These tender mushrooms and their protein-packed quinoa stuffing aren’t just for grown ups, kids will love them too — those with adventurous palates anyway. They’re the perfect on-the-go snack for when you’re stuck on the soccer field watching games or running errands. And the best part? They’ll last up to 4 days in your fridge in a sealed container so make a batch early in the week and keep them on-hand for busy times when you need a snack. Either way your family is sure to enjoy these bite-sized nibbles.
Read more »
With back-to-school season in full swing, talk of bagged lunches is a regular most mom-groups. As many of us do, we put more time into our kids and what they are eating and let our own diets fall by the wayside. Well, bagged lunches are not just for little ones. Planning and packing your own lunch is a sure-fire way to control the types of foods you are eating and the portion size. If you’re like me, you might need a little motivation. When my work-out gets dull a new sports bra or pair of sneaks often does the trick. Next thing you know I go from barely running a block to feeling like I could run a marathon with my new kicks on.
So, here are some really fun lunch-packing goodies to get you motivated to join the brown-bag movement. Hey, a few of these items may appeal to your kids as well and get them psyched about that extra piece of fruit or healthier snack you packed for them!
Read more »
Don’t let packing back-to-school lunches stress you out; we’ve got 10 fun and fresh ideas the kiddies will gobble up.
Safety First
Start by ensuring your little ones’ lunches are safe from food germs. Here are our food safety tips for packing kids’ lunches.
1.) Yogurt Parfait
Pack up yogurt, with small containers of fresh fruit and granola for crunch, and let kids layer them at lunchtime. Or try making the parfait ahead of time in a screw-top jar for a fun and healthy on-the-go lunch.
Regular or Greek? Find out which yogurt wins our Food Fight
2.) Quesadillas
Give grilled cheese a makeover! Combine whole-grain tortillas, veggies and cheese. Melt in the microwave, slice, and voila – excellent finger food hot or cold.
Get more quesadilla recipe ideas
Read more »
- Pack a lunch that meets the MyPlate guidelines.
We’re continuing our celebration of National Nutrition Month; last week we gave you breakfast options that follow the USDA’s MyPlate guidelines; now on to lunch.
The Guidelines
The guidelines for lunch are pretty similar to breakfast. You want to make sure half of your plate is filled with fruit and veggies, ¼ with grains and ¼ with lean protein. Although the MyPlate photo shows milk as a side beverage, it’s not a must at every meal. You can get in your dairy in the form of low-fat or nonfat cheese or yogurt too.
Read more »
Wraps are a fun alternative to sandwiches. Curious to which are the healthiest and tastiest? Find out how 5 popular flour tortillas (a.k.a. wraps) fared in our taste test.
Seek and You’ll Find
After asking our Facebook fans their favorite brands, we sought out to add them to our taste test. However, finding popular brands was not as easy as we originally thought—and we learned that wraps are found in MANY locations throughout the market. When looking for wraps, check the deli counter, commercial bread aisle and the Mexican food aisle. If that doesn’t work, ask the store manager. At one supermarket, they stored some wraps next to the raw meat (that just screams food safety issue to me).
Read more »
We’re teaming up with fellow food bloggers to host a Brown-Bag Challenge, a month-long initiative to eat consciously and save money by packing a lunch each weekday instead of eating out. Join us here and share what you’re eating on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #brownbag.
A few weeks ago, we brought you a list of the latest and greatest lunchboxes so those of you participating in the Brown-Bag Challenge could bring your lunch to work in style. But with the arrival of cool fall temperatures, soups and hot dishes are going to start making appearances. We’ve got the best in hot food containers so you can plan for warm meals with no worries.
Bringing fresh vegetables to work just got easier thanks to the Aladdin Collapsible Steamer Set (above). No need to reheat soggy veggies when you can steam fresh ones at work instead. Just add three tablespoons of water and your raw vegetables microwave for three minutes and viola you’ve got a fresh, delicious lunch. Clean-up is just as easy: wash, collapse and store.
Read more »
- Burrito, unwrapped.
We’re teaming up with fellow food bloggers to host a Brown-Bag Challenge, a month-long initiative to eat consciously and save money by packing a lunch each weekday instead of eating out. Join us here and share what you’re eating on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #brownbag.
There’s a Chipotle right near my office. I could walk over there, order a vegetarian burrito and be back at work, ready to eat in under a half-hour. For $8.50, I could have myself one tortilla, filled with rice, beans, salsa, guacamole, cheese and sour cream. Then the next day, I’d have to go back, there or someplace else, to spend another few dollars on another lunch. Over the course of a week or a month, dining out like this gets pretty expensive. But I really like burritos.
Read more »
- Cut (at least!) 100 calories from your lunch by making some easy sandwich swaps.
Packing your own lunch can save money and calories. Here are 5 ways to cut 100 calories when you pack up sandwiches.
Sandwich 1: Tuna, Chicken or Egg Salad
Pitfall: Too much mayo
Smarter Sandwiches: Each tablespoon of mayo has 90 calories. These salad options can be nutritious and high in protein, but you need to watch the fat. Trim these salads by down-sizing the scoops of mayo or replacing half with nonfat Greek yogurt like in this recipe for 5-ingredient chicken salad.
Read more »
- Ambitious Kitchen's Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps With Sweet Mango-Cilantro Salsa Photo by: Ambitious Kitchen
We’re teaming up with fellow food bloggers to host a Brown-Bag Challenge, a month-long initiative to eat consciously and save money by packing a lunch each weekday instead of eating out. Join us here and share what you’re eating on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #brownbag.
Three weeks into the challenge and we’re still seeing lots of variety in everyone’s lunch bags. Sure there are sandwiches of every variety, but how about this meze platter from Cooking With My Kid? Soup is starting to be quite popular as the weather cools down — check out All Things Splendid’s Wild Rice Soup and the Coupon Chef’s take on Jamie Oliver’s Cauliflower and Cheese Soup. It’s hard to be bored at lunch when you can enjoy Quinoa With Peas and Spinach, Tart Pizza and Tofu Pesto Sandwiches or Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps (pictured above), and for dessert: Apple-Cinnamon Muffin Cake.
Read more »
- How does your local school's lunch program rate?
With Michelle Obama’s push to promote healthy eating, some schools are taking action. We looked at public schools around the country to check out what they’re doing to make lunches healthier. We found some forward thinkers and amazing programs.
Washington State
The Bellevue School District in Washington State has implemented several healthy eating programs. The first is their Fruit, Vegetable and Grain of the Month Program. For the past 4 to 5 years, one food is featured from each category and information can be found on the district website. There are also educational signs posted in the lunch room and tasting that’s done in the elementary, middle and high schools. Some featured grains have been farro, brown rice, wheat pasta, wheat berries, couscous, and bulgur. Hot, grain-based sides will also be offered this year such as lentil-barley pilaf and wheat berry stuffing.
This year, the Bellevue School District is also implementing Meatless Mondays. Some featured items on the menu are cheese-stuffed pasta shells, cheese enchiladas and a hummus platter.
Read more »
