Back-to-school Ideas!

Lunch box essentials

Always keep a supply of

• Fruit and vegetable juices, bottled water
• Canned fruit, dried fruit
• Cereal bars
• Walnuts, peanuts, almonds…
• Cheeses
• Crackers and rusks
• Irresistible vacuum-packed, sliced cold cuts
• Irresistible bean salads and soups
• Pasta and rice

Variety is the key when it comes to dairy products! Try new cheeses (brie, goat, cream cheese), alternate with different flavours of yogurt and don't forget the milk!

Vegetables are important and should always be easily accessible: wash, cut and store them in plastic containers as soon as you get home from the supermarket. Packing the lunch box will be a breeze when your fridge is already stocked with:

• Carrots
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Snow peas
• Celery sticks
• Green, yellow, red peppers
• All you'll have left to do is pack them in single-portion baggies or plastic containers.
  

Hummus or yogurt dip always make veggies an even bigger treat! Prepared portions of fruits (apple, berries, clementine, banana, plum, peach, green or red grapes) add the perfect finishing touch!


When you cook, make sure there's enough for leftovers! Freeze them in single-portion containers and don't forget to indicate the date. Plan ahead and make batches of banana muffins, bran and strawberry muffins or pumpkin and chocolate chip cookies  that can also be frozen in single-serving portions.

Add a few mid-morning or mid-afternoon snacks to the lunchbox:

• Nuts or dried fruit
• Granola bars
• Fresh fruit
• Crackers or rusks
• Pieces of cheese
• Fresh grapes
• Sticks of celery
• Snow peas

Make sure to include a few colourful accessories (napkins, straws, containers)! Your kids will love them and their lunches will of course taste so much better…

Be mindful of allergies, even if your children don't have any, their friends might. Children are generous and love to share their lunches with their buddies. Inform your children and be particularly careful about packing products containing peanuts and other nuts, eggs, or seafood.

Finally, it's time for lunch!
As long as you keep in mind that a well-balanced meal should include each food group and that the mid-day meal should meet one third of daily nutritional needs, you won't have any trouble filling the lunch box.

Between all the different stuffings (tuna, salmon, ham, turkey, chicken, cheese, eggs…) and all the different breads (crusty baguette, Kaiser bun, pita pocket, tortilla, sliced bread…), with a little imagination, you can create a new sandwich every day!

The same applies when it comes to fresh salads (romaine, iceberg, mesclun, curly lettuce, Boston…), aromatic herbs (coriander, basil, thyme, chives, dill…), vegetables (cucumber, tomato, radish, corn, green onion, red onion, peppers…) and protein (tuna, salmon, trout, shrimp, chicken, ham, prosciutto, egg…). Don't hesitate to add sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, or pumpkin seeds. Pasta salads also offer a world of possibilities and combinations!

In addition to the leftovers you've already carefully frozen in single-portion containers such as lasagna, Sheppard's pie or beef and vegetable stew, there are many other leftovers that are great in a lunchbox. For instance, leftover fish can make a wonderful sandwich or salad the next day, leftover chicken is easy to stuff into a pita pocket or add to cooked Chinese noodles, leftover roasted or braised beef makes a great burrito!

And when you are too busy, Selection Merite is there for you with great lunchbox fare including many favourites like Irresistible no-crust quiches, succulent Sheppard's pie and traditional tourtière. So you see, there is no reason why every lunchbox you prepare can't be a wonderful surprise!


Don't forget dessert! Fruit salads, either ready-made or your own, fruit compotes and the like can be made even more interesting when you add a little bag of raisins or walnuts. Banana muffins or gingerbread also make a delicious dessert!

Dig in!

Metro.ca is your loyal lunchbox-planning partner. Between the weekly menu, your recipe book, our weekly flyer, and your own imagination, you will be able to plan your lunch boxes for weeks and weeks to come, and then just rotate the menus!

Use your grocery list to prepare your METRO shopping trips. You'll save time and, when you get home, you'll have everything you need.

Go to the Art of Living section and check our Littlest Gourmet articles for more lunchbox ideas that really rock!