Food & Nutrition
Health & Fitness
Education
Parenting Preparedness
As weather changes from winter to summer, so do our storing and cooling procedures for food. The humid summer heat of India makes most cooked foods go bad if left out or uneaten for long. Therefore, it is important to ensure your children’s lunchboxes do not suffer the same fate, especially when your ravenous kid expectantly opens the tiffin box for a much-needed energy boost.
To pack and ensure the freshness of home cooked food, make sure the items or ingredients you choose do not go bad quickly, like curd, onions, or capsicum. And if you do, make sure the tiffin boxes are airtight or well-insulated to maintain nourishment and taste. Here are some of the best foods for your children’s lunchboxes in summer.
Popular Topics
Understanding Bournvita: Relationship with Milk & Sugar Content Explained
Reviewed By Kaushiki Gangully,
What is Vitamin D deficiency? Spotting early signs of Vitamin D deficiency
Reviewed By Divya Gandhi, Dietitian
How to help your child retain strength throughout the day
Reviewed By Apurva Surve, Sports Nutritionist
Understanding How Vitamin D Leads to Strength
Reviewed By Kejal Shah, Nutrition Expert
Foods For Kids’ Lunch Boxes In Summer
1. Tandoori chicken wrap
For this delicious recipe, you will need vinegar, sugar, cubed carrot, radish, and onion, chicken breast, yogurt, honey, lime juice, curry powder, multigrain tortilla, shredded lettuce, sliced cucumbers, and chopped cilantro. Combine vinegar, sugar, radish, carrots, and onions and leave overnight. In a bowl, mix yogurt, honey, lime juice, and curry powder. Use half to marinate the chicken and the other half for dressing. After marinating chicken for two hours or overnight, cook it on medium-high heat till well-seared and thoroughly cooked. Let it cool. In your toasted tortilla, layer the chicken, cucumber, lettuce, cilantro, pickled carrots, radish, and onions, and wrap them up. Pack the dressing on the side.
2. Mix veg parathas
Your kids will not be able to discern which vegetables are even there in the parathas, but be unable to put them down due to their sheer deliciousness. For this dish, you will need flour, cubed potatoes, chopped carrots, cut cauliflower, chopped beans, green peas, oil, water, salt, ginger paste, chopped chilis, garam masala, cumin powder, dry mango powder, crushed coriander seeds, carom seeds or ajwain, pinch of hing or asafetida, grated paneer, and chopped coriander leaves. Combine flour, water, salt, and oil to make a dough by kneading with your hands. Take pinch-sized balls of dough and dust them with some flour before rolling them into a medium circle. Put a small ball of the spiced mixed vegetable mix in the middle before beginning to pleat the edges of the circle towards the center. Join the pleats and tightly pinch off excess dough to make a smooth stuffed ball of dough. Sprinkle loose flour and roll carefully so as not to burst. Roast the rolled vegetable parathas in a little oil or ghee before packing them separately with some pickle, curd, or dip.
3. Pesto pasta salad
Pesto is the ultimate salad dressing for summer lunchboxes with its refreshing, nutty flavors. Make a pasta salad with pesto and ace the nutrition game during summer lunches and meals at school. All you need is some fusilli, penne, or rigatoni pasta, toasted pine nuts (or walnuts, pistachios, cashews, almonds), basil leaves, minced garlic, salt, pepper, olive oil, mozzarella balls, shredded parmesan cheese, halved cherry tomatoes, arugula leaves, and boiled sweet corn. Cook the pasta with some salt and lots of water till al dente, drain, and let it cool. Blend the nuts, basil leaves, garlic, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and olive oil to make the pesto sauce. Place the pasta, corn, arugula, mozzarella balls, and cherry tomatoes in the tiffin box and give it a mix. Serve the dressing on the side to avoid messes or spoiled food.
4. Veg Quesadillas
Quesadillas are easy to make and eat on the go. Thanks to their cheesy goodness, no kid pays much attention to the vegetables they consume alongside. For this recipe, you will need whole wheat tortillas, grated cheddar and parmesan cheese, cooked kidney beans, sliced bell peppers, onions, boiled sweet corn, sour cream, chopped cilantro, and sliced jalapeno peppers. Grease your pan and lay your tortillas on it. Sprinkle generous amounts of grated cheese on one-half of the tortillas, leaving the other bare. Layer the kidney beans, bell peppers, onions, corn, and jalapeno over the cheese. Top with the remaining cheese and then fold the bare half over to make a half-moon-shaped wrap. Heat a fresh dry iron skillet and add the quesadilla to it. Cook till the cheese has melted and the quesadilla is brown on both sides. Slice and pack in lunchboxes, while separately providing sour cream and fresh cilantro to top it off at recess.
5. Cold cut sandwich
Cold-cut sandwiches are easiest to make, as the fillings can be anything, if they pair well and don't go bad. For this recipe, all you need is a baguette, some grilled chicken or paneer, sliced bell peppers, shredded lettuce, onions, tomatoes, jalapenos, provolone or mozzarella cheese slices, cream cheese, mustard, salt, pepper, paprika, and Italian herbs (you can also add other spices of choice). Slice the baguette in half, or according to size, and remove some of the inner filling to make space. Evenly but moderately spread unflavored cream cheese and mustard. Add a layer of seasoning with the spices and herbs. Layer the vegetables, grilled proteins, and cheese. Add a final layer of seasoning and cover the sandwich with the top bread. Cut the sandwich in half and pack it into their lunch boxes for a great and nourishing lunchbox meal.
The views expressed are that of the expert alone.
