I don’t know about you, but making lunches for my kids feels like a chore much of the time. Especially since, when it comes to school lunches, they are pickier about what they eat than when they’re at home. That’s probably because when they are home, they don’t have any choice.

Let’s see, my kids are 11 and 13 now and have been going to school since they were 5, so that means that I have made over 2000 lunches for the kids so far. Still, since I’m not at school I can’t make sure they eat their lunch, so I’m always looking for healthy, quick lunch ideas that they will actually eat. I’ve made some great things that tasted really good (and looked great too, if I do say so myself), only to come home at the end of the day and find most of it is still in their containers. How frustrating is that?

Well, here’s something I did that had much happier results:  With 7 commonly-found ingredients, I was able to make a super delicious healthy salad for lunch. The ingredients included a whole roasted chicken, some Chinese noodles, a bag of broccoli coleslaw (without dressing), a little garlic, some all-natural Teriyaki sauce and low-sodium chicken broth.

Recipe:

1 roasted chicken from the grocery store

1 bag re-heatable Chinese noodles (or you could cook rice noodles or even spaghetti noodles)

1 bag broccoli coleslaw mix (no dressing)

1/3 cup all natural Teriyaki sauce (it doesn’t have to be all natural but try to pick one lower in sodium)

1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1Tbsp olive oil

1.      Remove chicken from bones and discard skin. Cut or shred chicken into bite size pieces. Add to large bowl.

2.      Heat Chinese noodles in boiling water as per package directions. Add to bowl.

3.      Heat olive oil in skillet and add garlic. Sauté for a minute.

4.      Add broccoli coleslaw mix and sauté another minute.

5.      Add teryiyaki sauce and chicken broth.

6.      Add broccoli mixture to bowl, toss and serve (or place in fridge).

I packed them some of this salad in a square reusable container. It’s the size that would fit a regular sandwich. With that, they each get another one of these containers with fresh fruit. My daughter’s favourite is fresh strawberries and blueberries and my son prefers sliced red delicious a. I never add sugar.

I also pack them 2 pure, unsweetened orange juice single serving tetra packs. I put two of the tetra packs in the fridge and 2 in the freezer so they become mini ice packs in their lunch bag the next day. They thaw in time for them to drink them later in the day.

Yes, they also get a little treat (c’mon, I’m a mom!). I put 2 of their favourite cookies in a re-sealable bag. With this they get a fork and a napkin. I make up their lunches the night before and so I just have to put it all in their bags in the morning. 

I’m always looking for more ideas for lunch though, as I’m sure many of you are, so if you have any, please share. Lunch makers have to stick together!