Did you catch our Savings Segment this morning on Fox 13? We are honored to be a featured on Good Day Tampa Bay each Sunday to share our knowledge about coupons and how to get the most for your money! This week’s topic was all about how to break up the mundane, and make CHEAP and EASY school lunches!
H
ere is a little more information for you:
- Wrap It Up ~ It’s easy to get creative with a tortilla and some unique ingredients. Take your regular tortilla (whole wheat for an even healthier version) and add peanut butter, banana & honey; or mayo, ham & cheese; tuna & celery or even hummus & veggies. If you can make a sandwich, you can make it more fun by wrapping it up. *TIP* Make wraps the night before, then in the morning, slice to look like sushi. Just the sheer change in appearance makes it more fun to eat!
- Homemade Lunchables ~ Take 1 box of crackers, 1 brick of cheese & thick sliced lunch meat and have fun cutting them up and making Lunchables out of them. Don’t forget that mini PB&Js are also good on crackers to break up the mundane. Include the crackers and a small container of Jelly & Peanut Butter. Kids love to make their own “mini” lunch!
- Dip In It ~ Expand your options by making combinations of snacks with dips…think pretzels & peanut butter, mustard or hummus, or Bell Peppers with Ranch, Blue cheese or hot sauce! It can be more than just Carrots & Celery…although, if those are your fave, use them too! And please don’t leave the fruit behind! Include peanut (or almond) butter to spread on apples and bananas or dip strawberries in yogurt or just top yogurt with blueberries, pineapple, raisins, nuts or granola. You could even sprinkle plain fruit with cinnamon to give it more flavor!
- Top It Off ~ Soups are a great lunch, cheaper to make a big batch and freeze to have ready in a jiffy…but want to WOW them? Add in a baggie of shredded cheese or oyster crackers to top it off with pizzazz.
- Use Sunday for Prep Day ~ Baked Potatoes can be made the night before, then add some cooked broccoli, diced ham and cheese or chili on top and you’ve got a sturdy lunch the next day. English Muffin Pizza – Take an English muffin, a little bit of tomato sauce, some shredded cheese and you’ve got a great lunch. Spinach or Cheese Quiche is another “good when cold” meal. Or super easy DIY Uncrustables! See a recent post of all our lunch ideas!
- No Drive-Thru ~ Don’t get caught headed to the drive-thru after school because you have no good snacks on hand at home for that 3:00 lull in the afternoon! My go-to Budget Friendly Items are: Hard-boiled eggs, Homemade mini muffins (great to make and freeze for later), Cheese stick wrapped in lunch meat, Raisin Bread with cream cheese.
And check this out! You can get Smart School Time Recipes: The Breakfast, Snack, and Lunchbox Cookbook for Healthy Kids and Adults for FREE on Amazon!
Remember, for each of these items, you need to stock up when the prices are low so you have more options already on hand making it easier on your budget!
~Happy Lunch Packing!
