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School Lunches the Frugal Way!
by Cyndi Roberts
It seems that school starts earlier every year. So it's time to start
thinking about what to
put in those school lunches every morning.
My children always wanted to bring their own lunches because they didn't
really like what was offered in the school lunchroom. But it was
sometimes a little difficult to make their lunches nutritious and tasty
and also to put a little variety in their lunchboxes without spending a
small fortune.
If we let ourselves, we can spend a "lot" on individual servings,
Lunchables™, and treats for lunches. Here are a few ideas to help you
meet the "Frugal Lunchbox Challenge".
Go to the Dollar Store and buy a few of those individual serving-size
storage containers.
These are very inexpensive and they are worth every penny.
You can use them for any number of things--like making your own fruit
cups and pudding cups.
And they can also be used to hold dip for carrot or celery sticks or
fill with peanut butter and pack a zipper bag of pretzels for dipping.
Also at the Dollar Store or discount store, you can pick up one or two
of the small "blue ice" cold packs. They will help keep lunchbox items
cold and safe. Sandwiches such as egg salad or tuna salad need to have a
cold pack. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, on the other hand, can be
packed without one.
Those zipper bags we all love come into their own when packing lunches!
They can hold vegetable sticks, popcorn, crackers, homemade cookies,
etc.
Muffins hold up well in a zipper-top bag, as do slices of banana nut
bread, or most any other quick bread.
When the weather turns cool, a small thermos will come in handy for
homemade soup or chili. I see lots of these for sale at garage and yard
sales, sometimes for as little as 25 cents.
A thermos is also handy to hold whatever drink your child likes to take.
Try to put some fun in the lunchbox: keep a stash of small, inexpensive
toys, cut sandwich bread into cool shapes with cookie cutters, write
little notes to your child, cut out funny cartoons. Children love
surprises.
A good routine to get into is while you are cleaning up the kitchen
after dinner, put leftovers in the storage containers, or make
sandwiches and place in the fridge in a designated area for lunch items.
Get your kids to help--the more they are involved, the better!
Put napkins, etc. in lunch boxes or bags and place them where all anyone
has to do in the morning is to fill them with the prepared items. Now
you can all be out the door in minutes!
Here are a few recipes that will help get you started this school year:
Apple Surprise
1 apple
Raisins
Peanut butter
Cut apple in half. Carefully, cut out the core of the apple. Spread
peanut butter where the core used to be and over surface of apple.
Sprinkle raisins over the peanut butter.
Trail Mix
2 cups granola cereal
1 cup peanuts
1 cup dried apple bits
1 1/2 cups yogurt-covered raisins
2/3 cup chopped dates
1 cup dried banana bits
Combine all ingredients and store in an airtight container.
A small serving of this goes a long way!
Peanut Butter Balls
1/2 c. peanut butter
2 1/2 tbsp. nonfat dry milk
2 tbsp. raisins
2 tbsp. honey
1/4 c. coconut
Sesame seeds
Mix all ingredients and form into balls. Roll in sesame seeds.
This is a good recipe for the kids to help with--they love to roll the
dough into balls.
NOTE: sesame seeds are cheaper in bulk at a health food store. You can
get unsweetened coconut there, also.
About the author
Cyndi Roberts is the editor of the "1 Frugal Friend 2 Another" bi-weekly
newsletter and founder of the website of the same name. Visit
http://www.cynroberts.com to find creative tips, articles, and a
free e-cooking book. Subscribe to the newsletter and receive the free
e-course "Taming the Monster Grocery Bill".
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