Healthy, easy lunch ideas?

[HappyGrace]

I am completely out of ideas for lunches-help! We eat an all-natural diet-no preservatives, etc., so that leaves out lunch meats and so on. I'd appreciate any ideas!

[Sue G in PA]

nt

[Miss Peregrine]

My kids cheer when I say we are having whole wheat pitas and hummus for lunch(they really do) I also cut up cucumber and red peppers. :p <<<<That's me licking my lips.

chicken salad sandwiches

pasta with parmesan

we eat leftover dinner, too

[Unicorn]

Do you make your own hummus? If you do would you share your recipe? My kids love hummus, but the store brand has hfcs- ugh!

[Stacey in MA]

You can make "pizza" on any kind of bread (we use either the premade dough from the grocery store, english muffins, or regular bread). Use any kind of sauce you have handy (pizza sauce in a can, even spaghetti sauce will work!). And any kind of cheese too (mozzerella is usually best, but whatever you have on hand can work). Add any other toppings you love (I like olives, leftover meats, canned tomatoes, peppers, basil, etc., on mine), and broil some quickie pizzas!

In college, I used to make a meal of Ramen noodles, with an egg or 2 scrambled in, and some canned or frozen veggies added. I like it now too, but it is healthier if you use other kinds of pasta and nix the salty flavoring! My fav is cooked spaghetti in a pot, add 2 raw eggs and scramble them in. Cook them until all of the egg is done. Add frozen peas (thawed), parsely and parmesean. Any kind of meat, in small quantities chopped finely is a nice addition - bacon is my favorite! (Ok, turkey bacon if you want it healthier....)

Stick some bread in the bread maker in the a.m., and have canned soup with fresh bread - yum! Soup with warm bread is one of my favorite meals.

Speaking of soup...do you have a stick blender? You can make all kinds of quick soups with these buggers! I recently had a huge bag of carrots to use up, and made a fast carrot soup that was very good. I simply boiled the carrots, drained them, added a couple of cups of chicken broth, puree them with the stick blender (a new toy for me - birthday gift last month from mom!), add in seasonings like salt and pepper and nutmeg, also add a touch of cream if you have it. Yum! I love feta cheese in my creamy soups, so that goes along with it....

Anyway, that's all I can think of now. Have fun and GL! - Stacey in MA

[Mrs Mungo]

Do you make your own hummus? If you do would you share your recipe? My kids love hummus, but the store brand has hfcs- ugh!

Here is what I put in my hummus:

chickpeas
olive oil
garlic
tahini
lemon juice

sometimes I'll add some sour cream to give it a more dip-ish texture.

[Tina]

We eat rice and beans, or lots of refried (fat free) beans and a bit of cheese in tortillas. Lots of leftovers, Annie's mac and cheese, grilled cheese... sometimes a fried egg sandwich, tuna salad sandwich, salmon salad or egg salad. Sometimes on crackers for a change of pace.

[Miss Peregrine]

Do you make your own hummus? If you do would you share your recipe? My kids love hummus, but the store brand has hfcs- ugh!

I wish! Right now I buy Trader Joes but I want to find a good recipe and make it myself.

[HappyGrace]

nt

[kdeno]

homemade bread and cut up fruit, soup, baked eggs.

K

[KristineIN]

I also make hummus. I use the recipe in a Good Housekeeping cookbook. If anyone wants it, I can post it.

Kristine

[Jean in Newcastle]

Lately I've been making a big pot of soup in the crock-pot. I start it at night and let it cook overnight. I turn it off in the morning for a few hours (so it won't overcook - I don't open the lid and it stays pretty warm- it just doesn't keep cooking) and then turn it on again about an hour before lunch (so it will be hot). We eat our share for lunch that day and I put all the leftovers in individual freezer containers (the ziploc or glad "bowls" that you can get at the grocery store). I now have three different kinds of healthy, preservative -free (and in our case, allergen free) soups in the freezer.