My four kids LOVE this Focaccia bread pizza. Especially for lunch. Our whole family was already sold on regular focaccia bread. It’s filling, full of heart-healthy olive oil and fragrant fresh rosemary. Plus, you can make it ahead of time which makes focaccia bread perfect for lunchboxes. But this pizza version of focaccia bread? Even…
Cheese-Filled Shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day
These adorable cheese-filled shamrocks start with our super simple bread dough recipe, with three quick additions: spinach Parmesan cheese mozzarella cheese sticks They’re a perfect idea for St. Patrick’s Day food, either in lunchboxes or serving a crowd. How to make cheese-filled shamrocks Prep the spinach & Parmesan Cook 1/2 cup frozen spinach (or fresh)…
Pizza Pockets with Hidden Vegetables
What’s better than pizza for lunch? How about kid-friendly pizza pockets with hidden vegetables! My kids love the sweet and tangy flavor of our Veggie-Filled Tomato Sauce. But I was already roasting vegetables for quiche cups this week and decided to use a new method. The result is a super simple pizza sauce that’s packed…
The Best Lasagna Cups in the World
Nothing to see here. Just lasagna you can HOLD IN YOUR HAND! S-O-L-D, says all four kids. Well, almost… Foodlets Reviews Foodlets Reviews are real comments from my four very real children. And I never include a recipe that doesn’t get at least 3 THUMBS UPS. Phoebe (8): “I really like how the crispy edges…
Magical Mac & Cheese Cups (with Pureed Sweet Potato + Cauliflower Baked Right In!)
What’s the best lunch for kids? Leftover dinner. Especially when you can transform a crowd pleaser like Magical Mac & Cheese into…Magical Mac & Cheese Cups in minutes. Start with the basic recipe for Magical Mac & Cheese, which happens to include as much veggies as it does cheese, and add three quick things: 2…
Week 3: 5 Healthy Lunches Kids Can Pack Themselves with Eggs & Mini Mozzarella Balls
This year we started a new strategy for school lunches. It’s called “3 Small Kids Pack Their Own Lunches, Even the Kindergartener”. Subtitle: “So Mommy Doesn’t Go Crazy.” Guess how it’s going? Surprisingly well! In this third installment, we’ve got a week’s worth of healthy lunch ideas, focusing on two main ingredients: mini mozzarella balls…
4 Ways to Make an Instant Meal Out of 1 Baguette
This may be one of my favorite school lunch ideas of all. Slice a baguette, then pile on the toppings to make instant open faced sandwiches the whole crowd loves. Not bad for about 2 minutes’ work. BROILED BAGUETTE MINI SANDWICHES Ham & Baby Swiss with Sliced Pickles Instructions: Fold a piece of ham (I…
Real school lunches: 5 days of healthy, fast lunches ideas for preschoolers and young kids
It’s time to pack school lunches again! This year I have two elementary aged girls plus two preschoolers and I’m packing healthy lunches for ALL of them. Which means things need to be quick. Packing for four also means the potential for a LOT of waste, so I’m sharing our kids’ favorites from the week. These…
Lunchbox hits and misses: Pictures of my 6-year-old’s school lunches before & after
Does your child’s lunchbox come home half eaten? Are you struggling to find the right balance between Nutritious Food to Keep Them Going and Stuff They’ll Actually Eat? Me too. But I’ve figured a few things out. Since our goal at Foodlets is raising kids who love real food–and we’re right in the thick of…
5-Minute Meatball Skewers
The season for packing school lunches is in full swing around here, and these 5-Minute Meatball Skewers are part of the reason I haven’t tried to climb into my morning cup of coffee. So far. These meatball skewers are so easy, hearty and a colorful addition to any lunch box. Technique Start with frozen but…
5 Simple Ways to Make School Lunches Special
It’s lunch box season again! I pack lunches for 3 of our 4 small kids. Every day. One is (going to be) a first grader this year; the other two are preschoolers. (And the baby eats with me.) Last year I shared my strategy for packing school lunches without going crazy, including all the foods my…
Healthy School Lunch Ideas
Are your kids getting 5 servings of fruit & vegetables a day? That’s what experts recommend. At least. Sound hard? That’s where our healthy school lunch ideas come in. About lunch boxes My four kids love their PlanetBox lunchboxes. Made out of stainless steel, they’re practically indestructible and boy do they make food look nice….
10 Dinner Leftovers that Make Great Kids’ Lunches
I know, where was this post 8 months ago? Dinner leftovers that make great kids’ lunches is the kind of information that would’ve been useful…earlier. These so-simple lunch ideas for kids will get us through the remaining weeks of school and don’t worry. Kids will still want lunch again in September, or August when our school begins…
Easy Veggie Calzones
MY KIDS WERE BORN IN ITALY so they know their way around a pizza. But calzones were new to them. I loved these veggie calzones for their individual portions and portability. Plus they’re basically a pocket to fill with vegetables. Lots of kids have trouble eating veggies at dinner, partially because that’s the only time of…
Pickle Roll-Ups
FILE THIS ONE UNDER “EASY SCHOOL LUNCH IDEAS“. Desperate to break out of our sandwich rut this week, I grabbed that deli ham (the one with no nitrates), folded each piece in half and rolled it around a mini dill pickle. I just repeated twice and threaded all three onto an extra long toothpick. These happened…
Apple Sandwich, a recipe excerpt from “100 Days of Real Food”
{Reprinted with permission from “100 Days of Real Food” by Lisa Leake} If you’re looking for a way to make over your kid’s lunch (or your own!), here’s the answer. Sandwiches are no longer a bore if you just switch out the regular bread and use Cinnamon-Raisin Quick Bread, waffles, or even apples! Apple sandwiches…
How to Pack Awesome School Lunches Easily
*Updated* IT’S OFFICIAL. We now have 3 school-aged rascals in our house now. That, plus a seriously long school day (8am to 3:15), means a big change around here: three kids bringing school lunches every day. I’ve been making healthy, diverse and colorful lunches for these rascals for a while now and here are the techniques that make it…
how to pack amazing school lunches kids love, Katie Morford’s best tips
UGH. THAT’S THE SOUND OF MOST PARENTS MAKING SCHOOL LUNCHES. But not Katie Morford. Katie heads up the popular blog, Mom’s Kitchen Handbook: Raising Fresh-Food Kids in a French-Fried World and just wrote a new book with a promising title, “Best Lunch Box Ever“. Brimming with fresh, creative ideas that look just as tasty as they…