Healthy Lunch Ideas During COVID-19
On September 16, 2020 by Calgary's Childby Andrea Holwegner, Health Stand Nutritional Consulting Inc.
Finding healthy lunch ideas for kids isn’t always easy. As many parents and childcare providers are back to packing lunches for kids, this year during COVID-19 we have some additional challenges to contend with.
Most schools have banned the use of microwaves to reduce the number of touch points which further reduced some of the kid-friendly options for simple healthy lunch ideas. With cold and flu season just around the corner you might also be trying to figure out the best options for optimizing immune function. Since nutrition is also a key factor in helping kids learn, grow and stay healthy for life, here are some ideas:
Bento Box Lunch Theme
Bento boxes are fun for kids of all ages since it is fun to open a visually pleasing lunch box full of different colors, textures, shapes and sizes. Many kids also love foods in different compartments instead of mixed together as they can sometimes taste fresher or be more appealing eg. a deconstructed sandwich or noodle bowl with separate ingredients just might be more appealing than one that is assembled.
When assembling a healthy bento box, aim for the 3 components of a balanced meal:
- Grains/starches: such as bread, pita, wraps, crackers, homemade muffins, popcorn, pasta shapes or tortellini (plain or with salad dressing), cold potato wedges, cold rice, quinoa salad or other grains.
- Veggies and fruit: such as fresh fruit, frozen berries, canned unsweetened fruit, dried fruit, raw veggies, leftover cooked/grilled veggies, or Greek/caprese salad.
- Source of protein: such as leftover meat/poultry/seafood, legumes (such as chick peas, lentils, black beans, refried beans and more), cheese (sliced, cubes, grated), yogurt, cottage cheese, canned tuna/salmon, hard cooked eggs, tofu, seeds.
Breakfast for Lunch Theme
Most kids rank breakfast themed lunches as some of their favorite. These can be served cold or warm in a thermos (preheat the thermos with boiling water before adding the theme to help it retain warmth).
Ideas to try are:
- Cold toasted English muffin with back bacon, cheese and egg (optional as some kids will eat this cold while others maybe not). Serve with a container of cherry tomatoes and snap peas as well as a piece of fruit.
- Cold pancake sandwich with cream cheese, nut-free wow butter or sunflower seed butter and jam. Serve with sliced kiwi, melon or watermelon.
- Thermos with sliced breakfast sausage (or side container of Greek yogurt) and leftover weekend waffles (try this pumpkin waffle recipe or berry barley waffle recipe) with maple syrup. Serve with a container of fresh or frozen berries, sliced apples or pears or mango cubes with a splash of juice to make a “homemade fruit cocktail.”
- Overnight oats with milk, yogurt, hemp hearts, chia seeds and fruit. Try this recipe but replace the almonds with sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds: Overnight oats with prunes and pears or this dairy-free overnight oats recipe.
Bite-Sized Balls Lunch Theme
Kids are big on finger foods so why not try a lunch with bite-sized energy balls, meatballs, bean croquettes, zucchini cheese bites, falafels and more!
Here are some tasty ideas to try:
- Bean croquettes: these are some of our families favorite vegetarian meals. Serve warm or cold with ranch dressing or sour cream mixed with lime and cilantro. Round out the meal with crackers, raw carrot sticks and grapes.
- Meatballs. If you have a favorite family recipe use this and serve warm in a thermos or cold. Need a recipe? Try the plain recipe found here on our blog and skip the sauce: Meatball recipe. Make a giant batch and toss these into the freezer in lunch sized portions for busy days.
- Nut-free energy balls. Serve with one of the above bento box themes!
Simple falafals served with pita bread and hummus (or a side of cold couscous or cracker) as well as cucumber sticks and fresh fruit.
For more great COVID-19 lunch ideas and dozens more healthy and delicious meal ideas, visit healthstandnutrition.com!
Recent Posts
Recent Posts
Fun things to do in October
It’s pumpkin season! Whether you carve them into Jack-o-lanterns, enjoy the flavor in your coffee, or hunt for them in a patch, there are tons of ways to celebrate the changing seasons and have a …View all...
Archives
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- November 2021
- October 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017