Category Archives: Budget Environmentalism

Cucumber Pita Sandwich – Cheap Packed School Lunch Idea

Pita bread is fun to use for school lunches. Kids love the pocket. These can also be made on regular bread.

1 piece pita bread, sliced in half and opened
2 tablespoons hummus
6 slices cucumber
2 tablespoons alfalfa sprouts
1 tomato, sliced
handful spinach leaves
1 ounce pepperoncini, sliced (optional, will your kid eat them? Pickles may be an alternative.)
1/2 avocado, sliced

Spread hummus on each side of the pita. Arrange vegetables in the sandwich. If serving immediately, oil and vinegar or a vinaigrette salad dressing may go well, but can make the sandwich too wet to package as a school lunch.

Recipe Books You May Enjoy

Healthy Eating for Kids
Lunch Boxes and Snacks
The Just Bento Cookbook: Everyday Lunches to Go

Couscous, Cranberry, and Feta Salad – Cheap Packed School Lunch Idea

Two of my three kids aren’t that much into couscous, but the one who likes it, really, really likes it. Couscous tastes fine when eaten cold in most recipes, in my opinion.

1 package couscous
1/3 cup dried cranberries
2 teaspoons balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing, or to taste
1/2 cucumber, diced
1/2 cup toasted pecans
2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
salt to taste

Prepare couscous according to package directions. Add cranberries. Fluff couscous with a fork and add balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing. Add cucumber, pecans, feta cheese and salt.

Recipe Books You May Enjoy

Healthy Eating for Kids
Lunch Boxes and Snacks
The Just Bento Cookbook: Everyday Lunches to Go

Grilled Chicken Salad – Cheap Packed School Lunch Idea

Salads are great to send for school lunches. You can switch the vegetables around easily to whatever your child is likely to eat. If you want to add salad dressing, it’s best to have that off to the side if you have a small container your child can manage to open without spilling everywhere.

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, grilled and sliced
8 cups lettuce, torn (Spinach or romaine are good, not all kids will eat them. Iceberg lettuce may be safer.)
2 peeled, segmented and chopped oranges
1 sliced cucumber
1 sliced red bell pepper
1 sliced carrot

Combine all ingredients in salad bowl. Separate into lunch servings for each child or day.

Recipe Books You May Enjoy

Healthy Eating for Kids
Lunch Boxes and Snacks
The Just Bento Cookbook: Everyday Lunches to Go

Mess Around With the Basic Sandwich – Cheap Packed School Lunch Idea

Your basic sandwich can be a very affordable school lunch idea, but they get boring quickly. It’s important to switch things around so your kids don’t get too tired of eating the same thing over and over again.

This doesn’t have to be difficult. Something as simple as switching from your usual bread to pita bread, a bagel, or wrapping the ingredients in a tortilla changes things a lot.

You can also change the cheese. Don’t just stick to cheddar or American cheese. Mozzarella or provolone can work well, some kids love Swiss cheese, even a sprinkling of feta if the other ingredients will hold it in well enough will work.

You can go outside the usual ingredients too. It doesn’t have to all be lunch meat, cheese, lettuce and tomato, or peanut butter and jelly. Think about all the options you get at sandwich shops such as Subway and have a little more fun making sandwiches while keeping the price reasonable.

If your kids are old enough and the ingredients aren’t too hard to manage, you can even keep the bread and other ingredients separate to ensure that the bread doesn’t get soggy before lunch. This can make a big difference in how the sandwich tastes.

The most important thing is to not get stuck completely in a rut with your child’s lunches. Little switches make a big difference.

Recipe Books You May Enjoy

Healthy Eating for Kids
Lunch Boxes and Snacks
The Just Bento Cookbook: Everyday Lunches to Go

Pasta Salad – Cheap Packed School Lunch Idea

The nice thing about sending your child to school with a pasta salad is that you can have the vegetables and main dish in one. I’ll share a basic pasta salad recipe here, but it can be easily changed to suit what’s available to you at the time.

Basic Pasta Salad

1 package pasta, prepared according to package directions
3/4 cup Italian salad dressing
1 cup broccoli florets, lightly steamed
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1/4 cup sliced black or green olives
1/4 to 1/2 cup preferred cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, feta, etc.)

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Stir to combine and coat with the salad dressing.

You can switch out most of the ingredients as you like. Go for favorite vegetables when you can, and be sure you don’t overcook them. Nuts may work for some extra protein.

This recipe makes a good number of servings, so can be used for several lunches or as a part of dinner with leftovers for lunches.

Recipe Books You May Enjoy

Healthy Eating for Kids
Lunch Boxes and Snacks
The Just Bento Cookbook: Everyday Lunches to Go