Best Lunch Recipes for Kids: Quick, Healthy, and Delicious Ideas

Introduction

School lunch boxes are packed not just with food, but with happiness and so much love. Kids look forward to lunch breaks so that they can enjoy delicious home-made food with their friends and relish each other's food as well. One of the biggest concerns of parents is to ensure that school lunches are full of nutrition and provide kids with the needed energy to go through all the periods without feeling low drained.

Hence, choosing the right recipes for school is not just to make the kids complete their lunch, but also to ensure that they are actively able to participate in all the activities in school without feeling tired. Also, since there's not a lot of time in the morning to prepare a full meal, parents must also shortlist recipes for lunch on the basis of how much time they take to get cooked.

Best Lunch Recipes for Kids That Are Delicious and Nutritious

Here is a list of some top recipes that are not just delicious, but also highly nutritious for kids. These recipes also do not take a very long time to get prepared.

• Vegetable Sooji Chiila

A sooji chilla is a crispy and nutritious meal option that is made from a thick batter of sooji, water, curd, and some spices like red chilli powder, turmeric, salt, and cumin seeds. This batter is poured over a pan with some butter and cooked until it becomes crispy from both sides. To make this chilla more nutritious, you may add vegetables like capsicum, carrots, peas, and onions to the mixture. You may pack the chilla with a nice coconut chutney or aachar for that extra kick of flavors.

• Wheat Wrap

A delicious way to improve on regular roti is by transforming it into a succulent wrap. You would need Wheat roti, chopped cabbage, chopped tomatoes, chopped onions, diced paneer, pasta sauce, and cheese.

On a roti, spread some pasta sauce, followed by a slice of cheese. Now add chopped cabbage, tomatoes and onions, followed by diced paneer pieces. Secure everything properly and roll the roti like a wrap. Secure the position of the wrap with the help of a toothpick. You may also heat the wheat wrap on a pan with some butter to make it a little extra crispy. You may pack it in the lunchbox with some ketchup.

• Vegetable Hung Curd Sandwich

A hung curd sandwich has the goodness of curd along with a boost of vitamins and minerals from vegetables. You would need hung curd, chopped onion, chopped tomato, cucumber slices, bread slices, and pasta sauce.

On one slice of bread, spread some pasta sauce, followed by spreading hung curd on the other slice of bread. Add onions, tomatoes, and cucumber slices on the bread slices. You may also add any other vegetable of your choice. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on the top and secure the sandwiches with the help of a toothpick. These sandwiches taste fresh and crunchy and get prepared in a very little time.

• Chickpea Chaat

A chickpea chaat offers tantalizing flavors while also keeping it light and full of nutrients. You need to make boiled chickpeas, chopped onion, chopped tomato, chopped cucumber, Lemon juice, chaat masala as per taste.

In a bowl, take some boiled chickpeas and add chopped onions, tomatoes, and cucumber. Now on top, add some lemon juice and chaat masala as per liking. Although this mixture is quite healthy on its own, you may also add a source of protein, such as egg or paneer as per your desirability. 

• Leftover Dal Paratha

There are times when you cannot decide what to make and have only a few minutes to prepare lunch. This is the best time to utilize the leftover dal from the previous day to make a healthy Paratha that can be given for lunch. You would need Wheat flour, leftover dal, and butter to make these parathas at home.

In wheat flour, add the leftover dal and knead some dough out of it. With this dough, roll parathas and cook them in a pan with butter. Pack this in the lunch with some curd. The combination of curd and paratha is very healthy for the child as curd has good bacteria for the gut and dal is a significant source of protein.

• Vegetable Poha

Poha is a great source of fibre and can be mixed with different types of vegetable to create a flavorful and fibrous lunch meal. To make this, you would need poha, chopped onion, chopped tomato, red chili as per taste, turmeric, lemon juice, Coriander leaves, cooking oil, and Curry leaves.

In a pan heat, some cooking oil and sauté onions, tomatoes, or any other vegetable that you would like to add. Now add 1 tablespoon of turmeric followed by curry leaves. Roast everything properly, and once the onions turn pinkish, add the pre-soaked poha. Now into the poha, start adding red chili powder, and salt as per your taste. In the end add one tablespoon of lemon juice along with coriander leaves. 

Conclusion

School lunches have to be nutritious to give the child that needed dose of energy. Along with nutrition, these recipes must be easy to make for the parents as early morning schedules may not leave a lot of time for parents to cook complex meals. Hence, pre-scheduling what has to be given to the child for their lunch is a great way to plan the week and pack the lunch every day smoothly.