I do OK making breakfast, and dinner is just expected, but lunch often gets timed out with all the things I have going on during the day. I may be a stay-at-home mom, but I’m also a work-from-home mom attending college. I have a lot on my plate, and sometimes I have trouble remembering to fill plates midday. Luckily, most kids don’t expect you to put a great deal of effort into lunch, and, in fact, love the simple things in this case. To give you some ideas of what to feed kids for lunch, here are my kid’s top 5 lunch requests. Yes, when I ask my kids what they want to eat, they don’t just say, “I don’t know,” and yes, that is impressive.
Mac n’ Cheese:
Probably the number one request I get from my kids is mac n cheese, usually with hot dog or tuna. Mac n’ cheese is an awesome choice for kids because it lends well to hidden veggies, is inexpensive and super easy to make.
Corn dogs:
OK, corn dogs are probably not the healthiest meal in the lunch bag, but kids do love them. A corn dog here and there certainly isn’t going to give a kid malnutrition. You can also pair corn dogs with more nutritional quick sides that couldn’t be a stand alone meal, like sliced fruit.
Grilled cheese:
My kids just say sandwich, but grilled cheese are great because many kids aren’t lettuce fans anyway. With a grilled cheese they get just meat and cheese in a less plain way. We mix it up and make things like pizza pockets with a bit of tomato sauce and some meat, or use leftovers from dinner to do nacho or spaghetti pockets.
“Noodles” aka Ramen:
Ramen may be a college student meal of choice, but it can be made kid friendly. I throw some mixed veggies in mine, a little bit of spice, protein of some sort, and onion. It’s a really fast inexpensive way to make a lunch soup with fun noodles for kids to fiddle with.
Nachos:
A quick can of chili, some cheese, and maybe onion, sour cream and olives atop some chips makes most kids happy as can be and only takes a few minutes to make. Nachos are also easily adapted to each individual kid’s taste without a lot of fuss.
What are your kid’s favorite lunch foods?
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