This is a Monday lunch, which sometimes ends up being a little of this and a little of that.  Monday is a good time to clean out the fridge a little. One child didn't eat her grilled cheese sandwich from a Saturday restaurant outing, so I cut it in pieces and stuck on skewers for two to share.  The other two were just as easy - pizza rolls pulled from the freezer.

One day a week I like to do something like a "lunchable". To me, this term has come to be a generic sort of description for a snack box with lots of little bites of things. It sort of starts with a cheese & cracker type of idea, but evolves from there.  Basically, I fill my EasyLunchboxes with these square silicone muffin cups to divide the big section into four small sections, and then I just look around and start filling.  A little protein, a little carb, a little fruit, a little veggie, and before we know it, we have a lunch.  

Leftover pizza hardly needs a reason.  When we make or order pizza, we always get extra.  I think leftover pizza should be its own food group. Having leftover pizza just makes Monday seem so much better. Well, for me anyway.  It's the easiest lunch to pack. 

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.