We had taco penne pasta for dinner last night.  This is a super easy dinner idea, if you're looking for something new.  Just cook pasta, and top it with whatever you would put on a taco: cheese, meat, sour cream, salsa, etc. 

I always cook extra pasta. It keeps well in the fridge and it freezes great.  It makes for a very quick and easy lunch or dinner.  For this lunch I just dumped in some cold pasta, and added a little protein and fruit. And yes, they will eat it cold (or room temp).

This was a quick and easy lunch! A wrap is really just another way to make a sandwich, and then not call it a sandwich.  But really it's anything you would put in a sandwich, just rolled in a tortilla instead. Another way to take something otherwise ordinary, and present it a little differently. 

I was so excited about this lunch that I had a hard time not eating one of them myself. If this one isn't a winner, then I might just have to quit.  Who wouldn't eat this?  This is homemade apple bread sandwiches  The bread is a recipe I am still working on an hope to post it soon - sorry I keep teasing about that, but baking is a tricky thing and I don't want to post it until I'm sure it's right.  As you can see from the picture, one of the loaves fell a little flat - too much liquid I think.  But it still tastes really great - a bright, fresh apple flavor, that goes so great with the butter or cream cheese, and the fruit. 

This is a simple lunch, but it's one I think they will like.  Most of my kids like tuna, and they are happier to just eat it out of a bowl than if I put it in a sandwich.  I don't do it too often, but it is an easy protein to add to a lunch, and especially great when your fridge might be a little bare of other protein options - you've always got a can of tuna in the pantry.

If you are struggling with what to pack for lunch - just fall back on the basics: protein + vegetable + fruit + carb.  If all you do is remember that, then you're covered.  It really doesn't have to even be things that you think should go together, honestly I don't think kids care nearly as much about 'correct' food pairings as we do.  Just start with a protein, and protein, and then get through it, one item at a time, until the lunch box full.  

One word: Easy. Monday needs an easy lunch, and these little guys fit the bill.  If you haven't made these yet, and your people like pizza - then what are you waiting for?  Make a double batch, it takes about 5 minutes, pack some in lunch, have some for dinner, stick half in the freezer for a couple of lunches down the road. You will not regret it.  If you have them frozen, just put them straight from the freezer to the lunchbox the night before (you are packing the night before, right?).  They will thaw overnight in the fridge and be perfect at room temp for lunch.

Somehow, a sandwich sometimes seems more interesting to a kid when they have made it themselves.  I did this a few times last year and my kids loved it.  And it's less work for me, so: win-win. Basically, the components of a sandwich, but not a sandwich.  They assemble it themselves at lunch. Or not. But last year when I sent lunch this way they came home excited to tell me that they had made their own sandwich. It's just a simple way to mix things up a bit - same ingredients as if you made the sandwich, just presented in a new way.  This is a quick and easy lunch to make!

I wanted something that could be easily eaten on the field trip, held in one hand and not fall apart or have a lot of little pieces to deal with. Burritos are perfect for that.  You could practically just take it in your pocket.  It's easy to make ahead, and personally I think they taste just as good cold as they do hot, especially if they have just simple ingredients (I don't think I'd like a cold steak burrito, but bean and cheese does just fine).  I just buy organic canned refried beans, and I shred big blocks of cheese.  I'll try to do a video one of these days about the rolling, but it's really quite easy - the trick is to not over stuff the burrito. Just a few spoonfuls of beans, a sprinkle of cheese.  I microwave these enough to get the cheese melting into the beans and the tortilla nice and soft.  Then fold the sides in, and roll.

Hey, sometimes I just like to have a little fun! But you don't have to make a fancy lunch in order to make it fun!  Wednesday is our breakfast for lunch day, and the kids have been begging for bagels.  So bagel sandwiches it is! But instead of just an ordinary bagel sandwich, I just used a few of my favorite bento picks to make it a little more fun. This lunch was so easy - it probably took me 5 minutes to throw together the sandwiches, cut an apple in quarters, and toss in some cheese and a few cookies.  

Sometimes all you have to do to make lunch a little more interesting is to take an ordinary food and rearrange it.  All I did here was trim the crusts off the sandwiches (which they don't eat anyway), and cut them in quarters, and shoved them on little bamboo sticks.  .It was quick and easy. But doesn't it look so much more appealing than just a boring old sandwich?