Back to school: 7 lunch & snack ideas for busy parents
You get your kids ready for school, pack their lunchboxes and (maybe) eat breakfast, all before rushing out the door. Packing your own healthy lunch? Yeah, that doesn’t happen.
Unfortunately, when you’re not armed with a healthy lunch and snacks, you’re more likely to make a rushed trip through a drive-through or grab whatever you can find in the office vending machine. At the end of the day, you’re either starving or low on energy due to a nutritionally void diet.
To keep yourself feeling and performing your best, start your morning with a good cup of Joe. Next, toss a few of these easy—and healthy!—meal and snack ideas into your own lunchbox. Little to zero prep is required.
1. First things first: Coffee
The aroma of fresh coffee can have a calming effect on everyone as they go through their morning routines. Just like life, good coffee is meant to be shared and savored with the ones you love. The secrets of a life well loved, shared over a good cup of coffee, can provide the wisdom needed to power through work, errands, school meetings and bedtime stories. For some, coffee is much more than a beverage.
Think about it. Some of life’s most important conversations are had over a cup of coffee, so make it good coffee. Eight O’Clock Coffee is sharable coffee that’s easy on your budget. Each Eight O’Clock cup has more than 150 years of experience behind it.
You can count on Eight O’Clock Coffee’s 100% Brazilian Breakfast to deliver a smooth, mild and less acidic cup of coffee, perfect for your first, second or last cup of the day. Some enjoy conversations over Eight O’Clock Coffee so much they developed coffee recipes that make sharing with friends even more interesting. It’s more than good coffee. It’s a bridge to meaningful relationships.
No time to brew coffee? Throw a couple of Eight O’Clock Coffee single-serve pods into your bag. Choose from the 100% Brazilian Breakfast blend, the robust French Roast or flavorful Hazelnut, among other varieties.
Don’t have access to a Keurig? Add Eight O’Clock Coffee grounds to your coffeemaker the night before. Add water in the morning, and in minutes you’re enjoying a smooth, mild, and delicious coffee.
2. Easy meatless Monday
You don’t have to be a vegetarian to enjoy a no-fuss meatless Monday. Tacos and burritos make great lunch options—you can stuff any number of things inside a tortilla and call it good.
Ingredient options include canned black beans, leftover rice or quinoa, diced potato, sweet potato and tomato, avocado and your favorite salsa. Here’s a recipe for sweet potato and black bean tacos that’s quick and easy to make.
3. When you’re out of ideas: Copy your kid’s lunch
While you’re making a turkey sandwich for your middle-school soccer star, make another one for yourself. Use lean turkey breast and as much dark leafy greens, sliced tomato and/or other vegetables as you can fit between two slices of wholegrain bread.
Pair it with veggies, a light dipping sauce and a serving of fruit. Toss in one of your kid’s string cheeses for a quick afternoon snack.
4. Midmeal staple: Simple salads
Salads are one of the easiest lunches you can make. Depending on the size and the ingredients, you can turn a bowl of leafy greens into a dainty side dish or a hearty main meal.
Meal prep is key to fitting salads into your busy life. Wash and dry a big batch of lettuce and/or spinach, chop extra vegetables and store in individual containers. For satisfying protein, choose tuna or chicken packets, drained canned tuna or precooked chicken strips. When lunchtime hits, all you have to do is assemble, drizzle some dressing and dig in!
5. The super-saver: Leftovers
Last night’s dinner becomes today’s lunch. Pair leftover baked salmon, grilled pork chops or whatever you had on the menu with a side salad and a small bunch of grapes. Soups and stews (easy to make in a crockpot) store easily in a Thermos.
6. Snack attack: Yogurt
When your energy level takes a nosedive, steer clear of the vending machines. Instead, choose light snacks with a balance of protein, carbs and fat. Ideas include sliced apple with nut butter, Greek yogurt with fresh berries, avocado toast, or hummus with carrots and zucchini.
Healthy snacks keep your blood sugar stable and give you sustained energy. Sugary drinks and snacks give you a short-term jolt followed by a crash—the opposite of what you want!
7. More time-saving tips
To cut down on the morning rush, pack lunch the night before. If you’re already packing lunchboxes for one or two kids, it won’t take much more time to add a third—yours.
Save even more time by getting everything you need at one supermarket. Publix offers a wide selection of fresh produce, deli meats, wholegrain bread and all the other ingredients you need for quick, healthy meals.
If you’re looking for organic, all-natural foods or foods that fit into a special diet, Publix has you covered. Better Choice shelf tags help you find more of want you want and avoid more of what you don’t. Publix also uses special icons for organic, at least 70 percent organic, locally sourced and gluten-free.
Stock up on the easy lunch staples above at your nearest Publix today!