Need lunch inspiration….

Viewing 6 posts - 16 through 21 (of 21 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • Tristan
    Participant

    amama5 –

    It sounds like your kiddos need some veggies (FIBER) to fill them up. I know this has made a big difference for my kiddos. We have cucumber, carrots, salad, or baked potato regularly with meals. If my kids are still hungry then they fill up on veggies, preferably fresh.

    I know some children have been allowed to be picky about vegetables. The way it works at my house is if you’re hungry enough then you’ll eat them. We have our meal, but I don’t make multiple sandwiches for anyone (my 7 are ages 10 down to 3 mos, 5 of whom are boys). Get those fiber-filled veggies in!

    Another idea, whole grain rice or pasta for each meal to fill up with, but really, get those veggies in there!

    How old are your children that are eating multiple sandwiches?

    LindseyD
    Participant

    We find smoothies filling enough, especially with the addition of good fats like coconut oil and avocados. Granted, we might need a snack a couple of hours later, but that’s ok with me. We had smoothies with breakfast this morning, and I tried grating frozen grass-finished beef liver in them….no one noticed! I also sprinkled some flax seed meal in them for more fat. (We eat a lot of fat around here, if you can’t tell!)

    If you find your children still hungry after one sandwich, my question would be how are you preparing your bread? Unfortunately, loaves of bread from the store are empty carbs and improperly prepared grains. Grains can be made much more filling simply by preparing ahead of time through sprouting or sour leavening. I find it difficult myself to eat an entire sandwich made with my homemade sourdough. And my slices are about 1/2 the size of store bought slices!

    I agree w/ Tristan as well…give those kids some fiber in the form of raw and cooked veggies at lunch. When we have spaghetti or other pasta for lunch, I will frequently throw together a salad to go along or cook some broccoli and douse it with good olive oil. 

    The snack lunches are filling as long as they’re not just raw fruits and veggies with nothing else. The great thing about snack lunches is that you can tailor them to each child’s preferences without adding extra work for yourself. For example, one of my children really likes celery with PB; the other one likes to dip carrot sticks in PB. Easy to give them each what they like without creating extra work. Sometimes one wants yogurt and the other just wants a glass of raw milk to drink. Easy. These snack plates are filling when high fat foods are added such as PB or almond butter, sliced avocados or guacamole, raw cheese, bread and butter, sour cream, etc.

    Typing about all this good food is making me hungry! Innocent

    MamaSnow
    Participant

    Thanks for all the ideas ladies. This helps a lot. I compiled a bunch of ideas together and made a new lunch rotation plan, so hopefully that will make the lunch hour a little less stressful around here. =)

    A couple of other ideas I got from other friends on FB are baked potatoes with various simple toppings – even just cheese or ham or sour cream – with a side of veggies OR a big pot of beans to serve with various taco-type toppings (or as a base to a taco salad, or with chips, or in tacos, or whatever…) Either of those might be good, more filling options (but still cheap) for your family amama5, come to think of it. My husband is very thin with high metabolism too and still eats like a teenager even though he is 38, so I understand. =) The kids and I like to do the “snacky” kind of meals that others have talked about…but he’s not a big fan. I would agree with Tristan that higher fiber and/or high protien fillers (for meals and snacks) may be helpful for your family too.

    Thanks ladies!

    Jen

    amama5
    Participant

    Tristan, it’s all of my 5 children that eat multiple sandwiches, the 7 yr old eats 3 (wants 4), the 6 yr old eats 2 (wants 3), the 5 yr old eats her rice cakes with peanut butter, she’s gluten free, and the 4 and 2.5 eat 1.5 (want at least 2).  We eat bananas and lots of apples, but haven’t done veggies with lunch.  The problem is I’ve let them enjoy ranch, because I have a problem chewing carrots, celery etc. without something to help it go down, it seems like I chew them forever and some of my kids are the same way.  So most of them only like peppers, carrots, etc. with ranch.  We do that often though at dinner, if they are still hungry after the meal they can have extra veggies or fruit.  I’ve also seen my husband eat though, and he has tried just eating veggies to fill him up, and he is soo hungry still.  I also have a very lmited diet, sometimes only rice/chicken/veggies/nuts, and I am always hungry no matter how many veggies I eat.  Maybe it’s just a matter of doing it for a year or so to train yourself instead of a few months.

    LindseyD, at this point I know our bread is unhealthy, it’s the cheapest white bread from ALDI, but I feel very overwhelmed with lack of time and budget to make bread (our budget is 400.00 or less for groceries for the 7 of us).  I already cook gluten free for two of us, then also dairy free for myself, so sometimes I’m making three different kinds of meals, not always.  It’s just not an option for my whole family to go gluten free right now although I’d love to.  We live very frugally and don’t have extra expenses and no way to really cut anything out to add to the food budget. 

    Thanks for the suggestions!

    Tristan
    Participant

    Hmm, two ideas for dips:

    Make ranch with blended up cottage cheese and ranch powder to get in more protein.

    Try hummus.

    It’s not easy feeding a family, is it?! Praying you find a solution that works for you.

    amama5
    Participant

    Thanks Tristan, we like ALDI hummus and it’s pretty cheap but I need to learn how to do it myself, it would be much cheaper.  I have been really stressed lately trying to find the balance with the budget and filling, healthy eating, and keep thinking about Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  I know it isn’t referring to gluten free diets, or healthy choices, etc. but I’m trying to figure things out without worrying:)

Viewing 6 posts - 16 through 21 (of 21 total)
  • The topic ‘Need lunch inspiration….’ is closed to new replies.