For young scholars, lunchtime often comes as a welcome reprieve from cracking multiplication problems and learning about the life cycle of butterflies.
When the lunch bell rings, pint-sized pupils impatiently file into the cafeteria, scamper to their seats and open up their lunchboxes with bated breath.
Soggy bologna sandwiches and browning bananas are met with disappointment. But shiny packages and cartoon character wrappers are uncovered with glee.
As a parent, you probably want to delight your child whenever he or she unwraps your lunch. But while flashy foods might look tempting to young eyes, store-bought junk is not only unhealthy — it often comes with a huge markup.
Happily, there are plenty of healthy, affordable foods that can entice young appetites. Below are 10 nutritious and delicious school lunches you can whip up for less than $2.
A note on prices: To calculate estimated cost, we’ve totaled the average cost of each portion of ingredient included in the recipe. Keep in mind that actual costs may vary by product brand, size and current sale price.
[See: 10 Meals to Make When You’re Trying to Save.]
1. Crunchy peanut butter and granola sandwich. Spice up this classic by swapping out jelly for honey and granola. To add a touch of whimsy, use a cookie cutter to slice the sandwich into a heart, butterfly or other playful shape. Pro tip: You can freeze the extra scraps to use as homemade croutons and stuffing later.
Estimated cost: 85 cents
2. Make-your-own nachos. Family taco nights are both frugal and fun but often leave behind a lot of uneaten food. Put leftovers to good use by packing a make-your-own nachos bar into your kid’s lunch sack. Assemble leftover cheese, beans and veggies into separate containers and add a handful of tortilla chips.
Estimated cost: $1.20
3. Tiny turkey kebabs. Transform ordinary lunch meats into imaginative kebabs using drink stirrer skewers. Fold strips of turkey into fourths and spear them with chunks of cheese, cherry tomatoes and bits of toasted bread. As an alternative to turkey slices, you could repurpose meats from last night’s dinner. Think chunks of chicken, bits of burger or pieces of steak.
Estimated cost: $1.08
[See: 12 Ways to Save Money on Food.]
4. Whole-wheat apple quesadillas. Fresh apples add a touch of sweetness and crunch to quesadillas. To craft these cheesy creations, start by sprinkling two tablespoons of cheddar on a whole-wheat tortilla. Next, add a layer of apple slices, scatter on a second layer of cheddar and fold the tortilla in half. Toast the quesadilla on a pan with vegetable oil until it is golden brown, and the cheese is melted.
Estimated cost: 88 cents
5. Tuna sandwich sushi. Since most youngsters haven’t developed a taste for seaweed and wasabi yet, try an imaginative sushi-inspired sandwich. To start off, mix canned tuna with mayo, lemon juice and spices. Cut the crusts off of two slices of whole-wheat bread and flatten them with a rolling pin. Spread on a thin layer of the tuna mixture, then sprinkle with grated carrots and cucumber. Roll up the bread tightly and cut both rolls into four pieces.
Estimated cost: 70 cents
[See: 10 Ways to Cut Your Spending This Week.]
6. Make-your-own turkey dogs. While a well-dressed turkey dog can be delicious at any temperature, they taste much better when they’re hot. Send your kids to school with sizzling dogs with this clever hack. Fill a thermos with boiling water and throw in a couple of turkey dogs. Alongside the thermos, pack a lunchbox with two whole-wheat buns and separate containers of ketchup, mustard and relish. Come lunch time, the dogs will be ready for your child to bun, spoon toppings on and enjoy.
Estimated cost: $1.30
7. Grilled macaroni and cheese sandwich. This meal combines two time-honored kid classics — the mighty mac and cheese and the glorious grilled cheese. That macaroni you made for dinner last night can be melded into a dazzling grilled-cheese sandwich the next day. To begin, warm up a scoop of mac and cheese and slather whole-wheat bread with a thin layer of low-fat mayo. Pile the cheesy noodles onto the bread and toast the sandwich on medium heat. When you’re finished, be sure to pack the gooey goodness with plenty of napkins.
Estimated cost: 75 cents
8. Make-your-own pizza bagels. Here’s another hands-on school lunch for the burgeoning cook. In separate containers, arrange a handful of cheese, pieces of pepperoni, veggie slices and tomato sauce. Pack up slices of toasted bagels, English muffins or crackers for your little chef to decorate with colorful toppings.
Estimated cost: $1.60
9. Waffle breakfast sandwich. Swap out bread for waffles to take your sandwich game to the next level. To create this breakfast-inspired sandwich, stack egg, cheddar and tomato slices between two whole-wheat waffles.
But why stop at breakfast sandwiches? To make future lunches, you can use waffles to sandwich both sweet and savory ingredients, such as Nutella and blueberries, ham and Swiss cheese, or bacon, lettuce and tomatoes.
Estimated cost: 70 cents
10. Make-your-own fruit parfait. Let your kids’ creativity run wild by laying out a do-it-yourself parfait station in a lunch pack. Include low-fat yogurt with an array of toppings — think granola, chopped fruit, mixed berries, raisins and crumbled nuts.
Estimated cost: $1.88
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10 Delicious and Nutritious School Lunch Ideas for Less Than $2 Each originally appeared on usnews.com
