Preschool/Elementary School Lunch Challenge - $1.30

The first of 3 school lunch challenges.



This challenge was probably the easiest. Small kids are easy. They like simple stuff, they don't like their food to touch, and the get excited easily.The only difficult part is they can be very picky.



The way to get around small picky eaters is to make it as fun and colorful as possible. Invest in some cookie cutters and colorful silicon muffin cups. If you don't want to do that, get some paper muffin liners and get creative with your knife skills. Pack all this in one of those plastic ziploc containers. The sandwich size works well. Your kids will be impressed and motivated to eat when they see a colorful box full of fun shapes in front of them.



So here is the breakdown on what's in my preschool lunch. Prices are what I pay in my area and they may be different in your area:



1/2 an apple cut into shapes ( save the scraps for Apple Oatmeal Bars) - 25¢

6 baby carrots cut in half - 12¢

2 thick slices of lean ham ( you can also use turkey or chicken at the same price) - 30¢

1 slice of American cheese - 12¢

 4 Saltine crackers ( I also use pretzels or whole wheat crackers for the same price) - 3 -5¢

 "Ranch" Dip - 20¢

     2T reduced fat sour cream + 1 T lite mayo + 1/4 t. each pepper, dill, basil, garlic powder, onion powder

           and salt.



You can tack on another 12¢ if you want to add a cup of juice in a cup. Don't buy the juice boxes, buy the juice concentrate in a can and make it yourself.



Here are a few tips on how to get this all together cheaply and quickly: Make your lunches the night before, don't over look store brands, make larger quantities of things to last all week ( like the dip).

Stay tuned for Middle school lunches next!

All this is really interchangeable. You could do PB&J instead of ham, broccoli instead of carrots, strawberries instead of apples. Hummus instead of ranch dip. Whole wheat noodles instead of crackers. Remember to use produce that is in season. Also remember to get something from each food group.