Now that the kids are in school, it’s time to focus on your own lunches! Maybe you can use some time while they are in school to plan or prep a few things so that you can make some healthy, tasty lunches for yourself. If you are a working parent, you can even try some of the ideas below for packing yourself a healthy lunch.

The prep is easy and minimal, but it will provide a ton of options for you to vary up the flavours so that your lunch time is kept exciting and refreshing!

Chicken

Start by cooking some plain or seasoned chicken breasts. I love to cook mine in the instant pot because they cook so fast (8-10 mins for fresh and 10-12 for frozen chicken breasts), but you can easily cook them in the oven or fry them in a pan to give them extra flavour.

I love eating chicken. I especially love pulled chicken (mostly because it makes me feel like I am eating pulled pork, which is one of my favourite things to eat!) Pulled or shredded chicken is great because it is so versatile. I can add some taco seasoning to it and wrap it up in a tortilla with some cut up pepper and shredded cheese. If you are eating at home, you can fancy it up by baking it for a couple minutes in the air fryer or in the oven. Shredded chicken is great with some BBQ sauce in a sandwich. It’s even great just added onto a salad. If you dice it instead of shred it, it’s easy to add to a quinoa salad or pasta salad. You can even mix some diced chicken with some avocado and corn as a tasty light version of a salad. Add some diced or shredded chicken to a grilled cheese sandwich for a protein boost. You can even add some shredded or diced chicken to some chicken broth and some frozen veg, boil it up, and you have an easy, delicious soup! You can always add some seasonings and pasta to give it a bit more flavour or filler.

Eggs

Next, hard boil some eggs. I love to hard boil my eggs in the instant pot. It takes just 5 minutes after coming to pressure. Hard boiled eggs can last up to 7 days in the fridge. If you don’t like only eating egg salad sandwiches, slice them onto a salad instead. You can also add some sliced hard boiled egg to ramen or soup. Slice up the egg, add some fancy cheese, and have it on crackers.

Bacon

Next, cook up some bacon. I love making my bacon in the oven! Set it to 375 F, lay it on a foil lined baking sheet and bake for 18-20 mins flipping halfway (or until your crispiness desires are reached!) Bacon is easy to add to all sorts of meals as a big flavour boost. You don’t need much of it either, which is great to make the bacon last all week. Add some crumbled bacon to salads, wraps, or even mixed into an egg salad sandwich. Keep slices of bacon for sub sandwiches or use some larger chunks of bacon on crackers or even on pizza.

Rice or quinoa

Cook some rice or quinoa. Using some rice or quinoa as an add in for a salad can make it more satisfying, keep you feeling full longer, and add a great protein boost if you use the quinoa.

Veggies

Lastly, cut up some veg that you can add to any of the above ideas. I love having some diced peppers for easy add ins for salads, wraps, quesadillas, or even pizza toppings. I love washing and cutting up lettuce and spinach for quick throw together salads. Prepping some raw broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots are also great additions for salads and wraps. I have also been enjoying adding in some grape or cherry tomatoes recently, too! They are also great cut in half with a slice of avocado on crackers!

If you think about all these main ingredients (chicken, eggs, bacon, rice or quinoa and veggies), there are really endless combinations of meals you can come up with. Add your favourite seasonings, sauces, or even salad dressings for some added flavour.

If you plan your time right and have enough appliances, you can actually cook all of the above at once! I love cooking the bacon in the oven – way easier to clean up, and the bacon stays in nice flat strips. I love cooking my chicken and eggs in the instant pot. I use the stove or my rice cooker for the rice or quinoa. The veggies I can wash and cut while the other things are cooking. All told, in about 30 mins, you could have a bunch of stuff prepped for you to make yourself easy and healthy meals all week! Once it comes time for lunch, it will be way easier to throw something together at home in just a few minutes rather than hit up that drive-thru.

Most of these meal ideas my kids resist eating, so I enjoy being able to make lunches my way when they go back to school.

I hope I have inspired some new meal ideas for you to try this September! Especially if you are able to enjoy some time to yourself now that the kids are in school!

Thanks for coming home!