Open Egg Salad Sandwich

Ingredients:

2 diced hardboiled eggs
2 tablespoon of diced celery
2 tablespoon of diced onions
1 slice of crisp bacon
1 1/2 tablespoon of low fat mayonnaise
1 1/2 teaspoon of minced fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon of horseradish
2 slices of toasted Italian bread
2 lettuce leaves
1/2 tomato, cut in 1/4 wedges

Directions:

Mix together the eggs, celery, onions, bacon, mayonnaise, parsley, Dijon mustard and horseradish. Then, place on each of the toasted bread, 1 lettuce leave, 1/2 of the egg mixture and 1 tomato wedge. It makes 2 servings.

Zach’s Chicken and Swiss Mini Muffins

What You Need:

3/4 C shredded Swiss cheese
1/4 C shredded mozzarella cheese
1 3/4 C baking mix
1 C skim milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C chicken breast meat, cooked and chopped fine

How to Make It:

In a large mixing bowl mix together the two cheeses, the milk and the baking mix.
Be sure the baking mix is completely moistened.
Add the salt and chicken and mix well.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Spray the mini muffin tin cups with a non stick cooking spray.
Pour the batter into each muffin cup filling them 2/3 full.
Bake 10 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center come out clean.

These make a great appetizer for that special party.  Kids even like them for lunch or as an evening snack.

Bammin Ham and Cheese Muffins

What You Need:

3/4 C low fat Cheddar cheese
1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
1 3/4 C baking mix
1 C skim milk
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 C low fat ham, chopped fine

How to Make It:

In a large mixing bowl mix together the two cheeses, the milk and the baking mix.
Be sure the baking mix is completely moistened.
Add the pepper and ham and continue to mix until the pepper is mixed in well.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Spray the muffin tin cups with a non stick cooking spray.
Pour the batter into each muffin cup filling them 2/3 full.
Bake 12 minutes or until a golden brown on top,

These muffins are great for a quick lunch.  Add a salad or even a fruit and you have a lunch that’s fast, easy and really yummy.

Lunchables at Home

My kids like most, love sandwiches. It is a basic staple of lunch. We start with a sandwich and build it up from there. The only problem, everyone gets tired of the same old sandwiches for lunch after awhile. Here are some ideas for healthy and fun lunch fare.

My kids used to love those lunch snack packs you get at the grocery store. They had sandwiches, drinks, and a snack. Some have pizzas that you could build in place of a sandwich, a drink and snack. After a while, they got expensive, not to mention unhealthy.

Kids like variety and so do adults. Let’s give them variety without breaking the bank and adding extra calories, by making Lunchables at home. We’ll start with the sandwich first, since it’s the main course of these types of lunches.

Sandwiches can come in many shapes and sizes. If crusts are not your thing, take a sharp knife and cut the bread into a cube. It isn’t necessary to pay extra to buy bread that has the crusts already removed.

The bread you choose doesn’t have to be traditional sandwich bread at all. Pitas, hoagie rolls, buns, and tortilla wraps make excellent sandwich packaging. It all depends on what kind of sandwich you are making.

For kids, messes are a regular occurrence. To avoid them at lunch, use a sandwich sealer. It is a round tool that will seal the edges of a sandwich once you make it. Use it for peanut butter and jelly, cheese sandwiches, ham, turkey, bologna, and the like. Cookie cutters can turn a regular sandwich into stars, moons, balls, and other fun shapes to keep kids interested and looking forward to lunch each and every day.

Since you are making the sandwich at home, you can use light or fat free condiments and meats to make them healthier. When you can, use slices of chicken and beef left over from dinner meals. A slice of chicken breast or a piece of roast has fewer preservatives than the lunchmeat found in the grocery store, not to mention it’s nicer on the wallet too.

Most prepackaged lunches come with drinks and homemade ones should too. Most come with soda or another sugary drink that is not healthy for anyone. Choose twelve ounce water bottles and drink crystal sticks instead. These offer no calories but lots of taste. Fruit juice is okay if it is only eight ounces and 100 percent juice.

Snacks in the lunch meal are simple so there’s no need to go all out in this department at home either. Give the kids pieces of celery, some peanut butter, and some raisins. Let them make their own dessert creations. Raisins are naturally sweet. Even a cup of flavored yogurt or plain yogurt with granola makes a filling dessert with the right amount of sweetness.

Lunch made at home doesn’t have to be boring. You actually have more choices than you are given with store-bought products for kids and adults alike.

Money Saving Lunch Ideas for Frugal Families

Breakfast may be the most important meal of the day, but lunch is what gets you through until dinner time. The price of school lunches rises each year and it is hard for some parents to keep up. This is besides the fact that many lunch menus, not just in schools either, are not as nutritious as they could be. Here are some money saving lunch ideas for frugal families.

1. Take your lunch. This goes for parents as well as kids. We are tempted to eat out with the group everyday, too. That adds up after awhile. Those cute insulated lunch bags make it easier to carry hot and cold items. We can throw even throw out the brown bags in favor of reusable options which are more environmentally friendly. When you pack your own lunch, you know what is in it so it is easier to avoid a lot of unhealthy fats and junk food.

2. Make a sandwich. I’m not talking about just any sandwich. This can be a wrap, pita, crust less bread, or bun sandwich. Varying the bread each day will help you decide what ingredients to put on it. You may want turkey with alfalfa sprouts, tomato, and onion on a pita or chicken strips with barbecue sauce, lettuce, and shredded cheese in a tortilla wrap. Many kids like bread without crust for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. This makes lunch fun and your kids are more likely to eat it if they have a creative variety. Invest in single packs of condiments. They can be used in lunches as opposed to putting them on the sandwich and saturating the bread before lunchtime rolls around.

3. Bottled water and drink crystals. Water has never been the same since they came out with those handy packs of flavorings. You can find them everywhere. Best of all they have five calories or less. You can turn a bottle of water into a drink that is better than soda. Kids love them too.

4. Dessert courtesy of home. Stop! Put down that candy bar and walk away from the vending machine. Instead, choose a better option. Homemade granola can be shaped into bars and used as an after lunch snack. How about dried fruit pieces? They are sweeter than candy bars and won’t spike your blood sugar. It’s okay to have a naughty treat every now and then, but even at those times you can choose a healthier option than chips or candy. Make a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies and pack a few in your lunch.

5. Ice packs. These nifty items will keep lunch from spoiling. The perfect complement to an insulated bag, they allow you to take yogurt or a sandwich with meat and not have to worry about it getting warm before it’s time to eat.

6. Veggie sticks. Eat them with your sandwich and add some Ranch dressing for dipping.

Lunch doesn’t have to come from the school cafeteria or the fast food joint around the corner to be good. Coming from home, it can be healthier, taste better and cost less.  Now that’s a combination you can’t beat.

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