Healthy Lunchbox Ideas – #2

Hey guys! Today I threw together a super simple and insanely cheap lunchbox!

This lunchbox is definately a sesasonal delight for me! Not only that but you’ll notice I reused a plastic throwaway container to hold the salad in. Healthy  veggies + recycling = <3

LunchBox idea #2 is a whole wheat multi-grain peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich. The bread is fresh made at a local grocery store from local ingredients. The jam I made myself from strawberries purchased from the farmers market. Jam is super easy to make: get instant pectin, fresh strawberries, and sweetener if needed. Blend the ingredients together and store in fridge overnight until it sets. Not only does it taste better, is better for you, but you control the ingredients! The peanut butter is organic all natural peanut butter with nothing but peanuts in it. ( for those with allergies you could definately use a different nut butter like almond, brazil, or cashew. You could also do a seed better like sunflower or sesame (tahini)). There is also sliced up cucumbers, in season and cheap right now so of course we’re eating a lot of them. They are served with a side of dressing. There is also a simple salad made entirely from ingredients from my farmers market. Three large romaine lettuce leafs sliced up with a handful of snow peas (removed from pod, but left raw), shredded carrot, and sliced bell pepper. A small serving of rice, approxomately 3/4 cup, with chili sauce on the side. (chili sauce is our guilty pleasure, we pretty much always put it on rice). Last, but definately not last, is my swiss chard chips (Recipe Here). Ignavius did not finish all his lunch tomorrow so I decided just to toss in the chips again. (definately nothing wrong with that!).

Pros of this lunch:
*cheap! – this meal is about $2.00, made with all organic, local ingredients (except the peanuts… can’t be helped! they don’t grow in Nebraska to my knowledge LOL)
*  This meal is vegan/vegetarian friendly, plus most people will have all the ingredients available.
* Kid friendly, & adult approved! – the simplicity of this meal attracts everyone. Who doesn’t love a good peanut butter and Jelly sandwich?! Kids will never know how healthy and fresh it is, while adults will love how low calorie it is. Bright colors will attract children and encourage them to eat their food, aswell as adults.
* Can be eaten without reheating it. The rice is fully cooked and doesn’t require heating, nor does the sandwich, and obviously the rest is fresh veggies!
* Minus the chard “chips” this meal took me 5 minutes to put together (using precooked rice).
* low calorie!
* high in vitamins & minerals

(This next photo shows how I reused a plastic take-out container. I’ll probably use this 5 or 6 times before recycling it, basically until it gets funky. This is a great way to save money, aswell as “fancy-up” any meal and make someone feel important. Remember though, if possible don’t get throw away plastic boxes!)
(click to see full photo breakdown of nutritional values)