These "mouth-healthy" lunches are easy to make and also child-approved! We chose recipes we know parents will like too, many of which can be made as "meal prep" options as well. We know the struggles of making lunches while balancing the challenges of getting the kids out the door for school. That is why we focused on lunches that are easy to put together, especially if there are multiple little mouths to feed!
We also want to highlight the importance of nutrition, which is what many name-brand companies miss as they aim for meal production. Each of these options are balances and healthy for your children. We love teaching parents the benefits that our food choices can have on their family's oral and overall health!
Here are four of our all-time favorite lunches on-the-go for both our patients! All of these are easy to makes and school lunch friendly.
You know you are from San Antonio when you love bean and cheese tacos and burritos! This central Texas classic is one of our family's favorite meals. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There is never a wrong time for these Tex-Mex staples.
We like to start with H-E-B Fresh Flour Tortillas or the H-E-B Mixla Tortillas. Even though you are packing these as lunches for the kids, we still recommend lightly heating up the tortillas in a pan. Then add the beans and cheese to your child's liking. We switch between Refried Pinto Beans and Whole Black Beans which helps our lunch selection fresh. The beans are seasoned H-E-B Taco Seasoning, but any seasons your family likes works too. Our cheese of choices is H-E-B's Mexican Style Shreds, however, you can always leave off the cheese to create a vegan option. These burritos can even be wrapped a papertowel, then foil and frozen in freezer bags for later meals too.
The rest of your child's burrito can be loaded with their favorite fillings! In our house our top choices are tomatoes, rices, corn, veggies, and lettuce! Sometimes we will add extra proteins like chicken or beef as well. Sauces are a great addition too, although we often put our salsas and guacamole on the side for the kids to add right before they eat! This keeps the tortilla from getting soggy in the meantime.
1 lb of Pasta of Choice
1 cup Parmesan
1/3 cup Olive Oil
1 Container Grape Tomatoes
6 tbs Lemon Juice
1 jar of Capers
Once your pasta of choice is done cooking, throw the other ingredients into the pot and stir. It is that simple! This is why we love this dish so much. Some of the items that we like to add to spice up our version of this dish are minced garlic, mushrooms, spinach, and fresh basil. Some members of our family even add chicken or fish to theirs as additional protein options.
This dish is an easy way to make every one in the family happy, even the picky eaters! This is a wonderful meal for school, trips, and vacations because it can be enjoyed cold too! In fact, I prefer it cold many times. This dish is one that often does from the dinner table to lunch boxes for the next day. Like the previous lunch idea, these bowls are also easy to freeze and enjoy at a later date.
We usually use full sized H-E-B Naan, although we sometimes cut it in half. Although, Stonefire now offers Mini Naan and Naan Dipper options that kids would love too! We then add a container with the sauce chosen by that child, usually Hill Country Farm Traditional Pizza Sauce or H-E-B Pesto. Then we also add a container of premeasured cheese to go on top, our family likes H-E-B Pizza Blend. Next add snack bags full of any additionally toppings the child might like. These might be mini pepperoni slices, mushroom bits, pineapple, sausage, or just more cheese.
These are a great school lunch options for kids to who like to interact with their food or like to "always be doing something." This gives them a healthy, fun way to be creative with their food. We hope your family loves this lunch option as much as ours does!
Mediterranean bowls are an easy way to get kids to eat a balanced and yummy meal! We know that kids can be picky eaters, so some of these items typical to Mediterranean food might not be your little one's favorite. However, a combination they do like might open opportunities for them to try new, similar options in the future. When we make these as lunches for our kids, we lean into the ingredients we know they do like and offer new options on the side with it.
We always start with a base of rice or quinoa and a protein option. Our children usually favor a simple grilled or baked chicken breast. However, some children may find that they like beef, tofu, or falafel as well. We then add hummus, tahini, or both on the side as the "sauces." We also add containers of toppings such as halved grape tomatoes, cucumbers, and feta cheese. For some children black olives, artichoke hearts, and red onions are good options as well. We love these bowls because you can make many different combinations with these same delicious, fresh ingredients.
At Medical Center Children's Dentistry, we love offering our patients' families mouth-healthy tips and recipes. As many of our patients' parents know, a healthy diet plays a huge role in your child’s oral health! Which means that lunches during the school year need to offer them healthy options as well. As our children are heading back-to-school, we want to be sure their parents have the best oral health resources available for them. This includes healthy lunches and snacks as well.
For more tips on healthy lunch recipes and back-to-school dental tips for your children, feel free to check some of Dr Casey's other Articles on oral health or contact us directly! Our staff is always available to answer questions from our patients' parents.
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