Snacky Lunch

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.

Snacky Lunch? Yes. Before there was a girl dinner, adult lunchable, snackle box, or charcuterie board, there was the Snacky Lunch. A quick and easy compilation of bits and bobs that taste delicious, come together quickly, and don’t cost a fortune.

In fact, the Snacky Lunch has been one of my go-to meals for the last 25 years or more. 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 the kids weren’t overly impressed. Especially since they’d already had the snacky lunch, a homemade lunchable easy enough to make everyday.

The homemade Snacky Lunch serves the purpose and is just as fun. Throw in a few treats/fun food, and everyone will be totally satisfied.

Why Serve a Snacky Lunch?

It’s easy! This isn’t a fancy bento box. There are no sandwiches cut into works of art. It’s just simple, fun, yummy food that everyone enjoys. 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. 

You can dress it up. Snacky Lunch a standard for holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years because it’s easy to make extra special without spending a ton. 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 Ploughman’s Lunch or Charcuterie Board and you can serve it to adults with wine, beer, and cocktails.

You can pack it to go. This is such a simple packable lunch idea. Pack it away in divided boxes and you’ve got a picnic for the kids to brag to their friends about. 

It makes a great grocery store picnic. A snacky lunch is easy to assemble in one quick trip to the grocery store, if you haven’t already packed a picnic or lunch.

You can make it anytime. 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. Shop the kitchen and save some money!

Snacky Lunch Ideas

A Snacky Lunch can contain a mix and match of snacks. Consider adding any of the following:

• crackers, whole grain or soudough bread, rolls, croissant, pretzels, or sliced baguette
• chips, such as potato, tortilla, or pita
• a variety of cheese, either in blocks, wheels, slices or sticks – slices and sticks work best for kids
• sliced deli turkey, deli meat roast beef, ham, or salami – either rolled or cut into cracker-sized pieces
• protein salads, like tuna salad, chicken salad, or egg salad
• side salads like potato salad, pasta, macaroni, or coleslaw
• hard boiled eggs or deviled eggs
• veggies like baby carrots, celery sticks, bell pepper strips, cucumber slices, grape tomatoes, sliced avocado
• salsa and/or dips, such as guacamole, hummus, ranch, or sour cream onion dip
• seasonal fruit or fruit salad
• various spreads like butter, herbed mayonnaise, mustard, or preserves; English pickle is so yummy!
• Greek yogurt cup or cottage cheese
• pickles, olives, nuts
• fun drinks, such as lemonade, juice, or homemade sodas
• “lunch desserts” including cookies, brownies, candies, or cupcakes

How to Make a Snacky Lunch

Instructions

• Lay out plates or bowls of each ingredient. You can make a charcuterie board or just leave things individually. Doing the latter helps avoid food waste.
• Allow dinners to assemble their own snack plates.