The Snacky Lunch is just that – a lunch of snacks. Assemble a variety of proteins, vegetables, fruits, and breads for a DIY meal to please the masses.
You need a quick and easy meal to feed your family. You don’t want fast food, but neither do you want a messy kitchen when you’re done. Where can you find a healthy, convenient meal that will please the whole family?
And can you get that to-go, too?
Luckily for us all, the Snacky Lunch is the answered prayer of busy parents everywhere.
In fact, the Snacky Lunch is one of my go-to meals around here. It’s fast. It’s easy. It’s highly portable. And the kids love it.
Bonus: so do my husband and I!
When the kids were little, they were enamored by the commercial “lunchable”. Sure, I bought a few whenever they were on sale and I had coupons, but once I read the labels a few times, I realized those snack boxes just weren’t worth it.
Moreover, I learned that I could easily sway the children away from the lunchable section of the grocery store — it’s now become a veritable AISLE! Have you noticed?! — without a fuss.
The homemade Snacky Lunch serves the purpose and is just as fun. Throw in a few treats/fun food, and your kids are extra jazzed.
This isn’t a fancy bento box, though a homemade lunchable is easy enough to make. There are no sandwiches cut into works of art. It’s just simple, fun, yummy food that kids love. Heck, adults do, too.
The Snacky Lunch is so easy that I often serve it for Sunday lunch or dinner since it’s so easy and quick to prep. In fact, this is what it looked like last Christmas Day! Yep, I served a snacky lunch. We all love it, and it’s easy. So, why not?
In fact, it’s pretty simple to keep the ingredients of a Snacky Lunch on hand all the time. You don’t need a lot of any one thing. In fact, small dishes of a variety of fruits, vegetables, crackers, cheeses, meats, pickles, and nuts are so versatile and mix and match, this makes for a great clean-out-the-fridge meal.
One of the many beauties of the Snacky Lunch is that you can dress it up or dress it down. Give it a fancy name like a Plowman’s Lunch or Charcuterie Board and you can serve it to adults with wine, beer, and cocktails.
Pack it away in divided boxes and you’ve got a picnic for the kids to brag to their friends about.
The Snacky Lunch
A Snacky Lunch contains any of the following:
- crackers, bread, rolls, croissant, pretzels, or sliced baguette
- a variety of cheese, either in blocks, wheels, slices or sticks – slices and sticks work best for kids
- sliced deli turkey, roast beef, ham, or salami – either rolled or cut into cracker-sized pieces
- veggie dippers and hummus, ranch, or sour cream onion dip
- seasonal fruit or fruit salad
- various spreads like butter, mayonnaise, mustard, or preserves
- Optional Extras: pickles, chips, juice, and a “lunch dessert”
The Snacky Lunch
Ingredients
- crackers, bread, rolls, croissant, or sliced baguette
- a variety of cheese either in blocks, wheels, slices or sticks - slices and sticks work best for kids
- sliced deli meats such as turkey, roast beef, ham, salami either rolled or cut into cracker-sized pieces
- veggie dippers
- Ranch dressing
- seasonal fruit
- yellow mustard and other spreads like butter, mayo, or English pickle
- extra treats for a snacky lunch , such as: pickles, olives, chips, juice, and a "lunch dessert"
Instructions
- Lay out plates or bowls of each ingredient.
- Allow dinners to assemble their own snack plates.
Notes
What goes in YOUR snacky lunch?
Level up your meal planning and prep.
Have you considered creating a kitchen survival kit to help you WIN in the kitchen? I’d love for you to join me for the upcoming Mom’s Kitchen Survival Workshop.
You’ll create a plan to help you get dinner on the table every night, fill your freezer with wholesome snacks and breakfasts, finesse your lunch-packing skills, and even make sure you get a daily dose of MOM food.
Learn more here.
