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Easy School Lunch Ideas – Healthy Options For Picky Eaters!

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Do you rack your brain trying to make lunches your kids will eat? These 15 cheap and easy school lunch ideas will save you lots of money and time while satisfying your picky eaters!

Do you rack your brain trying to make lunches your kids will eat? These 15 cheap and easy school lunch ideas will save you lots of money and time while satisfying your picky eaters!

Easy School Lunch Ideas

It’s that wonderful time of year that lightens your heart and fills your soul with peace & tranquility. No, I’m not talking about Christmas! I’m talking about school starting!! Yes! Yes! Yes! It’s a bitter-sweet time for most moms. Bitter because you’re back to hectic mornings, finding everyone’s books and papers and trying to get them out of the door on time… because you now have 180 lunches to make over the next nine months if you have one child and 720 if you have four — But hey, who’s counting?

It is sweet because the peaceful quiet that penetrates the house is like gentle music to your ears and you can take a lovely relaxing bubble bath without what sounds like the whole US army trying to break down the bathroom door. Well, now that I think about it, I haven’t known many moms that had the luxury of a bubble bath in the middle of the day but I can dream, can’t I?

I can’t help you find time for that bubble bath but maybe I can help you with those 720 lunches by sharing some healthy and easy school lunch ideas.

Here are some easy school lunch ideas and snack ideas that will satisfy all of your picky eaters:

School lunches don’t have to have exotic ingredients to be healthy, so don’t overthink it! A well balanced lunch including some protein, fruit and veggies and carbohydrates is healthy and kids need a lot of energy throughout the day.

  • To keep drinks cold in lunch boxes, pour a small amount in the bottom of the container (not glass) and then set the cap loosely on top. Put it in the freezer overnight. The next day fill with the rest of the drink. The ice should slowly melt all day long, keeping the beverage cool.
  • Have the kids pre-package chips and cookies in baggies on the weekends. Store in a basket. Grab one as needed for lunches. This is one of the school lunch ideas that will save you the most money.
  • Make a large batch of puddings and gelatins on the weekends. Pour into individual containers and refrigerate.
  • Save the ketchup and mustard packets and napkins you don’t use from the fast food restaurants. Use them in lunch boxes.
  • Puddings – sprinkle with marshmallows, coconut, nuts, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips or peanut butter chips (for chocolate pudding) or berries (in vanilla pudding)

Here is a recipe for easy homemade granola bars you can use to save money on an easy lunch filler!

You will also find more easy school lunch ideas below in this post and in our post 50 Breakfast and Snack Ideas for Picky Eaters.

This easy granola bars recipe makes homemade healthy granola bars everyone will love! They're perfect for breakfasts, snacks or packed lunches!

[tasty-recipe id=”46400″]

If you like these easy school lunch ideas, check out our Dining On A Dime Cookbooks, which are filled with quick and easy recipes to make your life easier!

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Save money on school lunches or any time the kids need to pack a lunch! Use these easy tips for preparing school lunches for the week in 30 minutes on the weekend.

Do you rack your brain trying to make lunches your kids will eat? These 15 cheap and easy school lunch ideas will save you lots of money and time while satisfying your picky eaters!

Save $600 on school lunches this year!

These days in America, it seems that everyone is so busy that preparing school lunches is liable to push a typical mom right over the edge. When you have to choose between making school lunches or spending that extra 15 minutes in bed, it seems like buying ready-made school lunches at the store is a no-brainer, but your budget doesn’t agree.

The average mom packs $3.00 worth of pre-packaged goodies into each school lunch she sends to school with her kids. (That works out to $1080 for 2 kids.) What mother hasn’t wondered if those lunches are even getting eaten and if there’s an easier way to save money on school lunches?

Try these easy school lunch ideas and tips for things you can do in 30 minutes or less on the weekend to save money on school lunches and make preparation a snap!

Easy School Lunch Ideas To Save Money!

  • Those snack bags of munchies cost a lot! Make your own by pre-packaging chips, pretzels, animal crackers and other snack items into sandwich bags on the weekends. (Have the kids help!) Store them in a big container or basket and just throw them in the lunch box in the morning.
  • Let the kids create their own Pizza lunch kits- Toast bread and cut out little circles with a biscuit cutter. Add small containers of pizza sauce, cheese, and other toppings.
  • Make fruit gelatin and pudding and put in small plastic containers for the week. Make a large batch of granola bars, cookies, pumpkin bread, banana bread or muffins. Divide them into zip top sandwich bags and freeze so that you can grab one or two when needed.
  • Brownie bites are simple to make. Bake brownie mix in mini-muffin pans and put three “brownie bites” in a sandwich bag for each child’s lunch. They freeze well too!
  • Fill thermos (not glass) half full with juice the night before and freeze. In the morning, remove from freezer and fill the rest of the way. The juice will be cold when the kids are ready to drink it and it keeps their food cold too.
  • Clean vegetables, slice into pieces and bag. Preparing a weeks worth of veggies at a time for lunches and snacks saves money and time.
  • Purchase cheese in blocks, cut into pieces and put in sandwich bags.

How To Save Money On Groceries

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It’s easy to learn how to save money on groceries! These easy tips show you painless ways to easily save hundreds of dollars a month on your food bill!

It's easy to learn how to save money on groceries. These easy tips show you painless ways to easily save hundreds of dollars a month on your food bill!

How To Save Money On Groceries

If I said I would give you $150 extra a month to help you pay off your credit cards, lose weight and help your family become healthier, would you accept it? Does it sound too good to be true? The average American family spends 1/4-1/3 of their monthly grocery bill on things to drink but can’t find any extra money to pay off their credit cards. It’s really not that hard to learn how to save money on groceries. In this post, we’ll look at just one way to do it, but there are lots more!

Do you buy sodas, coffee, tea, juice and milk, plus all the things that go into these drinks like creamer, flavorings and sugar? Do you grab a glass of soda, juice or milk instead of a cold glass of water? You may even argue that juice and milk are good for your children.

We all know that fertilizer (food for you grass) is good for your lawn, but too much fertilizer will kill it and if you don’t water it, it will die. I’m beginning to wonder if most of us are more concerned about making sure our yards are watered than our children. Of course they need some milk but like everything else do it in moderation.

Here are few tips to cut the costs of the drinks in your home, save money on groceries and find some extra money to pay off your credit cards:

  • Find out how much milk is actually needed for your child. The USDA recommends that children under 5 get three to four servings of dairy per day. That is 2 cups of milk OR one serving equals one slice of cheese OR ½ container of yogurt. Don’t forget milk added to cereal.
  • Juice is just sugar water. Eat the whole fruit instead and give one glass of juice as a treat for breakfast or snack.
  • Limit the number of glasses of milk or juice given a day. After the allotted amount they get nothing else but water. If they are used to drinking it for meals, either give them one glass (1/2 cup) and when it’s gone they drink water or have them drink water first and then milk after they finish their meal.
Save money on groceries like milk!
  • Use small juice glasses. They give the appearance of more.
  • Don’t fill their sippy cups with juice or milk. Give them water instead.
  • If you put some milk in a cup and they don’t drink it all, put it in the fridge until later.
  • Limit sodas to a treat once or twice a week.
  • Don’t dilute your juice with extra water. Not only does this not taste very good but by “stretching” the juice you teach your kids bad eating habits by giving into their demands for juice instead of giving them water.
  • Keep water in the fridge. After water has set, the chlorine evaporates and the water also tastes better cold.
  • Add a small amount of lemon juice to your water if you don’t like the taste.
  • Be careful to shop wisely. Sometimes buying name brand flavored or specialty coffees on sale costs less than making your own.
  • Use powdered milk instead of creamer in coffee or tea or try mixing your creamer half and half with dry milk.
  • After making coffee save the coffee filter and the coffee grounds in the maker. Add your coffee for the next day on top of the old grounds. This way you can use each filter 2 or 3 times. Buy a reusable coffee filter. They last for years.
  • If you run out of coffee filters, use a paper towel until you can get to the store to buy more.
  • You don’t always have to make a full pot of coffee. Just make one or 2 cups at time.
  • Save extra coffee in a thermos instead of making a new batch or buy a smaller coffee maker.
  • To make flavored tea, add a package of flavored drink mix to each pot of tea.
  • For leftover soda – Combine 2 cups of flat soda with 1 package of unflavored or same flavored gelatin to make a rich flavored gelatin. This is particularly good with root beer, orange and grape sodas.

Here are some easy recipes for drink treats to help you save money on groceries:

This easy Orange Julius recipe is a creamy orange smoothie just like the ones at the mall. Starting with orange juice and ice cream, it makes a perfectly refreshing cool treat for warm summer days!
This easy Cafe Vienna recipe is a delicious homemade specialty coffee. Creamy like a mocha but with a cinnamon orange flavor, it is sure to please the coffee lover in your family. 
Save money with this easy Swiss Mocha recipe! It’s a less expensive way to enjoy this tasty treat and works well as a jar mix that you can give as a gift!

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Difference Between Baking Flours – All Purpose, Self-Rising, Cake Flour

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What is the difference between all purpose flours, self rising flours and bleached and unbleached flours? Get the quick and simple answers here!

What is the difference between all purpose flours, self rising flours and bleached and unbleached flours? Get the quick and simple answers here!

What’s The Difference Between Baking Flours?

Rose Asks:

What is the difference between all purpose flours, self rising flours and bleached and unbleached flours? Sometimes the bag just says flour… I want to start cooking from scratch but I am not sure of what flours I need to use. Thanks…

I’m glad you want to start cooking and baking from scratch. The good news is that it is really pretty easy to know the difference between baking flours and when to use each of them. I will include a brief description of each of them here.

I don’t go into the super scientific details, but rather the practical information you need to get cooking and baking fast! I hope this helps you understand the difference between all purpose flour, self-rising four and the other names you may see on flour bags!

All Purpose Flour, Bleached And Unbleached Flour

All purpose, bleached and unbleached flour can all be used interchangeably. The main difference is that unbleached flour has slightly more nutrients in it than the others. All purpose flour is what is used mostly in baking. For a beginning cook, I suggest you always use all purpose flour unless the recipe states otherwise.

 Cake Flour

There are some differences in the type of wheat between cake flour and other flours, but the most important thing for you to know is that cake flour is ground more finely than other flour. Cake flour is also made of a particular type of flour that produces a softer texture, so it is often preferred by professionals for making baked goods with a super light and fluffy texture.

If a recipe calls for cake flour and you don’t have cake flour on hand, it is perfectly OK to substitute 2 tablespoons less of the cake flour per cup of all purpose flour. In other words if the recipe calls for 1 cup of cake flour then you can use 1 cup minus 2 Tbsp. of all purpose flour.

Self Rising Flour

Self rising flour already has the salt and leavening mixed into it. A lot of bakers don’t like to use self-rising flour because it can lose its potency. It is usually not recommended for bread. If you have a recipe that calls for self rising flour but you don’t have self rising flour on hand,

I could go into all the scientific details about protein percent, varieties of wheat and a lot of other details but it’s easy to get into information overload so I won’t. I have included the details you need to make most recipes. Too many details just discourages us from trying something because we are afraid to get mired in irrelevant details.

When A Package Just Says Flour

If you find a package of flour in the store that just says “flour”, it is generally all purpose flour. I hope your scratch cooking goes well!

Jill

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Cheesy Mashed Potatoes Recipe – Quick, Easy And Delicious!

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This cheesy mashed potatoes recipe is a quick and easy recipe that makes mashed potatoes extra special! I have made this tasty recipe since I was a newlywed and my family absolutely loves it. This cheesy mashed potatoes recipe is easy to make in just 5-10 minutes. It includes cream cheese and garlic to give it a more restaurant-quality taste! Families love it and it’s also great to bring to potlucks!

This cheesy mashed potatoes recipe is a quick and easy recipe that makes mashed potatoes extra special and includes cream cheese and garlic! It takes just a few minutes to throw together and then 3-4 minutes under the broiler! 

For lots more quick and easy home cooked recipes, check out our cookbooks!

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Cheap, Quick And Easy Snacks For Kids – Snacks On The Go

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Here’s a quick list of some cheap, quick and easy snacks for kids! It’s easy to choose something quick and healthy from this list that fits your kids’ needs!

Here's a quick list of some cheap, quick and easy snacks for kids! It's easy to choose something quick and healthy from this list that fits your kids' needs!

Cheap, Quick And Easy Snacks For Kids

Donna writes:

I am faced with getting two boys to soccer and baseball practices in the evenings. I am hoping to pack drinks and a hearty snack to get them through practice. I leave work at five and practice is often at 5:30. What can I feed the kids that fits the following criteria?

  • Can be eaten in the car on the way to practice
  • Can be made in the morning and either kept in the car or at my desk
  • Will be hearty enough to get them through practice and home again for dinner

Jill: You can adapt most snack foods to take in the car. You can even bring things that need to be refrigerated. Just use a small cooler or lunch box. Even a brown paper sack keeps things nicely insulated. You can buy small ice packs to pack with the food. (You should be able to find them by the coolers and thermoses at your store.) Another good idea is to freeze water, lemonade or some other drink in a plastic bottle. When you pack it in with food, it works as an ice pack and as something cold to drink for the kids. If it is going to be an extra long day, I sometimes use both the ice pack and the frozen drink.

If you can, pack the boys their own individual snack boxes using either small shoe boxes or lunch boxes. They can then hold these on their laps to catch the crumbs and when they’re done, the boxes are a great way to “pack out the trash” so you will not have quite as big a mess in the car!

Keep things as easy as possible. For example: if you are taking oranges, have them peeled and broken into segments for them. This will make it easier for them and reduce the mess in the car.

Keep a running list of the snacks you take each day for a couple of weeks. At the end of that time you will have a list of about 20 to 30 snack items to refer to when you can’t think of what to take.

Without knowing your food preferences, it is hard to tell you specifically what to take but here are some general ideas. Some may be a little messy in the car depending on the age of the children and some may need to be kept cooled (use my ideas above for keeping these cool). To expand the variety, give them different variations of my suggestions. For example, with fruit, give them an apple one day, an orange the next and so on.

Try starting with these cheap, quick and easy snacks for kids:

  • Sandwiches (to prevent them from becoming soggy take packets of ketchup,mustard etc. to be put on right before they eat them) peanut butter, cheese, turkey, roast beef, ham, chicken
  • Crackers with cheese
  • Popcorn or Popcorn balls
  • Sandwich bags filled with cereal
  • Granola
  • Banana bread
  • Dried fruit
  • Nuts
  • Muffins
  • Fruit
  • Veggies
  • Pudding
  • Yogurt with fruit
  • Hard boiled eggs
  • Burritos
  • Cheese
  • Chips

If your kids don’t mind leftovers, bring that leftover piece of chicken or small container of leftover fruit salad for them too.

-Jill

[dining]

How To Cook Dinner Fast – Quick Dinners In 30 Minutes

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One secret to cooking dinner in 30 minutes is to be organized and plan ahead. These ideas are easier than you think and can save you time, money and stress!

Discover simple tips to cook dinner faster and clean up quicker—perfect for busy families looking to save time in the kitchen.

How To Cook Dinner Fast – Quick Dinners In 30 Minutes

Here are some simple tips to cook dinner faster and clean up quicker—perfect for busy families looking to save time in the kitchen.

Part 1 – Make Cooking Easier Before You Begin To Cook

Ever since the phrase “30 minute meals” came into being I have been confused. My children say I have always been confused, but that is an article in and of itself. : ) Anyway, 30 minutes is considered a quick and easy meal, but I always thought of a 30 minute meal as an average meal, which is why I’m confused.

Recently, I heard something that clears things up for me a little: The average family spends 2 hours preparing for and cleaning up after a meal. I just about had a heart attack. No wonder so many people are writing saying they don’t have time or are too worn out to cook dinner each evening. I would probably never go near the kitchen either if I spent that much time cooking and cleaning up.

Since eating at home can save you a lot of money, I came up with some tips that many fast cooks have used over the years. I hope these will help you get in and out of the kitchen quickly. Like all new things, you need to practice and make new habits, which may take time, but in the long run it will more than pay off.

Don’t worry if you can’t do it all. Just start slowly and go from there. Also don’t feel compelled to use these tips all the time. If you have the time, feel free to make more complicated menus. These tips are for everyday busy schedules.

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Before Dinner

Plan ahead.

Most of you already know this but now it is time to put it into practice. If at first you can’t plan an entire week in advance, start by planning the next day’s meal the night or morning before. Meal planning doesn’t have to be complicated. Keep it simple. If you need more tips, check out our How to Save Money On Groceries e-Course.

Choose 10 of your family’s favorite meals.

Once you feel comfortable planning a day ahead, pick out 10 of your family’s favorite meals. Get your family to help here. A study I read showed that most families eat the same 10 meals over and over and are happy with that.

(If you need some delicious and easy recipes that your family will love, you’ll definitely want to check out our Dining On A Dime Cookbooks.

If you eat out at least once or twice a week (fast food, going to friends’ homes for dinner, church potlucks, etc.) the 10 meals should cover 2 weeks of meals. Repeat once and you have a whole months of meals taken care of.

If you’re concerned that your family will be bored eating the same thing, consider this: The same meal will only be served twice a month. It doesn’t get any easier than following these easy steps!

A whole month of menus is taken care of with just 10 menus. You may have thought you would have to come up with 30 new meal plans at the end of each month, but you don’t. Don’t make planning meals so hard.

If you find that you just have a mental block about meal planning or you just want some easy pre-made menus and recipes, you can get our Menus On A Dime e-book set where we’ve done all of that for you. It’s much better to use already made menus than to give up and spend a lot more money going out to eat.

Plan meals that only use a few common ingredients.

The more ingredients there are in a recipe, the longer the recipe takes to prepare. Additionally, it takes longer to shop for 15 ingredients than to shop for five. If the ingredients are unusual, you usually have to spend even more time roaming the store looking for them.

Here are a few recipes to help you plan easy meals.

Do as much prep work ahead of time and not during the busiest part of the day – dinner time.

  • Make sure you have all your ingredients.
  • Clean vegetables.
  • Place meat in the pan so it’s ready to pop in the oven.
  • Make salads.
  • For recipes like biscuits and cornbread, measure the dry ingredients into a bowl and put in the remaining ingredients when you are ready to bake. Better yet, try to bake things like cornbread and muffins early in the day, not when you are trying to make dinner.
  • Make one dish meals in the morning so that they’re ready to pop in the oven right before dinner. Add a salad or bread and you are done.
  • Just putting your meat in the oven early goes a long way towards starting dinner.

Use your oven or crockpot more and the microwave less.

Read this post to learn about how using your oven can often be faster and how it can help relieve stress at meal time.

Start with a clean kitchen

Start with a clean kitchen, clear counters, empty sink and dishwasher. You might want to check out this article, Dirty Dishes Cause Debt, to help with this.

Read Part 2 of this article here:

Dinner in 30 Minutes: Easy Ways To Speed Cleanup As You Go.