50 quick and easy lunch ideas for homeschoolers

Home schooling? Working from home? Self isolating? Whatever you find yourself doing during these heady days of 2021, it most likely involves eating lunch at home - because we can’t go anywhere….

I’ve come up with 50 quick and easy lunch ideas for that most challenging meal of the day and no, they’re not all sandwiches! They don’t require lots of cooking and hopefully, they are things your kids will enjoy too!

If I’ve missed anything out, please let me know in the comments! And may the (lunch) force be

with you …

Eggs

1. scrambled with wholemeal toast, fruit and veg on the side

2. boiled with wholemeal toast, fruit and yoghurt (I love Glenisk)

3. omelette - where to begin? I could list 50 different things you could put into an omelette but I like onion, sweetcorn, spinach, goats cheese and peas. I usually finish mine off underneath the grill. Serve with pesto and side salad.

4. mini quiches - chop your fillings (again I could list 50 or more options but whatever you have in your fridge) - add to the bottom of greased muffin tray, whisk 3/4 eggs and pour over the fillings. Bake for 10 minutes or so. Serve with fruit and toast. Check out full recipe here

5. egg and banana pancake - mix one of each together (a blender is good for this) and fry like a pancake. Serve with creme fraiche, berries and a drizzle of maple syrup

6. fried egg and avocado with tomatoes and cucumber.

Sandwiches - cold

7. tuna - mix your tuna with grated carrot or sweetcorn or chopped celery or chopped rocket. Serve on different breads each time with a side of chopped apple and cucumber

8. chicken - sliced, roasted, boiled. With/out mayonnaise and sweetcorn, tomatoes or other veggies on the side

9. chicken again - boil a couple of breasts and shred when cooled (save the water as stock). Chop quarter of a mango and a handful of rocket. Add to chicken with mayonnaise, curry powder and toasted almonds. Serve in/on bread or on it’s own with salad. Make a batch for 2/3 days. Use mango chutney if you don’t have fresh mango.

10. ham - with cheese, salad and a side of fruit

11. egg salad sandwich

12. tomato bruschetta - chop tomatoes, add salt, pepper, olive oil, dash of balsamic, toast some ciabatta or similar bread and top with the tomato mixture and fresh basil - have with some cheese for protein! See more here

13. cheese and tomato (could add avocado, lettuce, onion, different cheeses) or cheese and apple

14 banana, peanut butter and choc chips or raisins (staple of the teenager in this house)

14a. a variation on the above idea is peanut butter and banana sushi - spread 100% peanut butter onto a wholewheat wrap, place a banana at one side and roll the wrap tightly around it. Cut into slices to resemble sushi! One the kids can make themselves.

15. tinned salmon - mix with mayo and cucumber - if your kids would rather lick the dog than eat tinned salmon - try mixing it with some tuna

16. smoked salmon and red pepper diced and mixed with some cream cheese on a toasted bagel - too adult?

17. fresh salmon and mayonnaise - salmon takes about 5-10 minutes to grill. Finish off the Irish verbs or spellings or that call you’re on while it’s cooking

18. turkey and cheese - veggies and fruit on the side

19. hummus and cheese

20. peanut butter and jam - make your own chia seed jam - it’s too easy and tastes yummy and will make this American staple a whole lot more nutritious. Check out the recipe here

21. pinwheels - basically a fancy name for a wrap, spread with whatever ingredients you have to hand, rolling it up and cutting it in two ….

Sandwiches - hot

22. Grilled cheese - serve with tomatoes on the side, add pesto to make it really fancy - we love The Happy Pear pesto here in this house

23. BLT - grill some rashers and add whatever you’ll get away with into your bread

24. Sausage sandwich - stick the sausages on 20 minutes before you want to have lunch. Not something for everyday but a sometimes treat. We use Mamabear ketchup on ours and I always serve lots of raw veggies alongside

25. pizza bagel - this is only quick if you have a batch of tomato sauce on hand. Pop some sauce, whatever toppings you want and cheese on each bagel half and grill until the cheese is melted. Yum!

26. fried egg sandwich with avocado, rocket and mayo (that might be just me though!) or just plain

27. tuna melt - tuna with sweetcorn and mayo on whatever bread you’re using - toast it lightly first or you’ll have one side cold! Top with cheese and grill. You could also do these on a frying pan.

28. breakfast burrito wraps - scramble some eggs, grab a wrap, cut half up the wrap on one side, add mashed avocado to the first quarter, egg on the next one, grated cheese next and chopped tomatoes on the last quarter - fold and fry on a dry pan - check out the method here

29. The wrap hack - I could dedicate a whole section to the wrap hack - there are so many options. Check out the video for the method and add your own ingredients. Here’s some suggestions and check out what Jamie Oliver did with his here :

- tomato sauce, ham/pepperoni, cheese

- egg, avocado, tomato, cheese

- hummus, tomato and red onion, spinach, mayo

- pesto, chicken, cheese, rocket

- roasted veg, pesto, mozzarella

- banana, peanut butter and choc chips like I did

Soup

30 only a quick option if you have one already made or buy one - we love the Happy Pear soup here in this house

31 the quickest soup I know is a pea and mint soup - takes about 15 minutes and is delicious. I’ve taken to adding other green veg like broccoli and spinach to mine for extra nutrition but it’s not necessary. Heat some oil, fry off a chopped onion for a couple of minutes, add a chopped clove of garlic if you want, add 1/2 a bag or frozen peas, a small handful of chopped mint leaves, cover with twice as much stock and boil for about 10 minutes. Blend and enjoy.

32 if you have some leftover chicken, throw it into some chicken stock with some frozen sweetcorn and chopped spring onion, bring to the boil and thicken with some cornflour. Season with salt and pepper to taste

33 batch cook any of these soups when you have a bit more time and freeze or store in the fridge for the week ahead :

- carrot and lentil soup from Mummy Cooks

- butternut squash and ginger soup from Derval O’Rourke

- roast tomato and garlic soup from Donel Skehan

Pasta

34 leftover cold pasta reheated with a jar of sauce or homemade sauce from the freezer. Throw in some peas and sweetcorn for extra veggies

35 pesto pasta - cook pasta as suggested on the pack - this would be really quick with fresh pasta which only takes 2-3 minutes or less to cook. Add pesto and some peas/sweetcorn. Top with cheese

36 leftover pasta turned into a cold salad - add copped peppers, celery, ham or tuna or chicken, chopped up rocket, tomatoes, sweetcorn … make a quick dressing with olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper, herbs …

Bits anad Bobs

37. quesadilla - similar to the wrap hack in many ways but uses 2 tortillas and whatever filling you want but always cheese! Dry fry on a pan and flip over halfway through. These burn easily so watch your pan (the voice of experience speaks….!)

38. a picky plate - put a selection of meats, cheeses, crackers, fruits and veggies on a platter like the brilliant Pick Plate for an easy, clear the fridge out lunch

39. beans on toast - make your own which will take a bit more time obvs, but is actually pretty easy (try this recipe ). You can up the nutrition by adding in some cheese and serving your beans on toast with a side of fruit and veggies

40. leftovers - of whatever dinner you had the night before - reheat and serve. Quick as …

41. baked potato - not a quick option but if you are clever - you could pop the spuds int he oven an hour before you need them and then just spend 5 minutes getting your toppings ready - tuna and sweetcorn is popular in this house (especially Shines Tuna) or keep it simple with cheese and coleslaw or beans and cheese

42. porridge cake - again needs to be made in advance but literally takes 5 mins to prep in between the maths and the Irish sentences. Bake for 35-40 minutes - check out the recipe here

43. pancakes - make a traditional batter with flour, egg and milk or make it a bit more nutritious by using porridge oats instead of flour and blitz everything together. Top with fruit, creme friache and some toasted nut/seeds. Loads of pancake recipes here from My Fussy Eater.

44. spinach pancakes - add a large handful of spinach to your batter and blitz before frying

45. smoothies - add porridge oats to your smoothie to bulk it up and make it a more filling meal.

46. fruit salad with natural yoghurt, granola and nuts/seeds - 2 minutes tops!

47. french toast - dip your bread into a mix of egg, cinnamon and vanilla and fry for a minute or so each side. Serve with fruit and nuts

48. tuna veggie fritters like these ones from My Fussy Eater

49. savoury muffins like these cheese and vegetable ones from Aileen of Baby Led Feeding are great to have in the freezer for days when the struggle is too much.

50. if all else fails, have cereal for lunch!

Good luck, happy home schooling and share your thoughts below!

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