One of the things I love about homeschooling is that we can be done (most days) with our book work by noon. But in order to accomplish that, I have to be 100% present with my kids during their school time. So no chores or distractions.
And while being done by noon is great, it’s not so great if I have a table full of hungry kids and nothing prepared to feed them. I can get away with leftovers on occasion, but not every day.
So what’s a busy homeschool mom to do?
The goal in our house is to KEEP IT SIMPLE!
Continue reading for simple and healthy lunch ideas to keep your homeschoolers well-fed with minimal fuss.
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Crockpot Ideas
The hardest part about using the crockpot for homeschool lunches is remembering to get things started in the mornings. No perfection here, y’all! But when I remember, it’s a great tool!
Soups: In the fall and winter, starting a soup or chili in the morning means a warm, healthy meal by noon. Some of our favorite soups are potato, taco, broccoli cheese, and vegetable beef.
Baked Potatoes: Yes, you can “bake” potatoes in your crockpot or instant pot. Simply pierce them with a fork and toss them in. For the crockpot, I put them on high for four hours. In the Instant Pot, I add a little water to the bottom of the pot and use a metal rack to lift the potatoes off the bottom. I cook them for approximately 20 minutes. The best part about potatoes is that you can top them with all sorts of goodies.
Rotisserie-Style Chicken: Did you know you can cook a whole chicken in your crockpot? I’ve done this for years. Simply thaw and rinse your chicken. (Don’t forget to remove the giblet packet.)
Place the chicken breast down, legs up into the pot. Sprinkle with your favorite seasonings–you could use rosemary and thyme, or lemon pepper, or a simple salt and pepper mix–and stuff the cavity with a chopped onion. Cook on high for four hours.
Sandwiches & Wraps
Sandwiches are the classic quick meal, but they don’t have to be boring. With a combination of different breads and fillings, the possibilities are endless.
Mix and match any combination of the following for endless possibilities:
- Wheat or White Bread
- Sourdough Bread
- Hawaiian Rolls
- Pita Bread (wheat or white)
- Tortilla Wraps (white, wheat, spinach, or gluten-free)
- Romain Lettuce Wraps
- English Muffins or Bagels
- Peanut Butter & Jelly
- Lean Ham or Turkey
- Chicken Salad
- Sliced or Shredded Cheese
- Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato
- Pepperoni
- Avocado
- Spinach
Picnic Plates
At least once a week, we serve what we refer to as Picnic Plates. Some may call them homemade lunchables. Either way, these are cold lunches made from a combination of protein, fruit, and veggies. Choose one from each column below for a balanced healthy lunch.
- String cheese
- Lunch meat
- Peanut butter
- Boiled egg
- Yogurt
- Nuts/Seeds
- Cubed cheese
- Leftover chicken (cubed)
- Sugar snap peas
- Broccoli
- Carrots
- Salad greens
- Grape tomatoes
- Avocado (sliced)
- Celery sticks
- Cucumbers
- Blueberries
- Strawberries
- Raspberries
- Applesauce
- Peaches
- Apple slices
- Oranges
- Grapes
For fun and variety, we may add any sort of cracker, pretzel, or grain-free chips along with dipping sauces like honey mustard, ranch, ketchup, or mustard. This is one of those healthy lunch ideas that you could mix and match to have a different meal every day of the week.
From the Freezer
While these aren’t the best healthy lunch ideas, these are items we keep in the freezer for days when we’re in a hurry and need something quick. For those days, we keep gluten-free chicken nuggets, gluten-free pizzas, and tater tots in the freezer.
The nuggets and pizza are self-explanatory, but did you know you can make a meal out of tater tots? We cook these in the air fryer until crispy and then top them with shredded cheese and bacon bits. We return the tots to the air fryer until the cheese is melted and then enjoy our occasional treat of loaded tots.
Put These Healthy Lunch Ideas Into Practice
Unfortunately, we homeschool moms can’t just snap our fingers and have a completely prepared meal. Every meal requires some sort of prep work. There are several ways to handle this. Here’s how we do it.
Plan ahead. A menu plan is a great tool for a busy homeschooling mama. Take half an hour now to plan out two weeks worth of meals, and you’ll save yourself a lot of frustration later on. The best part, you can rotate that two week menu for at least a couple months.
Prep the night before. Once upon a time, I was really good at this. I would make picnic plates, sandwiches, or wraps the night before. I’d put them in portable lunch containers so all the kids had to do was grab one out of the fridge at lunch time.
Serve buffet style. It only takes a few minutes to pull out a variety of items for kids to make their own lunches. Let them choose three or four healthy items to put on their plate.
Delegate. I used to assign children to prep lunches. As my girls have gotten older, they’ve voluntarily started helping prep lunch. It’s not uncommon to find one prepping lunch while everyone else finishes their lessons for the day.