Fun School Lunches!

The school year is starting. That means it's time for school lunches! Sometimes it can be hard to come up with new options so that your child feels like they aren't getting the same thing over and over again. I'm going to give you some options for how you can change it up without breaking the bank.

Does your child like sandwiches?

Try pulling out your cookie cutters and cut the sandwich into fun shapes. Circles, stars, flowers, or butterflies. The options are endless and it can help to jazz up that ham sandwich.

What if you child doesn't want a sandwich?

Try making a simple cheese quesadilla. All it takes is a couple of tortillas and your favorite kind of melting cheese. I really like the Mexican cheese blend that I can find at Dillon's. It has some extra spices added into the cheese to help give it a really good flavor without making it spicy. You can just pop your quesadilla in the microwave to melt the cheese. Then cut it up into six even pieces to make it fit easily into your child's lunch.

Don't have a cold pack to keep food cold?

One of the oldest tricks in the book (and it works so well): Freeze a juice box or a carton of milk. By the time that your student reaches lunch, the drink should have thawed out, but your child's lunch will still be cold. Another option that I've seen floating around is to wet a sponge with water, seal it in a sandwich bag, and freeze it. The sponge keeps the water from going everywhere when it thaws out and is easily reusable.

Want something healthy to put on the side?

The options are endless. One of my favorites growing up was veggies and dip. I loved cucumbers, carrots, celery, or bell peppers with just a little bit of ranch salad dressing. I also loved good fruit, such as apples, oranges, and strawberries. Keep an eye on what is in season to help keep those costs down.

For more ideas for your child's school lunches, visit your library's Cooking Neighborhood or browse the cookbooks using your library's catalog.