Back to School Lunch Ideas

I thought since we are at the Back To School Stage that the next few posts could be dedicated to finding new and interesting ways of packing your children's lunch.

Great Lunch Box Treat or After School Snack
Since Kabobs are favorites in my house (my 9 year old will eat anything on a stick) I thought I'd start with Chip Chicken Pops! I found this recipe at Allrecipes.com.
*After reading some of the reviews I suggest adding seasoning before you roll the chicken in chips.*

Chip Chicken Lollipops

PREP TIME	15 Min
COOK TIME	20 Min
READY IN	35 Min

Ingredients

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 cups crushed chips(any chip of your choice)
  
• lollipop sticks from a craft or party store

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet.
2. Crush potato chips onto a plate. In a large bowl, whisk together egg and milk. Dip the chicken cubes into the egg mixture, then coat well with chips. Spread the nuggets onto the baking sheet.
3. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn nuggets over, and bake for 10 minutes more, until golden brown. Remove baking sheet from oven, and insert a lollipop stick into each nugget.

To compliment your chicken I recommend a ranch or honey mustard dipping sauce.

Ranch Dipping Sauce

• 3/4 cup fat free plain yogurt
• 1/3 cup light or fat free mayonnaise
• 1 (1 ounce) package ranch dressing mix
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• (optional) 1/4 tsp of garlic salt

In a medium-size mixing bowl, blend yogurt, mayonnaise, and ranch dressing mix. Mix well with a wire whisk. Cover and refrigerate overnight for at least 6 hours. Sprinkle with parsley before serving. 

Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

• 1/4 cup light or fat free mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon prepared mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, honey, and lemon juice. Store covered in the refrigerator.

Lunch Box Suggestions

• Make ahead. Bake chicken the day before. You could also store a big batch of coated chicken in the freezer and bake it as needed.
• Make it lighter. Use baked instead of fried chips for the coating on the chicken. Choose low-fat and low-sodium options for the dip ingredients.
• Make it fun. Fill mini storage containers with the dips(s) you know your kids will love to eat.
• Make it safe. The lollipop sticks used in this recipe make for a fun presentation, but be sure your child is old enough to eat this dish safely if unsupervised.
• Make it safer. Freeze a small carton of milk, bottle of water or juice box to keep lunches nicely chilled until ready to eat.

My 9 year old loves the sports bottle, she brings it for snack every day to school. It doesn't leak and it saves on sandwich bags! To view these products and more please visit my site. These products are located under: Kids/Kids/Kids & On the Go.

Any questions? Please feel free to email me.