I thought I’d gotten used to this. One’s a teen, and the other just turned two digits. I’ve been through this for years now. Unfortunately, it is still so hard. My throat’s filled with knots. Emotions, those emotions all over again, the anxiety of separation. I thought I’d figured it all out, and it would be different this time around. Boy, was I wrong.
Summer days were no different for our little Simba. Up at the at the crack of dawn and jump in with us in our bed. Fun to see the teen get annoyed at how his little brother woke him up. His exact words, ‘mom, why do you send him to wake me up, he has the most annoying wake up call’. The lazy delicious mornings filled with pancakes, banana bread or plain old butter toast to keep us going till lunch. All the written and typed out plans for the day was just that, written and typed. It at least felt good that we ticked off one, and that would be family time.
They go today to school today leaving me to crave for more.
The one hour before we all leave in the morning feels like a fast forward 10 minutes. So, I am a big advocate of prepping ahead and packing healthy meals. We all have to do what we can. All these meals can be made for dinner, and packed for the next with an addition of a few ingredients which makes the kids feel like they are eating something completely different. Here’s to a stress free Happy Healthy School year. All the best to all the kids.
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A warm pasta salad is always a good option for the kids. It tastes good cold, packed with veggies and what’s better is you can cook the pasta and leave it in the refrigerator the night before. Toss it with some veggies and tomatoes in the morning and it’s ready to go.
WARM PASTA SALAD WITH VEGETABLES
2 cups pasta cooked and drained. (drizzle some oil after it’s drained to keep the pasta from sticking)
1/2 cup green peas(frozen is great here)
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes cut to halves
1 sweet potato/yam/potatoes( diced to 1/2 inch pieces)
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp chili powder
salt
1/2 juice of lemon
2 tbsp chopped cilantro or parsley(optional)
You can refrigerate the cooked pasta.
Method:
In a non stick pan, add 2 tsp of olive oil, add fennel seeds once the oil gets hot. Let it brown for a bit and add the diced sweet potatoes, add the chili powder, and keep tossing to cook and roast well. Mid way into the cooking add the salt. Keep tossing and browning it.
Add the peas to the potatoes, the pasta, and toss well. Turn off the heat.
Add the cherry tomatoes and some chopped cilantro or parsely.
Squeeze some lemon juice and serve or pack for lunch.
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During school days, I always plan a bit ahead. I cook up a large batch of quinoa, make a lot of veggie cakes and keep them ready to be packed. These are exactly what I make for lunch. Versatile and easy. The vegetables cakes can be made with a little bit of cheese and would work good in burgers too.
TURNIP-POTATO PATTIES WITH QUINOA PILAF:
Turnip and Potato Cakes:
Turnip- 2 grated
Potato- 2 cooked and mashed
ginger- 1/2 grated
pepper -1/2 tsp freshly grated
salt
Oil to pan fry it
For the Qunioa Veg Pilaf
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin/jeera
1 cup very finely grated or chopped cauliflower
1/2 cup garbanzo beans
2 tbsp raisins/dried fruits or your choice
salt
Method:
!!For the Turnip and Potato Cake:
Keep a pan on medium heat. Add 2 tbsp of oil. Add the grated turnip and saute it till it cooks.
Add some grated ginger, boiled mashed potatoes, salt, pepper and mix very well.
Make it into patties and pan fry it till gets crispy on both sides with some oil. Keep aside.
You can form the patty the previous night and fry it the next day.
!Quino Pilaf
In a pan, add some oil and add the cumin/jeera and let it brown.
Add the cauliflower and saute to cook it. You can add a few tablespoons of water to help the cauliflower cook.
After it’s cooked, add the garbanzo beans, dried fruits, salt and the quinoa. Toss it well, add some crushed pepper if you want and serve with the patties.
You can drizzle some sriracha on top if the kids or you like some heat.
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Chillas or spicy pancakes were our after school snack. I loved it so much. It’s healthy, loaded with veggies and is an absolutely easy meal to pack for kids. You can use a bunch of grains to make this even more healthier. Make the batter in the night and cook up the pancakes in the morning. Put it in a box with some sauce on the side and you’ll see that they will bring their lunch box empty.
BESAN CHILLA- Chickpea flour Savory Pancakes:
Besan/Chickpea flour – 1 cup
Ajwain (Carom seeds) – ¼ teaspoon
Red chili powder – 1/2 teaspoon
Coriander powder – 1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder – ¼ teaspoon
Salt – to taste
Green chili – 1 small, chopped
Onion – ⅓ cup, finely chopped
Spinach – ¼ cup, finely chopped
Carrot – ¼ cup, grated
Cilantro/coriander leaves- 2 tbsp chopped
Yogurt – ¼ cup
Water – 1 ½ cups
Oil to pan fry
Method:
In a large bowl, add the besan/chickpea flour and all the other ingredients except the yogurt. Mix well to incorporate everything.
You can make this batter without the yogurt the night before and refrigerate it.
When you are ready to make the pancakes, add the yogurt and mix.
In a non stick pan, make small pancakes and cook with some oil.
Let it cook for few minutes on each side.
Take it out and serve with some green chutney or it’s good as it.
You can wrap these and they make perfect lunch.
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Anything rolled and wrapped are kids favorites. It’s easy to eat and mess free. The best thing, you can prepare the slaw the night before, mix the batter to fry up the fritter or even fry it the previous night and toast it before you wrap it. A balanced meal with a bit of indulgence, you will love and your kids will thank you.
TORTILLA STUFFED WITH ONION FRITTER CABBAGE SLAW:
For the Fritters:
Potato- Onion- Cauliflower(cut to thin strips)
For the batter:
1 cup chickpea flour
2 tbsp rice flour
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp roasted cumin powder
Water to mix everything.
Oil to shallow fry
Method:
In a bowl, add the flours and everything. Mix in water 1/4 cup at a time. Mix well,making sure there’s no lumps.
Add the vegetables and fry in oil and drain.
For the Slaw:
Shredded red cabbage- 1 cup
Grated carrots – 1 cup
dressing:
2 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp honey mustard
salt/pepper
3 tbsp oil
OPTIONAL: Coriander Yogurt Dressing.
Thick yogurt(not sour at all) – 3 tbsp
1/3 cup cilantro
1 green chilli
1 tsp sugar
salt
Grind everything and use sparingly.
Method:
Mix the dressing ingredients for the slaw and bottle it up.
In the morning mix the dressing with the slaw, don’t over drench the slaw.Use any tortilla you like and fill it with some fritters, slaw, add little yogurt dressing, wrap in some wax paper and aluminium wrap.
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Parathas are one of my favorite things to make for school. Wrap it in a wax paper or paper towel and than wrap in an aluminium wrap, this stays warm and easy to eat. They eat it like a pizza or a rolled tortilla. It always a hit when things are easy to eat and tastes amazing. Here’s a link to making these parathas without the stuffing ooozing out. You can stuff with anything of your choice. You can make the tortilla dough the previous night, the stuffing the night before and roll in the morning. It’s as simple as that.
BEET PARATHAS:
https://www.foodfashionparty.com/2015/06/beet-lifafaenvelope-paratha-with-apple-cilantro-chutney.html
Loved all of them, especially the Parathas and the Tortillas! Excellent ideas Ash, and yes, saving time, especially in the morning is crucial some days:)
Our best wishes for all the kids of the world who are starting school again these days!
Thank you for another wonderful post,
Panos and Mirella
xoxoxo
Oh boy I have to get on the ball. I’m getting ready but dragging my feed. Sad to see summer end! 🙁
The parathas sound awesome and I love the possibilities!
Really sad to see summer go. All the best for an awesome school year, tough but we’ll manage. xx
Asha – this is such a wonderful round up of lunch ideas for the kiddos! Heck, even I would LOVE any and all of these! Those patties I think are my favorite!
It’s never easy letting go – my daughter is in 11th grade this year – 2 more years and she’s off to college and ugh – I wish I had a remote control so I could have the next 2 years go by in slow-mo!
I’m so emotional every year as my kids keep getting older…I miss the old days when they were small a lot. The teen age years are getting tricky, and my oldest is almost as tall as me! I hope your boys have a great school year, Ash — I don’t see how they could with delicious lunches like these! I would love these for lunch too. 🙂
Asha, I love this article. I think as mothers we all relate to that feeling of summer ending and the sadness of that moment. Thanks for the beautiful and inspired ideas for feeding our tribe with love. You are a person who has such devotion and you feed others with that exquisite quality. My mom, gone 15 years was a person who I learned about devotion from and your stories remind me of her. Thanks for always feeding my soul.
Asha,
Thanks for a such a great post! Very helpful ideas for lunches with easy preparation. Yes, its sad to see the kids go to school. I have a teen dot in 10th grade this year and a 4.5 boy at pre-school!
I love each and every one of these suggestions! They are familiar yet different and so creative. The colors and flavors can’t be beat. I know it’s hard to say goodbye to the stress-free, flexible summer days, and the start of the school year always brings some anxiety. I know your kids will be thriving with all the love and good food you send them off with. Here’s to a great new school year for your boys! We start after Labor Day. : )
Great choices. My kids would eat any of these on a heart bit. Healthy, delicious and tasty…love them all.
I love each single one! They are not only delicious. also quite healthy.
We are starting school on Friday! These are great ideas!
Amazing recipes my friend. Delicious, healthy, and just awesome!
Best of luck to your kids on their first day of school 🙂
That tortilla wrap is so colorful with the green, the purple cabbage and orange fritters – I bet your kids have fun when they open their lunchbox. Growing up, we weren’t allowed to bring lunch. We had to eat at the school cafeteria and the nutrition was atrocious. And the veggie cakes and quinoa dish looks like a great healthy go-to meal for me. Who doesn’t like potato-y cakes? Pretty much potato anything. When you can make it sound healthy, that is a bonus!
xx Yasmin
http://banglesandbungalows.com
I really need to try my hand out with some chick pea flour! Love me those little nuggets of love 😉
Wow, so many delicious choices, Asha! I would have loved to take my lunch to school. The lunch served was so processed and junky, I mean, it’s amazing what school cafeterias serve to the children these days. Since my kids are now homeschooled, lunch is much more leisurely, which means we can make hearty meals many days of the week. I would love to try some of these ideas, especially your onion fritter tortilla.. My stomach is growling just looking at it! 😉
These all look wonderful! Thanks for these healthy but delicious recipes 😀 Best of luck to the kids going back to school!
I don’t have kids BUT I do need some good back to school recipes in my arsenal. THese look great!
I want this for lunch. All of it. 🙂 I think I’ll go back to school again just so I can feast on everything here! Really nice — thanks.
What an awesome post! Totally worth bookmarking! I am not used to the mornings with the first thought in my mind being what to pack for lunch! Loved your recipes!
Soma
You kids must have the most popular lunch boxes in the school! GREG
Haha..I’m just glad they don’t mind taking their lunch, better yet is they enjoy it a lot.:)
everything looks so delicious! YUM!
Totally agree with Greg!!
Mini Idlis on Insta look yumsville Ash!!
Thanks for your support my lovely friend. <3
Like the first plate 🙂
BLOG M&M FASHION BITES : http://mmfashionbites.blogspot.gr/
Maria V.
Asha you are so right! I totally relate with you when you say that all the lists & typed up tasks just remain that way but on weekends life moves at it’s own pace! Even though for now it’s just two of us but I can never stick to any of my plans on weekends!
Those beet paranthas are calling my name 🙂
Girl, when your have a little one, time just is all mixed up and confused. Now that they are back in school, I’m trying to get organized a bit. Let’s see how long that lasts.
You enjoy your couples time, it’s precious, it will be different and out of the world experience after the little ones.
Happy weekend doll.
xo
Forget the kids, imma make this for my lunch when I have to work!
My girls don’t age lunch anymore, hardly ever these days. It’s much cooler to leave school and go out to eat with friends, of course, it’s very expensive on my wallet.
Laith still takes lunch most of the week, and eats at school some days.
When it comes to lunch, all of them are fussy.
Since they don’t have much time, they don’t want a lot or anything time consuming. If I give him ½ a sandwich, a ¼ will still come back. Drives me nuts.
You are lucky to have kids that enjoy these lunches. I’d love them if I was still in school!!
I totally understand what you mean. They are so busy during lunch hours, my teen says he eats his lunch during free period. Your little one is still small, so good that he takes it. I pack almost everyday except on Fridays so that they get to hang out with their friends. These boys do enjoy it, for now. Hopefully they will for a while.
thanks my dear.
Enjoy your weekend.
xx