Plan for each week
- Buy fresh fruit, vegetables and juices as ingredients for the week’s lunches and lunch boxes.
- Prepare the dishes that can be frozen during weekends when you have more time to bake. Let the children help to bake the muffins or biscuits on Sunday night.
- Buy enough cool drink bottles and freeze five juices for the next week.
- Buy whole wheat bread for the sandwiches.
Monday (lunch idea)
Chicken burgers in pita bread
Serves 4
The crumbled chicken pieces are quick to prepare and are delicious on sandwiches, burgers or in pitas and tortillas.
- 2 chicken breasts, skin removed
- 125 ml (½ c) cake flour, flavoured with salt
- 125 ml (½ c) fresh bread crumbs (use whole wheat bread)
- 60 ml (¼ c) grated Parmesan
- 2 eggs, gently whisked in a small bowl
- 4 prepared pita bread, heated according to the manufacturer’s directions
- 125 ml (½ c) frozen sweet corn kernels, defrosted
- A hand-full of cherry tomatoes, halved
- Salad or herb leaves for serving
- A scoop of mayonnaise for each pita
1 Halve the chicken breasts. You must have 4 identical, thin fillets. Place each fillet between two pieces of cling wrap and flatten with a rolling pin.
2 Place the cake flour in a bowl and mix the crumbs and cheese in another bowl.
3 Dip each fillet into the egg, let the excess egg run off, then dip it into the cake flour and roll it in the crumbs.
4 The fillets can be frozen in separate freezer bags, or fried immediately in a pan with a little olive oil.
5 Fry over moderate heat to prevent the crumbs from burning before the chicken is cooked.
6 Cut each fillet in half and “build” the pita bread: Cut each pita bread in half and place half a fillet in each half, followed by tomatoes and salad leaves and herbs.
7 Finally, insert a scoop of mayonnaise in each half.
Tuesday (lunch idea)
Quick soup with cheese wedges
Serves 4
- 3 x 220 g cans of baked beans in tomato sauce
- 30 ml (2 tbsp.) olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 250 g (1 packet) bacon, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves
- 300 ml chicken stock
- 1 x 400 g canned tomatoes, chopped
- 30 ml (2 tbsp.) Worcestershire sauce
Cheese wedges
- 3 medium potatoes
- 30 ml (2 tbsp.) olive oil
- 5 ml (1 t) paprika
- 100 g (1 c) grated cheddar cheese
1 Preheat the oven to 190 ºC.
2 Prepare the cheese wedges first: Cut each potato into 6 wedges. Mix the oil and paprika in a bowl. Add the potatoes and mix well. Bake the wedges for 35 mins on a baking sheet.
3 Pour half the beans in a food processor and purée.
4 Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onion and bacon and sauté for 5 mins. Stir regularly. Add the garlic and sauté for another 2 mins.
5 Add the pureed beans, whole beans, stock, tomatoes and Worcestershire sauce, mix well and bring to a boil. Lower the temperature and simmer for 20 mins. Stir the soup constantly.
6 Sprinkle the cheese over the potato wedges and bake for another 5 mins. Serve with the soup.
Wednesday (snack idea)
Dried fruit and nut cookies
Makes 12 stars and 12 balls
This mixture is unique because it can be eaten raw or cooked. It’s packed with fibre and energy and is the ideal snack for school. We doubled the mixture and baked one half in star forms and made balls rolled in desiccated coconut. The cookies last for about a week, but the balls must be eaten within two days.
- 200 g (1½ c) nuts like almonds, pecan nuts, hazelnuts and walnuts
- 100 g of dried fruit (we used 30 g (2 tbsp.) sultanas, plums, 2 dried mango-rolls and 3 apricots, but you can choose your own)
- 15 ml (1 tbsp.) pumpkin seeds
- 80 g (1 c) coconut
- 90 ml (6 tbsp.) of milk
- 15-30 ml (1 – 2 tbsp.) sunflower seed
- 30 ml (2 tbsp.) brown sugar
1 Preheat the oven to 180 ºC.
2 Chop the nuts, fruit, pumpkin seeds and coconut in a food processor. Add the milk a little bit until it forms a dough.
3 Spoon heaps of dough on a baking sheet and squeeze flat with a spoon to form a 5cm circle (we used a star cookie cutter) and sprinkle with the sunflower seed.
4 Bake for 15 min. or until golden. Leave for 5 min. Cool on the baking sheet. Store in an airtight container.
Thursday (lunch idea)
Home-made burgers
Enough for 8 meatballs
Prepare the meatballs over the weekend and freeze in separate freezer bags so you can cook only one at a time for lunch or for a lunch box. Defrost overnight in the fridge for the next day.
Meatballs
- 500 g ground lean mince
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 slice of white bread, crumbled
- 60 ml (¼ c) full-cream Greek yogurt
- 10 ml (2 tbsp.) Worcestershire sauce
- salt and ground black pepper
- 15 ml (1 tbsp.) olive oil
Bread
- Tasty hamburger rolls (you can also use brown rolls)
- lettuce
- tomato sauce
1 Mix the mince, onion, white bread, yogurt and Worcestershire sauce and season with salt and pepper.
2 Scoop with a ½ c measuring cup and form hamburger meatballs.
3 Place each meat ball in an individual bag and write the date on it. Freeze until required. Defrost and fry in a pan with a little olive oil until cooked. Put a meatball, lettuce and tomato sauce on each sandwich.
Other ideas with hamburgers
- Add 1/3c of sweet corn or peas to the meat mixture.
- Roast strips of rindless bacon and serve with the meat ball and salad on the burger.
- Pack a variety of items such as sliced tomato, cucumber, cheese and pineapple so that the children can build their own burgers.
- Ready-made sauces like hummus and tzatziki is delicious on burgers if your children like the taste.
Friday (snack idea)
Ham, cheese and pineapple wheels
Enough for 10 wheels
This is also a nice lunch box idea and can be kept in the fridge for about three days. The children can help to prepare and bake them.
- 875 ml (3½ c) cake flour
- 17.5 ml (3½ tbsp.) baking powder
- 2.5 ml (½ t) salt
- 180 ml (¾ c) buttermilk
- 180 ml (¾ c) milk
- 300 g picnic or sandwich ham, cut into strips
- 1 x 450 g can of pineapple pieces
- 250 ml (1c) grated cheddar cheese
- 1 egg, gently whisked
1 Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2 Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl, and make a hole in the middle.
3 Mix the buttermilk and milk and add it slowly to the flour mixture wile stirring. Mix until a soft dough forms.
4 Knead the dough on a flour-coated work surface until soft and elastic and roll out into a square of about 20 x 40cm.
5 Pack the ham, cheese and pineapple pieces on the dough.
6 Roll the dough into a long sausage and cut 10 wheels from the dough roll.
7 Pack on a baking sheet, sprinkle with whisked egg and bake for 25 minutes until golden brown and cooked. Serve warm.
Smart idea
Prepare the recipe for the chicken and beef burgers, but freeze the meat balls individually. It will save you time during the next weeks.
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