Nutritious Packable Solutions for Your Kid's School Lunches

Panko-Crusted Chicken Nuggets

(Courtesy of Food Network)

Pack in your child’s lunch box with their favorite veggies and dipping sauce.

Ingredients:

• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 ½ cups panko bread crumbs
• ¼ tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• Salt and pepper
• ½ cup canola or vegetable oil
• Ranch, honey mustard or barbecue dipping sauce, optional
• Carrot, cucumber, or celery sticks, optional

Directions:

1. Whisk egg and buttermilk in a medium bowl. Soak chicken pieces in egg mixture while you gather the remaining ingredients.
2. Meanwhile, in another shallow bowl, combine panko with paprika, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper, to taste. Set a rack on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Lift chicken from buttermilk, letting excess liquid drain back into the bowl. Then dip into panko and turn to coat on all sides.
4. Carefully place chicken in oil and cook until they are golden brown and crispy and cooked through, about 5 minutes each side. Transfer chicken to the rack to cool. Place in a sealed container.

For additional information on this recipe including nutritional facts, click here.

The Cafeteria Club

(Courtesy of Cooking Light)

Ingredients

Wrap:

• 1 oz. oven roasted turkey breast
• ½ oz. low sodium ham
• 1 slice crumbled center cut bacon
• 1 tbs guacamole (substitute instead of mayonnaise.)
• 1 whole wheat tortilla

Skewer:

• 1 lower sodium part-skim mozzarella stick (cut into fourths)
• 5-6 cherry tomatoes

For additional information on this recipe, click here.

Easy-to-Make Apple Chips

(Courtesy of allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

• 2 Golden Delicious apples, cored and thinly sliced
• 1 ½ tsp white sugar
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 225° F
2. Arrange apple slices on a metal baking sheet
3. Mix sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl; sprinkle over apple slices.
4. Bake in the preheated until apples are dried and edges curl up, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
5. Transfer apple chips, using a metal spatula, to a wire rack until cooled and crispy.

For the additional cook’s notes on this recipe, click here.

Banana, honey and cinnamon muffins

(Courtesy of taste.com)

Ingredients

• 1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 bananas)
• 2 cups oatmeal
• ½ tsp vanilla
• ¼ cup applesauce
• 1/3 cup raisins
• ½ tsp cinnamon

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix all ingredients until moist. Mixture should be gooey and sticky.
3. Drop by tablespoonful onto ungreased baking sheet.
4. Flatten to desired thickness and shape, as cookies WILL NOT spread on baking.
5. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes.
6. Remove to wire rack to cool.

For nutritional information on this recipe, click here.