Lunches for Homeschooling Families

Looking to break out of the (mac & cheese) box?

We asked our community of Idaho homeschool mommas
to share their go-to lunches for busy home educating families.
Here’s what they recommended:

Hot Lunches

 

Grilled cheese sandwiches with bacon

Mini pizzas on english muffins or bagels

Hot ham or roast beef sandwiches

Fried Egg Sandwiches

Baked potatoes

V8, warmed as soup (add Italian seasonings and sprinkle parmesan on top)

Pasta with jarred marinara sauce or pesto

Fish (it cooks quickly!)

Eggs and with sausage (pre-cook and freeze sausage for quick meals)

French toast, waffles, or pancakes (you can make extra and freeze them for future meals)

Baked oatmeal

Muffins (an easy item for children to bake themselves) served with fruit and yogurt parfaits

Soup (save time by putting it in your slow cooker in the morning)

Nachos

Bean and cheese burritos

Quesadillas

Bean and rice bowls

Frozen veggie stir fry served over ramen noodles

Potstickers

Fried Rice (day-old rice fried in sesame oil with bacon, veggies, and eggs)

 

Cold Lunches

 

Bananas and peanut butter

Deviled eggs

Rice cakes with nut butter

Smoothies

Milk shakes made with almond milk, bananas, greens, and protein mix

Pita sandwiches

Meat and cheese rollups (could cuts wrapped around string cheese)

Tortilla wraps spread with cream cheese and filled with lunch meant and veggies.

Wraps spread with peanut butter and cream cheese, and filled with sliced apples and a dash of cinnamon

Smoked salmon and cream cheese on Triscuits

Meat/Cheese/Cracker tray served with other finger foods like pickles, olives, sliced fruits and veggies

Veggies and hummus

Veggie boats (hollow veggies and fill them with various cheeses, like red bell pepper filled with cottage cheese)

Sardine salad (dump the sardines with their oil on top of mixed greens, add a squeeze of lemon juice, and any veggies you want)

Waldorf salad (cottage cheese, apple chunks, celery, nuts)

Taco Salad

 

General Tips

 

Strategically make extra dinner portions to be reheated for lunches.

At the beginning of the week, cut veggies to have available for quick lunch prep.

Make a set weekly lunch schedule. For example: Monday = mac & cheese, Tuesday = sandwiches, Wednesday = leftovers.

On Monday, make a crockpot full of something that reheats well (like Chicken Tikka Masala!) to use for lunches throughout the week.

Assign each child a specific day for making lunch for the family, that way mom can use that time to work one-on-one with another child.

Buy a rotisserie chicken or two from Costco and throughout the week add the chicken to pasta, sandwiches, salads, rice bowls, etc., then turn the carcass into soup.