THREE HEALTHY LUNCHES ON-THE-GO

I have a love//hate relationship with lunch. so much so that I often ignore it altogether. this usually leaves mitch fending for himself--a likely side effect of hating lunch. this is to blame in part on the monotony of one too many sandwiches and partly on the various little snacks we find whilst roaming and grazing our cupboards. a few days ago I was into my third handful of apple chips when I realized that I could not call what mitch and I were doing 'lunch.' no, lunch is an honest-to-goodness meal and longs to be celebrated as such. the only problem was our sandwich dilemma. there are just only so many things you can conjure up between two slices of bread before you're sick of the whole institution. and in earnest, mitch and I are pretty sick of sandwiches. 

so I went to the drawing board. what sorts of things would I have liked to pack when I was sitting on the grass outside in my high school lunch circle? obviously, it would have to travel well, couldn't need more than a simple icepack to stay cool, and would have to be easy to assemble. after all, we only had twenty minutes for lunch back then. thinking about that now, it sort of seems criminal, doesn't it? I don't think that I will ever miss having to ask to use the washroom or being rushed to eat my carrot sticks, but I digress. after several minutes of thoughts and scribbles, I came up with our solution--three healthy lunches that are twenty-minute-lunch-limit approved. and they don't take too much forethought, either. several of the more adult foods can be swapped for munchkin flavors. here, have a meander.

avocado on toast

ingredients

1 slice bread of your choice

1/2 avocado

2 tbsp feta cheese

1 tbsp walnuts

black pepper to taste

for sides 

carrots

cherry tomatoes

trail mix

smorgasbord

ingredients

6 pieces salami

6 crackers

3 slices of cheese (I used camembert)

for sides

red grapes

cucumbers

granola bar

cous cous taco salad

ingredients

1 whole grain tortilla

1/2 cup pearled cous cous, cooked

2 handfuls greens (I used romaine lettuce and kale)

6 cherry tomatoes, halved

1-2 tbsp ranch dressing

cheddar cheese, to preference
limes, if desired

for sides

apple slices

corn tortilla chips

and don't forget that something sweet

rosie's brownies

and can I just say how wifely, how domestic, how together I feel sending my husband off to school with a delicious, nutritious lunch? or how much I love embarrassing him with these super cute lunchbox notes?  it really is the little things that keep a marriage exciting. especially when you rarely ever see each other. I love to imagine him tucking into his pre-prepared lunch and finding this little note. he'll be all surprised and reminded that there is someone who loves him and that he can learn hard things and take hard tests. 

love, arielle

** super cute lunchbox notes c/o tiny prints.