7 Back To School Lunch Tips

Don't look now, but school's here! Are you ready for one of the biggest challenges for Moms of school-age kids - preparing school lunches day after day?

There's hope and help for you yet. Here are 7 back-to-school lunch tips. Hey, I can't come over and make your kids' lunches for you, but these tips will surely make it much easier:

1. Make dinner do double-duty

You're already in the kitchen preparing your family's dinner, why not use that time to get a head-start on the next day's brown bag lunches?

Make a double batch of meals that taste just as good "the morning after," you know, like fried chicken. Or cook dishes that can be transformed into something "new", such as pasta sauce that's just as yummy as pizza topping (on ready-made crust of course).

To make meal planning easier, take a look at Dine Without Whine. It's a monthly service for planning your family's meals and grocery shopping.

2. Include lunches when meal planning

To do tip #1, you need to be more organized. This means including your kids' lunches when planning your family dinners.

3. Let the kids participate

Lighten your load and teach your children some important life skills at the same time. Even small children can help prepare their lunches.

If morning is too stressful, then make this an after-dinner activity - which brings us to...

4. Make advance preparations

Do whatever you can do ahead of time. For example, cook in batches on the weekend, or put leftovers in packable containers the night before.

5. DIY fast food

Commercial packed lunches are attractive but unhealthy. But who says you can't make your own? Buy your own colorful and attractive lunch boxes, such as a bento-style lunchbox.

Fill it up with a variety of healthy food. Think of mixing up foods with different textures and colors. And cut them up into small pieces so they're easy and fast to eat.

6. Soup it Up

Soup makes a quick and healthy lunch. You can cook a large pot in the weekend and pack it in a thermos for a warm and satisfying lunch. Serve with whole wheat bread and some fresh fruit and you've got a complete meal!

7. Sprinkle in some fun

Sneak a little surprise into your child's lunchbox once in a while. It could be a little chocolate treat, stickers, or a sweet note from you. Getting something unexpected makes lunch fun.

With planning and creativity, your children can have healthy, delicious lunches without too much work for you.

For meal planning help, go to Dine Without Whine. It makes meal planning a breeze, while helping you save time and money.

Then you'll have time and energy for those school lunches.

For a limited time, you can try Dine Without Whine for a penny. Click here to find out how.

More Back To School at Activity Village

Back To School Dinner Tips

Is school really just around the corner? You know what that means - early morning scrambles, after-school tizzies and ragged nerves at dinnertime.

It's still possible to have pleasant family mealtimes even after school has begun. Check out these back-to-school dinner tips for busy Moms:

1. Have a meal plan

The most important key to having relaxed family dinners even on school nights is having a meal plan. This will simplify both food shopping and meal preparation, and help you save money to boot.

If you need help, check out Dine Without Whine's meal and grocery planning service.

2. Try freezer meals

Cut down on cooking time by cooking large batches and then freezing them for future use.

3. Simplify your schedule

With school comes extracurricular activities that could have you running - or driving around - like a headless chicken. Keep things to a minimum. Overloading children with too many after-school activities is not good for them. They need downtime too.

4. Get the kids involved in cooking

Get some help by mobilizing your own troops - your husband and children - as your kitchen helpers. Cooking is an important life skill and now it's bonding time as well.

5. Have an emergency plan

No matter how well you plan in advance, something always comes up. Plan for that as well. Always have emergency supplies in the pantry so you can throw together a home-cooked meal at a moment's notice.

It could be a frozen dinner you prepared during the weekend. Mine is pasta, a can of tomato sauce and whatever vegetables are in the refrigerator.

6. Post your family schedule

Keep a large calendar on the wall where you can see every family member's schedule at a glance. It will also help you plan activities around your family dinner times.

7. Set a routine

Decide on an earlier dinner time, bedtime and wake up time and start following them a few days before school officially begins. This way, everybody's adjusted when the real thing comes.

8. Stay flexible

Sometimes you just can't afford disruptions to your meal times. An occasional missed family dinner is no big deal - when you know you'll have more throughout the week.

9. Consider school schedules

Take note of school events and other activities in your family calendar - so you can plan your family dinners with them in mind.

10. Cook once, eat twice

Every so often, cook a double batch of meals that can easily be transformed into another entree or side dish. For example, roast 2 chickens. Have one for tonight's dinner. Chop up the other for chicken salad for later in the week.

11. Organize your kitchen

If you haven't done so yet, now's the time to take stock of your kitchen. Make sure the items you use most often are accessible from your food prep area. Replace the tools that are broken, and get those gadgets that will help you get dinner ready faster.

12. Have a special meal

Make Friday night Teen's night - which means they plan and prepare the meal. That is, if you have teens or any child old enough to prepare meals. They'll learn how to cook, you get the night off (from cooking), and everybody has fun. The only condition is: everybody has to eat what's prepared.

13. Make it educational

This idea is for preschool-age kids. Make or buy a special placemat with letter or numbers. Laminate it with Con-Tact paper so it becomes a wipe-off board. Use it only for dinnertimes.

14. More mealtime learning opportunities

Plan some meals to coincide with specific topics your child is studying in school. For example, on the night after a field trip to a pioneer town, have a pioneer-style meal.

15. Celebrate school successes at dinner

Celebrate school successes with a special family meal. Prepare the child's favorite meal and prepare a nice dessert. It's more important to have a meal that's relaxed and delicious, than one that tool hours to prepare.

16. Nurture school relationships

Get to know your children's closest school friends by inviting them to dinner once in a while.

Follow these tips to make family mealtimes simpler, easier and more fun. For meal planning and grocery shopping help, go to Dine Without Whine.

Your monthly subscription includes a weekly meal plan with recipes for main dishes, side dishes, 2 desserts and 2 brunches.

You'll also get a weekly grocery shopping list of everything you need to create the recipes. The list is categorized according to grocery sections, so your shopping will be easier and faster.

For a limited time, you can try Dine Without Whine for a penny. Click here to find out how.

More Back To School at Activity Village

Pesto And Pasta - Kids Favourite!

Kids love pasta more than any other meal and they love it most with Pesto!

That’s the result of a recent survey commissioned by the Oxford Children’s Food Festival which showed that the tasty green sauce from Sacla’ is much more popular than other nursery favourites including Macaroni Cheese, Toad in the Hole and Bangers and Mash.

Pasta and Pesto was voted top of the tea-time treats by 18 per cent of youngsters with its nearest rival, Macaroni Cheese, trailing behind with 12 per cent.

The final results were:

1. Pesto and Pasta
2. Macaroni Cheese
3. Toad in the Hole
4. Spaghetti Bolognese
5. Bangers and Mash
6. Chinese
7. Chicken and chips
8. Chicken Curry
9. Roast Dinners
10. Pizzas

Sacla’ Pesto is irresistibly tasty and incredibly quick and easy to prepare. It’s a nourishing speedy supper simply stirred through pasta or an absolute winner with kids is classic Pesto alla Genovese. Sacla’ Pesto can add colour and vibrancy to all manner of kid’s meals so if you need a little inspiration on how to perk up with Pesto visit www.sacla.co.uk for a whole host of delightful ideas for all the family to enjoy or why not use this Pesto alla Genovese recipe tonight...

Pesto all Genovese

Ingredients:

250g of linguine
250g of potatoes cut into 2cm (1in) chunks
150g of green beans, cut into 2cm (1 in) pieces
½ jar of Sacla’ Classic Pesto or Organic Green Pesto
6 tbsp of double cream or crème freche
3 tbsp of freshly grated Grana Padano cheese
Freshly ground black pepper

Cooking Instructions:

Bring a large pan of water to the boil and cook the potatoes for five minutes. Add the pasta to the pan and cook for another five minutes.* Lastly add the cut beans to the pan and cook for a further two to three minutes.

Drain the pasta, potatoes and vegetables and make sure you hold back a cupful of the cooking water.

Turn it all into a heated serving dish and mix in the Sacla’ Pesto, the cream, the Grana Padano and two or three tablespoons of the cooking water.

It all needs to be mixed well and served with all the joy of an Italian summer’s day!

*Please adjust cooking times according to the type of pasta you’ve used.

Family Recipes - More New Chicken Recipes

Chicken Marsala
Although the "adult" version of this dish includes mushrooms and marsala wine - neither of which go down well with my kids - this is a perfect family recipe. We save the sauce for the grown-ups and give the kids "crunchy" chicken, and everybody is happy!


Sweet and Sour Chicken
"Sweet and sour" was a classic Chinese dish in the 1980s, but that was because it has always been so popular with the family market! Kids love the sweet taste (from the pineapple chunks) and it is sure to become a family favourite.


Chicken And Vegetable Noodle Soup
Everybody knows that chicken noodle soup is good for the soul - and for growing children! This version sneaks in some healthy vegetables too.

Food Ingredients To Avoid

When buying and cooking food for our families, we all want to provide the best nutrition and the safest produce we can for the price we can afford, as well as putting together tasty meals that all family members will enjoy. But these days we hear more and more about the dangers of the chemical additives which have become commonplace in our foodstuffs. What are these additives, and which ones should we be avoiding?

Food Ingredients To Avoid

Family Recipes - Three New Chicken Recipes

Easy Quesadillas
These are a firm family favourite in our house - and a very useful quick meal to teach your teenagers to cook for themselves and their friends! Children of all ages enjoy putting these together, and of course you can tailor them to suit the likes and dislikes of the different members of the family.

Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Apple and Cheese
These stuffed chicken breasts are quick to prepare and while they are cooking in the oven you can get on with preparing the vegetables, laying the table and so on! Apple and chicken are a popular combination for children.

Sweet and Spicy Roast Chicken
The smell of this chicken while roasting is absolutely wonderful! The sweet and spicy flavour appeals to kids, although you might want to cut down the pepper for really young children. Delicious served with mashed potatoes and vegetables, or just with a crunchy side salad.

Another Halloween Video - Marshmallow Ghosts and Ghouls

Marshmallow Ghosts and Ghouls - a fun snack for Halloween

We had great fun making these Marshmallow Ghosts and Ghouls - and just as much fun eating them! We will be making them again as an activity at our Halloween party, too, as I know Tilly's friends will enjoy decorating their own. You can even sit down with the kids to watch Tilly make them on video!
Marshmallow Ghosts and Ghouls

Blackberry picking and recipes!

I'm not sure about the rest of the world, but blackberries are out now in our region of the UK, and there are buckets and buckets of them within a few minutes walk of our house. There is something so satisfying about taking the kids out for a walk and coming back with overflowing containers of delicious, free blackberries, and then piling into the kitchen together to make something yummy with them.

Here are some blackberry recipes to get you started:

Fresh blackberry lemonade
The blackberries make this lemonade unusual and special.

Blackberry smoothie
Delicious, quick and wholesome - great for a snack or a quick breakfast.

Berry Brulee
This isn't a true brulee recipe, but a quick version which is still delicious and probably more popular with children.

Apple and Blackberry Crumble
As the evenings begin to draw in, take comfort in the smell of this crumble cooking in the oven! Serve with cream or vanilla ice-cream. You can also make up extra of the crumble mixture and store it in the freezer, ready for an almost instant pudding next time!

Blackberry Whip
This is a wickedly good desert! You can obviously vary the berries according to what you have in the fridge.

And here is a Blackberry colouring page too, in case the kids want something to do while you are busy in the kitchen preparing something special...

Because I said so!

Let’s be honest. Have you ever felt that parenting was a losing battle? You do what you think is best, but the end result is frequently a battle and a temper tantrum… sometimes thrown by you. Lately, my 5 year old son and I have been experiencing this more often than I care to admit. He is defiant and persistent and wears me down until I start doubting my parenting skills. Yet, surprisingly, we have been doing remarkably well during dinner, the venue of struggle for many other families.

Instead of sitting down to a pleasant meal, parents are frequently bombarded with complaints about the food being served. Worn down by repeated objections, weary parents comply with the wishes of their children and give them alternatives, such as yogurt, frozen fish sticks, chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese. Don’t be disheartened. Be proud. You have such intelligent children! They know that if they are persistent enough, they will get what they want. Why should they eat what is being served if they can have whatever they want afterwards?

Look at this as a learning opportunity. We have already seen that persistence usually pays off… but remember that it goes both ways! It usually takes between 8-12 exposures of a new food before people will enjoy it. So, beat ‘em at their own game. Give them their dinner and nothing else. Eventually, if they are hungry enough, they will eat it. Don’t worry that Child Protective Services will come knocking on your door – no child has ever willingly starved himself to death when there is food available.

How did I manage to avoid a riot when implementing these ideas?

• I am NOT a short order cook, and my kids know it.

• I invite them to help me select the recipes we prepare each week. My kids are opinionated and love to tell me what they think. We gather recipes from a variety of sources and they help to pick ones that sound good.

• I invite my kids to help me cook. (No, I am not crazy! I am not handing them the chef’s knife and going to sit on the sofa to eat bon-bons…) We work together to complete some of the steps of the recipe. Sometimes they help with only one or two steps, such as peeling the garlic or measuring, but other times they become so enthusiastic that they help with the whole recipe! Kids are infinitely more likely to taste a recipe that they have helped to prepare. They take all of the credit when a meal turns out well, and happily eat their fill.

For now, I’ll chalk up our success at the dinner table to my years of experience teaching cooking classes to children. This seems to be the only area in which I can avoid power struggles with my son, and don’t catch myself saying the words that I swore I would never say…”Because I said so!” He eats because he wants to. He eats because he likes it. And best of all, he eats because he helped to make it himself.

Article by Michelle Stern. Michelle Stern owns What’s Cooking, a business that offers cooking classes and gifts to children of all ages. She recently launched What’s Cooking Weekly, a healthy family meal subscription service. http://www.whatscookingweekly.com/

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Family recipes at Activity Village