School has resumed and parents are trying to come up with tantalizing alternatives to pack healthy snacks and lunches. Adults in the work world might also be looking for new ways to improve their snacks and bag lunches. A stroll around the Farmers Market last Saturday elicited fresh ideas.
Adults running out the door without breakfast can grab an individual portion of oatmeal to hydrate in a mug of boiling water after arriving at work.
For mid-morning snacks, fruit and nut or granola bars or trail mix might fill the bill. For something different, a piece of jerky or Hiram Farms energy bites will give a protein boost. Slices of cheese fill a tummy and strengthen bones. A bottle of goat milk yogurt is an option for a drinkable morning snack with an ice pack to keep it chilled or poured into a thermos to keep it safe as a lunch drink.
Apples are available as sturdy fruits. With those handy ice packs, chunks of melons or peaches in a container offer a soft fruit alternative for a few more weeks. If some blueberries are in the freezer, add a few of those for antioxidants.
Cherry tomatoes and slices of cucumber or squash with strips of bell pepper or carrot sticks add veggie vitamins. Tuck in a small container of Nona’s red sauce made entirely of great veggies for dipping. For variety, use salad dressing. Some just have to have some crunch so substitute kale chips or market tortilla chips for a packaged bag of chips and stay GMO free with a health bonus.
Try croissants or whole grain bread with cheese or pimento cheese for a small sandwich, the size kids like. A pair of sausage balls would be a different finger food or a handful of pecans or flavored cashews or peanuts provide protein and can be packed days ahead.
For an occasional piquant touch, tuck in something pickled like beets, eggs, pickles or veggies. To complete the meal, a couple of cookies will satisfy that sweet tooth while sneaking in some nutrition by selecting those made with oatmeal and dried fruit or peanuts and peanut butter.
Make lunch or snack preparation easier on a daily basis. Prewash all the lunch and snack fruits and vegetables over the weekend, slicing as needed, and leave them accessible in the refrigerator. Have a stash of reusable containers handy and save on all those plastic bags. Make the sandwich and portion out the other items the night before right after supper and tuck them in a front corner of the refrigerator ready to stack into the lunch bag in the morning. So remember the Coppell FM when you are thinking of healthy packed snacks and lunches.