quick, healthy, family lunches

[EloiseBridgerton]

As most people will be, battling working from home with home schooling. Trying to think about how I can make life less stressful and generally easier, and lunches are one area. We don't have much time mon to fri to make food, but can happily batch cook at the weekends when we do have more time. This is to feed 5 people. we can't ask the children to make their own lunches, as they are making dinner between them mon to fri for pocket money, and are already doing lots of jobs around the house to help keep things going. So i'm looking for quick and easy, healthy recipes that don't take too much prep, planning or time. We have:

• eggs/beans/things on toast
• omelettes
• soups
• sandwiches

but we've run out of mojo. Looking for inspiration please :)

Toasties!! So many options (although not particularly healthy!)
Fritata (Make at weekend and reheat or eat cold)
Jacket potatoes or sweet potato work well if you can chuck them in the oven earlier in the morning.with beans, cheese, tuna, coleslaw etc.
Tuna pasta salad, again make a batch at the weekend or cook extra for dinner one night, then just add tuna, canned sweetcorn, diced pepper and spring onions.
Bagels wit ham smoked salmon and cream cheese.
Roasted veg cous cous salad. (Again roast veg with dinner)
Cheese and crackers
If you batch cook or buy falafel they are good in pitas with salad.

Frittata
Strata
Ploughman’s salad
Savoury buckwheat pancakes - or galettes - filled with ham and cheese
Pate on toast (smoked mackerel is lovely)

Pitta pizzas or naan pizzas veggiedesserts.com/naan-pizza/
Falafel wraps with humous and lettuce
Egg fried rice using a couple of packets of microwave rice, a splash of soy sauce, a handful of peas and possibly some cooked prawns.
Homemade pot noodle www.annabelkarmel.com/recipes/mummys-pot-noodle/
Quiche
Cheesey marmite sausage rolls www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/cheese-marmite-sausage-rolls
Egg and soldiers
Cheese scones www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/classic-cheese-scones I make these and freeze them.
Savoury muffins - www.myfussyeater.com/spinach-cheese-savoury-lunchbox-muffins/ again, I batch cook these and freeze.
Pasties www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/pea-bacon-pasties
Couscous salad www.annabelkarmel.com/recipes/couscous-salad/ - my dc don’t like the raisins in this and I add some cooked roast chicken or feta for protein.

Sausage-roll type things - doesn't have to be sausage in the middle, all sorts of delici6mixtures can be plonked in a rough cylinder surrounded by ready-roll puff pastry and baked. Serve with plenty of salad.

Jacket potatoes can be done in the oven in a big batch and kept in the fridge to be reheated in the microwave as needed.

Greek spanakopita

Some really great suggestions here thank you. Some we’ve tried, some that won’t work (we are a no fish house), but really great things we haven’t thought of so thank you!

I tend to batch cook and freeze in portions (or eat leftovers but that might be trickier for five!).

Chilli (various types-bbc good food burnt aubergine is a favourite and easy to do a massive batch)
Fasolakia Greek beans
Gigantes beans
Daal
Lots of curry

For lunch I often just eat on their own, with pitta or half a naan.

I also like to roast a big tray of Mediterranean veg on Sunday afternoon and then use them for salads, toasties, pasta salads, cous cous salad etc.

The other thing that helps me is having a list on the side of the freezer of all the lunch stuff so I don’t have to spend ages rooting around in there.