Let’s Lunch

Confession: I live for lunch, y’all. Usually I’m doing intermittent fasting, so lunch is when I break my fast and am ready to eat.

Confession #2: I’ve really enjoyed lunch during quarantine for two reasons.

1. I get more than 20 minutes to eat lunch while at home rather than at school.

2. I really enjoy making lunch for my kids. I was never a stay-at-home mom (except in the summer), so I’ve really embraced having extra time to make breakfast and lunch for myself and the kids.

I’m not making anything Earth-shattering but even having the time to serve Hayden & Hadley something warm, like a grilled cheese sandwich, is nice and a favorite part of my day.

Breakfast:

For breakfast, I just stick to coffee.

Hayden’s been eating Cream of Wheat on repeat. He loves it, but it’s also soft and easy for him to eat with his new ortho appliance in his mouth.

Hadley typically has waffle with Nutella and strawberries or toast and jelly.

Lunch:

Rule of 3: I’m not sure if it’s a real rule or one I made up but I always put 3 things on their plate…their main course + two sides.

Also, I preach about not being wasteful, but I also don’t make them finish every bite. I tell them to eat until they’re full, but they better not come ask for a snack an hour later!

Some of the kids favorite lunches are:

• grilled cheese
• tomato soup
• chicken noodle soup
• quesadilla
• hot dog
• dinner leftovers
• Trader Joe’s shells and white cheddar mac & cheese
• Trader Joe’s mini tacos
• Trader Joe’s black bean burrito

For sides, they usually have:

• mini bell peppers
• chips/pretzels
• Babybel cheese
• fruit
• pickles
• yogurt
• celery (Hayden likes plain celery. Hadley likes celery with peanut butter)

My “go-to” lunches are:

• salad
• “charcuterie” board with dill cheese (from Trader Joe’s), pickles, salami or prosciutto, Cheezits or Dots pretzels, grapes or strawberries
• Jasmine rice bowl (with chicken, black beans, sweet potatoes…and more!)
• Tortilla roll up

For the tortilla roll up, I…

• Take tortilla, and put two pieces of Provolone cheese on top,
• Layer whatever lunch meat you like,
• Place a couple of pieces of Romaine lettuce, then
• Add bell peppers and a drizzle of mustard.
• Enjoy!

This roll up can be tweaked with whatever you have on hand. I’ve used Arugula instead of Romaine, Cheddar cheese instead of Provolone, sometimes I put pickles on it, etc.

To end on a funny note…this made me laugh out loud 😂

What are some of your favorite things to eat for lunch? What do your kids typically eat?

Have a great day!