Lunchtime SOS! Lunch ideas plus The Best Egg Salad EVER

Good morning, Joy Makin’ Mamas. Let’s have lunch. No, really, I want to talk about lunch!

It’s so easy to get into a rut here. I mean, if breakfast is “the most important meal of the day,” and dinner is the meal that brings your family together, that doesn’t leave a lot of time and energy for lunch ideas. Am I right? So let’s shake things up with a little Lunchbox Rescue! Today I want to talk about OUR lunch. You know, put on your own oxygen mask first? If you’ve got a fantastic kids’ lunch idea, send it to me– I’m working on a kids’ lunch post for next week!

Personally, I love, love, love me some egg salad. In fact, one time, when I was pregnant (this one time… at band camp…) I drove 30 minutes to my favorite lunch spot, picked up an egg salad sandwich to go, and drove 30 minutes back to work to eat it at my desk because I wanted that egg salad SO BADLY. Bad news: That place has gone out of business, or I’d tell you to stop in if you were ever in Ohio. Good news: This recipe is better! It DOES contain mayonnaise, so be sure if you pack this in a bag lunch to include some kind of cold pack to keep it from going south for the winter before lunch time. Food poisoning is not our friend!

Veg*an tip: Use a block of extra firm tofu (drain it first, then cube it) instead of eggs, and add a tablespoon of Dijon mustard to the dressing.

I do realize that you can’t eat even the very best egg salad in the world every single day! So, on to the roundup!

First, there’s a little technique I like to call “doctor, doctor!”

• Add a handful of washed baby spinach to your canned soup before you heat it. If you heat it as usual, the spinach will be just wilted, and delicious!
• Beat an egg and drop it into your hot soup and stir for a couple minutes. Seriously yummy comfort food!
• Beef up leftover spaghetti by stirring a beaten egg into it before you heat it up. Adds bulk and gives it more staying power.

Then, there is The Freezer Section.

• Make a batch of meatballs and freeze them, three to a freezer bag. Add sub rolls and shredded cheese! If you don’t want to freeze a whole batch, serve half for dinner and freeze the rest.
• Make a quiche or a frittata and freeze individual portions.
• Mary-Alice’s No Honey Honey Chicken is PERFECT to make and freeze in individual portions. But I warn you, freeze first or you will have none left.

And the Salad Bar!

I love salad for lunch, but I struggle with keeping a variety of fresh ingredients on hand that I will eat before they go bad. These are what I think of as “lifesaver” ingredients- they keep well but they really keep your salad from ever getting boring! (Have you seen those take and toss containers with a little container for the dressing that snap into the lid? LOVE IT.)

• dried, pitted dates
• craisins
• sunflower seeds
• sesame seeds
• frozen peas (I buy the small steamer packages so there are no extra dishes. If they are still around after two days, I throw them into something I’m fixing for dinner.)
• shredded red cabbage
• fresh herbs in pots- just snip and wash at salad time.

I may never be that zen mommy who sends in a special, handcrafted Bento Lunch with her kid every day, but I do try to change things up by including leftovers and novel snacks. I pin ideas to my Healthy Kid Food board! Your school may also be nut-free, which means the old stand-by of peanut butter and jelly is not an option. (Sunny Butter is delicious, however, and usually allowed!)

How about you? How do you keep things exciting at lunchtime? Have you got a favorite I can add to my Healthy Kid Food collection? Put it down there in the comments! I can’t wait to hear from you!

Join me on my Healthy Eating/Healthy Life pinboard for more great ideas for every meal of the day:
Follow Meghan Gray’s board Healthy Eating Healthy Life on Pinterest.