Simplicity and quickness are the key to making meals for your kids school lunches. Prepping them in advance for the week doesn’t hurt either. Emphasizing tantalizing colors and flavorful spices is the way to keep your kids interested and full, and less likely to trade their homemade food for something less healthy at school. Here are five easy to make recipes for school lunch meals for your kids.
Easy Delicious Vegetables
This Easy Delicious Vegetable recipe is a great way to get protein and several servings of vegetables into your kids diet. Featuring sweet potatoes, celery, kidney beans, bell peppers and our Moroccan Roasted Vegetable Seasoning, this stew is very easy to prep in advance and portion out for the week as well. It works well on its own but could also be paired with a simple starch like some rolls or bread for some carb-based energy.
Sweet Potatoes with Moroccan Vegetable Seasoning
Our sweet potatoes are just that – sweet potatoes, Moroccan Roasted Vegetable Seasoning and some optional chili flakes. Pair this with a protein like some salmon or some chicken, and your child will have servings of vegetables and protein to keep them powered for the rest of the day. They can also be easily re-heated in a microwave, if your child has access to one during the day.
Black Bean Burger
A good black bean burger is hard to find, because often the spices are not the focus of the meal. In our recipe, spices take center stage in the middle of black beans, scallions, tortilla chips, eggs, sweet potatoes and our Piri Piri seasoning. With some sweet potato fries on the side, and tomato, avocado and lettuce on the burger, your child will have a great vegetarian option to compete with the fare offered elsewhere. These burgers are easy to prep in advance, and can be frozen or refrigerated if need be.
Berbere Vegetable Soup
This recipe for Berbere vegetable soup is all about the spice, because the bulk of the ingredients are up to you. Whatever your child’s favorite vegetables (fresh or frozen) are, they can be added to this recipe, which emphasizes rich coconut oil, some onion, vegetable broth and our Berbere spice. The soup can be frozen and saved for later, as well, if it is made in a large batch.
Bailan Chili Beans
Our protein-packed Bailan Chili Beans recipe features beef, kidney beans, onion, tomatoes and Rad el Hanout – or Piri Piri for a spicier option. Chili will travel better, and won’t spill so easily, and will provide more than enough energy to a hungry kid. It can also be batch-made for the week, if need be.
Summary
One great way to add variety to your kids meals is by introducing them to spices they will continue to ask for in every meal. Give them enough protein, veggies and other necessary parts of the food pyramid and they’ll come back to these reliable stand-bys if the spices are right.