5 Inspirational recipes for delicious and filling children's school lunches

Because you often bring your children to school, you may run out of ideas about what recipes and menus to make. However, don't give up just yet! Healthy intake from provision can actually help meet the nutritional needs of school children, you know. So, so that you don't get confused and your children don't get bored when eating the same menu, consider the following inspirational recipes for lunch menus for children to school.

The benefits of bringing school lunch menus for children

Before finding out what lunch recipes a child can bring to school, first understand how important it is to bring this box of food.

Not just treating hunger in the middle of the day, it turns out that there are many benefits of bringing children school lunches every day.

Besides being able to help save pocket money, a box of supplies can also help replace children's energy lost after activities since the morning.

Especially now that he is currently developing children aged 6-9 years, of course his growth and development must be supported so that it remains optimal.

Growth and development at this time includes children's physical development, children's cognitive development, and others.

Because during this period of growth and development, children need a lot of nutritional intake to meet their daily needs.

By providing a box of food for children, you indirectly help meet their needs.

The risk of children experiencing obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure will also decrease.

This is because the benefits of bringing school supplies to children make him discouraged from snacking on a variety of unhealthy foods.

Especially because children usually feel much fuller after eating their food menu which is rich in various nutrients.

In fact, compared to children who did not eat lunch because they did not bring supplies, children who brought lunch had a much higher nutritional intake.

Not only during the day, but this energy intake can last throughout the day until it is time for children to have dinner.

Launching from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website, the study found that optimal nutritional intake has an effect on children's achievement.

In detail, adequate food can improve academic grades, minimize absenteeism, and support the work of the brain.

So, so you don't get bored quickly, what are the easy-to-make school lunch options for kids?

School lunch menu recipe ideas for healthy and tasty children

Dr. Sandra Fikawati, et al, in her book entitled Nutrition for Children and Adolescents, describes the important rules regarding children's intake and diet.

According to him, try to make children's lunch menus contribute about a third of energy, vitamins and minerals.

Unfortunately, sometimes you may think that it is easy to prepare children's school supplies.

Just like the daily meal menu and healthy snacks for children, because they are served every day, you are required to be more creative in determining recipes for children's school meals.

However, don't get confused first to decide what other menu to make today.

Without lingering, please cheat on a variety of ideas for recipes for school food supplies for children that are practical and easy to make:

1. Yakitori chicken rice with vegetables

Source: Chopstick Chronicles

The idea for the first school food lunch recipe that you can make today is yakitori chicken rice.

In order for a more varied nutritional intake, tuck in a few pieces of vegetables consisting of green onions and red and green peppers.

However, it is fine to create a wider variety and cut of vegetables.

That way, the amount of fiber, mineral, and vitamin intake for children will be far more.

Materials:

• 1000 grams of warm white rice
• 1 sheet of nori (dried seaweed sheet), sliced ​​long
• 1 spring onion, sliced ​​medium
• 1 red and green paprika
• 4 pieces of chicken thigh fillets, cut into medium size

Ingredients for smeared chicken:

• 4 garlic cloves, puree
• 20 skewers
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• ½ tablespoon tauco
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 tbsp sesame oil

How to make:

1. Combine all the smeared ingredients into a bowl, then stir until blended.
2. Soak the chicken in the mashed ingredients and let it infuse for about 1 hour.
3. Stick the spiced chicken using a skewer. Alternate with chives and peppers.
4. Give a little oil on the grill, then roast the satay filled with chicken, peppers, and green onions until all parts are cooked.
5. Add a sprinkling of nori and a little chili powder, then the yakitori chicken is ready to be served in a child's lunch box.

2. Pasta salad

Source: Pillsbury

If your little one seems bored with the menu and the portion your child eats at lunch, there is nothing wrong with replacing pasta as a source of carbohydrates.

Whether it's macaroni, spaghetti, fetucini, ravioli, penne, and so on, you can adjust it to your child's preferences.

Quoting from Healthy Children, pasta can be an idea for a variety of lunch menus for children at school.

Most importantly, make sure the pasta is cooked until al denteaka perfectly ripe. This means that the level of doneness of the pasta is soft but not mushy and is still full enough to be bitten.

In addition to chicken and air, you can replace it with shrimp, beef, or eggs as a mixture. The following is a pasta salad recipe for school meals for children:

Materials:

• 400 gr macaroni paste (or can be customized to taste)
• 4-5 tablespoons of pesto sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed and finely sliced
• 1-2 teaspoons of onion, cut into small pieces
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons of yogurt
• ½ lemon, take the juice
• 200 gr peas
• 100 gr cherry tomatoes, cut into pieces
• 200 grams of a mixture of boneless chicken and shrimp
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil for sauteing
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ tsp sugar

How to make:

1. Boil the pasta in boiling water until cooked, then drain.
2. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, then saute the garlic and onions until fragrant.
3. Enter the chicken and shrimp, then wait until it's cooked enough then add the tomato and peas pieces.
4. Add the previously drained paste, followed by mayonnaise, yogurt, lemon juice, sugar, and salt.
5. Remove the pasta and after all the ingredients are cooked and well blended.
6. Serve the pasta salad in the child's lunch box.

3. Fried rice with various meatballs

Want to serve rice but in a different form? Try turning plain white rice into fried rice mixed with various spices and toppings.

Not only is it richer in nutrition, it is guaranteed that children will be even more hungry when eating it because it tastes good because it is a healthy food for children.

Immediately, this is an idea for a variety of meatball fried rice recipes for children's school meals.

Materials:

• 500 gr white rice
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 2 fish balls, cut into 2 pieces
• 2 pieces of shrimp meatballs, cut into 2 pieces
• 2 pieces of salmon meatballs, cut into 2 pieces
• 2 pieces of beef meatballs, cut into 2 pieces
• 50 grams of mixed vegetables, consisting of peas, chopped green beans, broccoli, corn and carrots
• 1 egg, beat off
• 2 red chilies, remove seeds and thinly sliced
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ tsp sugar
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• ⅛ tsp ground pepper
• ¼ tsp powdered chicken stock
• 2 spring onions, cut into small pieces
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil for sauteing

How to make:

1. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat, then saute the garlic until fragrant.
2. Enter the fish, shrimp, salmon and beef meatballs, then cook until cooked. Stir everything until blended, and set aside on the edge of the pan.
3. Enter the beaten egg, cook until cooked and add the mixed vegetables. Stir well.
4. Add white rice, chili slices, chicken stock, sugar, salt, pepper, soy sauce, and green onions. Stir until all ingredients are cooked and well blended with the rice.
5. Remove and serve in the child's lunch box.
6. Add tomato, cucumber, and lettuce slices to sweeten it.

4. Roll-ups of bento with meat and vegetables

Source: Eating Well

Have you often supplied rice, and have you brought pasta for your little one? This time, you can try to make carbohydrate sources in different processed and forms.

Yes, use potatoes that are no less filling like rice, and process them into soft and soft mashed potatoes.

The idea for this children's school meal recipe will be even more delicious when you add various side dishes and vegetables but in attractive packaging.

Roll-ups bento, for example, with a choice of smoked meat and fish fillings and a variety of vegetables that are good for children.

Ingredients for mashed potato:

• 3 potatoes, peel the skin and wash thoroughly
• 200 ml of liquid milk
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ tsp ground pepper
• 75 grams of grated cheese

Ingredients for the roll-ups bento:

• 2 cucumbers, peel the skins not to break and make each into 4 pieces
• 6 pieces of bacon
• 4 pieces of cheese
• 2 carrots, cut into small strips
• 8 lettuce leaves

How to make:

1. Boil the potatoes until cooked and tender, then remove, puree, and set aside.
2. Boil liquid milk while stirring until it boils, then add salt and ground pepper.
3. Enter the mashed potatoes, stir until the milk thickens and is absorbed into the potatoes. Add additional cheese, then stir again until smooth and set aside.
4. Cut the cucumber into 4 pieces, then peel the cucumber using a sharp knife about 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick.
5. Place the zest on a large plate, then cut each topping off such as bacon, carrots, lettuce, and cheese.
6. Place each slice next to the skin of the cucumber so that they each have the same amount of toppings.
7. Roll each cucumber skin slice with the topping inside, then seal it with a toothpick.
8. Repeat the same for each cucumber roll.
9. Mashed potato and cucumber rolls with topping are ready to be served in the child's lunch box.

5. Honey fried noodles

Noodles are the easiest to serve, sautéed with soy sauce and spices.

To make it more interesting, you can add pieces of chicken to make it taste more delicious and colorful pieces of vegetables to make it look more attractive.

The addition of chicken and vegetables can enrich food nutrition, especially protein and vitamins.

Of course, the idea of ​​a lunch menu for children at school is healthier, right? Don't be confused about making it, let's follow the following recipe for processed honey fried noodles.

Materials:

• 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil
• 300 grams of diced chicken breast
• 1/2 red and green bell pepper, diced
• 2 spring onions, then finely chopped
• 1 carrot, cut into matches
• 2 cloves of garlic, puree
• 150 grams of dry egg noodles
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon corn flour
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 100 grams of peas and sweet corn
• 1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds
• Chicken broth to taste

How to make:

1. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken chops and let it cook for 6 to 7 minutes.
2. Then, add the peppers, spring onions, carrots and garlic. Stir until blended and let stand for 3 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, cook the egg noodles in another pan until done.
4. Put the chicken stock, cornstarch, honey and soy sauce in a skillet filled with stir fry. Then add a little water and add the peas and sweetcorn. Mix well and let the sauce thicken.
5. Put the noodles into the thickened spices and mix well.
6. Once cooked, serve on top of the children's tinsel and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Pay attention to this when bringing the children's school lunch menu

Sometimes, there are times when children don't finish their lunch lunch menu at school.

You may have felt annoyed because you have prepared a child's school lunch in such a way, but he did not finish it.

Before scolding him for this, try to remember it first. Perhaps, you have done some of these things when bringing school supplies for children:

Avoid bringing too many portions of children's school supplies

The intention is that parents want to make sure their children are full so that they are more focused while studying at school.

However, because the break time is too short, too busy chatting or playing, or already full sometimes makes children reluctant to finish their lunch.

If this happens almost every day, you should reduce the portion of your child's school lunch and then adjust it according to how many portions of lunch you can usually eat.

To be more sure, you can ask whether the portion you are giving is enough or not while reminding a little.

For example, by saying, “Little brother, you have reduced the portion of your lunch, don't get it not run out again, huh! "

Make sure the food sources are balanced

Source: Families Magazine

One of the various mistakes parents make when bringing their children lunch is increasing the portion in only one food source.

Take, for example, on the grounds that the child is full, you add a source of carbohydrates such as potatoes and rice.

In addition, you may sometimes increase your protein source from fruits and vegetables to meet your child's daily fiber intake.

Actually not completely wrong. It's just that, the child may already be bored and think "L think salready eaten from earlier, But whynotall over, anyway? "

This is what ultimately makes it difficult for children to eat because they choose not to finish their last few bites.

Serve a varied menu of children's school supplies

Seeing his friends provided with different foods every day will usually make children feel inferior.

This was because he seemed to be carrying a type of food that was not much different from the previous days.

Even though maybe in your opinion there is nothing wrong with giving white rice, omelette, and kale as a school lunch for children.

Followed by supplying white rice, scrambled eggs, and spinach for the next day. It looks different to you at first glance, but not for children.

Indirectly, bringing children's school supplies will actually hone your creativity.

Yes, because every day you are required to think about what menu to serve that can arouse children's appetites and appetites.

The solution if you really want to provide the same type of side dish or vegetable, you should alternate it in a few days and change the way it is cooked.

For example, if today the menu is fried chicken, two days later replace it with chicken soup.

The trick is to eat up the children's school supplies

Here are some strategies that you can apply so that your child's school supplies run out every day:

• Involve the child in planning a school lunch menu.
• Bring a school lunch menu for kids that is easy to eat.
• Decorate the lunch menu for children at school as interesting as possible.
• Combine the child's lunch menu with the food he likes.
• Make sure the child's lunch portion is right, aka not excessive and not insufficient.

Quite easy, isn't it, making various school lunch recipes for this child? Good luck and be creative at home!

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