packet in the trash, boil the noodles in some broth and add peas, broccoli, cauli, pretty much whatever veggie we have on hand. Quick, cheap and satisfying.

Quesadilla's are AWESOME. You can make those with just about anything inside. Dip in salsa, and YUM.

[TwinMom]

Mallori, I wanted to tell you that I have seen large packets of JUST ramen noodles at Whole Foods. No seasoning, and I think it's a pound of noodles. That might be a better buy for you, since you don't use the seasoning anyway.

[~Megan~]

Leftovers are common here.

But we also eat a lot of veggie soup. Add whatever veggies you have to some stock and put in some spices and maybe some tomato sauce too.

Canned wild salmon. Mix this with boiled eggs and mustard or mayo. Eat it on some romaine or whole grain bread with the lettuce of couse.

quiches are nice to make ahead. Good for using up leftovers and random bits. Like ham and tomato with spinach.

celery and PB can be nice. Pair with a small salad.

Fruit salad is good in season. Just mix up everything you like and add a dollop of yogurt and some wheat germ or flax.

quick veggie stir fry. Throw in some frozen veggies and a bit of garlic, ginger and soy sauce. If you have some leftover rice or some noodles put this on top.

salmon patties. Again with the wild salmon canned, deboned and drained obviously. Mix in an egg, some corn meal, a bit of flour, salt, a chopped up onion (I always use sweet onions), and a bit of milk. Mix together and form patties. Lightly fry in olive oil and serve with lemon juice. dd loves this meal. again with the side salad.

grilled cheese and soup. Half of each is nice.

none of these will take more than 10 minutes to make and cook and they are pretty healthy. I do try to eat things high in protein otherwise I'm just starving again in a few minutes.

[MaxiMom]

subbing, I need more protein for lunch.

[wife&mommy]

I always just take whatever I have, or make rice & beans with avacado slices and just make a wrap. Yum-o!