News & Features

Easy, on-the-go breakfast, lunch dishes

Brittney Dear, Editor|August 12, 2017

So, it’s time for school again. Students have their new clothes and books. They’re all ready to go, right?

Well, they may be forgetting about the most important thing of all: food. Sure, they can have a slimy, wet PB&J and some carrots and a bag of chips. But that’s not very fun. Students want to enjoy school, and they can’t enjoy it without fun food ideas.

It’s not as difficult as it may seem to meal prep. Some people despise it, but in reality, it’s a blessing. In order to make these fun meals, you probably should meal prep.

Let me begin with breakfast, because without a nutritious start to the day, it’s going to be pretty difficult to focus during school. Man, I sound like a mom.

Some people probably eat breakfast at home, but if they’re anything like me and have to get up at the crack of dawn for a sport, they don’t have time. Besides, when a student athlete finishes practice, it’s about 9 a.m., which is the time most people eat breakfast. So here are a few ideas for after-practice breakfasts that are easy to get together.

Smoothies

So far, my favorite to-go breakfast is a smoothie. I generally use the same recipe, which is:

¼ cup of frozen fruit (any kind)

1 whole banana (chop into pieces)

Approximately 5 ice cubes

2 tsp of Green Blend from Flora (multi-vitamins and a meal replacement)

½ cup of almond milk

It’s actually pretty tasty!

To make a smoothie for school, either make the smoothie at night or place all the ingredients in easy-to-reach places and toss them in the blender first thing in the morning (which is preferable). Prep/blend time is about five minutes.

Smoothies are a healthy way to keep your brain running until lunch.

For more smoothie recipes, visit https://greatist.com/eat/simple-smoothie-recipes

Breakfast sandwiches

You can easily freeze multiple sandwiches and just slip them into the microwave in the morning. I use the following ingredients:

2 pieces of bread, toasted (or you can use a tortilla for a burrito)

1 egg, scrambled

2 slices of cheddar cheese

2 slices of ham (or you can either use bacon or sausage)

It’s as simple as that. Make the sandwich like any other, set it in the microwave for about 20 seconds, then place it in the freezer overnight to heat up the next day. Or just make it in the morning. Prep/cook time is about 10 minutes.

For another breakfast sandwich recipe, visit http://www.callmepmc.com/boy-scout-campout-bacon-hash-brown-breakfast-sandwich/?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=pinterest&utm_medium=Paula%20%7C%20CallMePMc.com&utm_content=Boy%20Scout%20Campout%20Bacon%20Hash%20Brown%20Breakfast%20Sandwich

Overnight Oats

Just have some mason jars handy, a box of rolled oats, and the cook is good to go.

Here is a maple and cinnamon oatmeal recipe I found on Pinterest:

2 cups of rolled oats

1 tsp of vanilla extract

2 cups of milk (or almond milk)

3 tsp of brown sugar

¾ tsp of cinnamon

3 tsp of maple syrup

The recipes make two servings of overnight oats, so if you only wish to make one, just cut the servings in half.

So what you do now is add half the oats, vanilla extract and milk into one mason jar, and the other half into the other.

In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and maple syrup. Pour half of the mixture into one mason jar, and half into the other.

Then, just simply leave the oats in the fridge overnight and enjoy. No need to heat it up.

For additional overnight oat recipes, visit http://www.cookingclassy.com/overnight-oats-five-ways/

Moving on to lunch

I don’t eat a very hefty lunch, which means I don’t bring chips or cookies or anything that won’t fill me up for the rest of the day. So although my lunch isn’t incredibly big, it’s just enough carbs and protein. I used to bring snacks to school, but that led me to overeating.

I have a container with three sections, one big, and two smaller. In the big section, I have a variety of average-sized meals, such as chicken, pasta, fried rice and salads. In the smaller sections, I have either fruit or vegetables, and then something sweet like gummies, or sometimes rice crackers.

I understand, however, that cooking pasta for lunch may be difficult. It’s always key to remember meal prep.

Cold Pasta

I simply adore cold pasta. It’s so easy to cook and so yummy to eat. It’s also much better than a slimy sandwich, and the prep time is basically the same.

All the cook has to do is boil the pasta as the instructions say to, and then pull out the ingredients. I use bell peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms and mozzarella cheese.

Pour the cooked pasta into a bowl, add some chopped bell peppers, mushrooms, mozzarella, and a splash of olive oil. Add salt and pepper or other seasonings, if desired. Then mix the pasta, and store in the fridge overnight.

For more cold pasta recipes, visit http://www.countryliving.com/food-drinks/g2365/pasta-salad-recipes/

Fried Rice

Fried rice is fun and pretty simple to make.

All the cook has to do is prep the rice as the instructions say to, and pull out the ingredients. I like to use mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, scrambled eggs (cook separately) and cucumber, but the cook may use any ingredients they wish.

Add the cooked rice to a cooking pan, as well as the chopped ingredients, and turn the temperature to medium-high. Splash some soy sauce onto the rice in between stirs, and add butter and salt, if desired.

Stir for about eight minutes, until ingredients are neatly blended.Then pour the rice into a container, store in the fridge overnight, and heat it up if desired the next morning.

For more fried rice recipes, visit http://chefsavvy.com/the-best-fried-rice/

Salads

Everyone should know how to make a salad, but do they know how to make a good salad? I only make salads with the ingredients I have available, but that makes the combining more fun. Because of this, I don’t have an exact recipe, but I do have a list:

In order to make a salad, the cook must have:

A base (such as spinach or lettuce)

Something soft (such as cheese or olives)

Something crunchy (such as apple slices, croutons or broken chips)

Something unexpected (such as watermelon cubes or hummus)

Protein (such as quinoa, nuts or tofu)

Dressing (such as olive oil and vinegar or ranch)

Salad recipes: http://helloglow.co/no-fail-plan-how-to-make-the-perfect-salad/