Ultimate Back to School Meal Guide
Reinvented School Lunch Recipes
Classic lunch favorites of old (think sloppy Joes, tater tots and chicken nuggets) are transformed into kid and adult-friendly meals in these easy, fun recipes. With one of these meals like a margherita tortilla pizza, everyone in class will want to swap lunch boxes. You'll just have to say "no.”
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11 Must-Have Back to School Lunch Boxes and Accessories
Make anyone’s lunchtime extra-delightful by stashing snacks inside their favorite lunchbox. We're partial to the "Eureka Unicorn" from Skip Hop Baby Zoo, but the same insulated, water-resistant lunch bag also comes in bee, butterfly, cat, cow, dog, fox, frog, monkey, giraffe, and many many other animal iterations.
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Creative Lunch Box Recipes
Get a little inspiration to kick up your school lunch game with these portable, fresh and delicious recipes, from fresh couscous and quinoa salads to inventive sandwiches (plus some decadent desserts to finish it off).
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A Plethora of Unique Sandwiches
Sandwiches are a lunchbox staple for a reason. They're portable, can cover most major food groups and are filling enough so that you're not hungry until the final bell rings. Whether you're looking for a healthy vegetarian option or a tried and true classic sandwich, these delicious recipes don't disappoint. Find everything from a hearty eggplant parm sub to a delicious BLT.
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20 Healthy Sandwich Options
When you’re starving in the middle of a school day, eating healthy isn’t the number one consideration. But don’t worry, we've got you covered. From salmon club sandwiches to grilled eggplant tortas, here are 20 healthy, but still delicious sandwiches.
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5 Kid-Friendly Wraps for School Lunches
Shake up the usual sandwich routine with these five delicious wraps, from chicken, avocado and tomato wraps to grilled baby carrot wraps with poblano cream.
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Cuban Lunch Upgrades
Cuban sandwiches are one of our favorites—it’s a big step up from the classic school-lunch ham and cheese. The traditional cubano mix of Cuban bread brushed with olive oil, yellow mustard, roast pork, glazed ham, Swiss cheese and thinly sliced dill pickles is just the thing to shake up the lunch hour.
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8 Ham and Cheese Variations
Here, our best variations of this classic sandwich, from ham and gruyère french toast sandwiches to buttermilk ham and cheese biscuits. You'll never go back to the original.
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5 Ways to Change Up the Boring Old Turkey Sandwich
Turkey sandwiches are a school lunch mainstay. And whether you want to get rid of leftovers or need new lunch ideas, F&W’s guide to turkey sandwiches has a recipe for every occasion from smoked turkey and slaw on country toast to turkey sandwiches with cranberry-apricot relish.
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Healthy Breakfasts for School Mornings
Why resort to a bowl of cold cereal when you could make something healthier and more delicious in the same amount of time? From a sweet breakfast quinoa to a breakfast burrito with turkey bacon, here are quick, healthy breakfasts.
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Portable Back-to-School Breakfasts
This year, don't turn to the packaged toaster pastry when you're rushing out the door to school. Don’t settle for a stale bagel, either. You can make mornings so much more delicious and nutritious and it won't cost you much time. Here, seven easy and healthy breakfasts to make and take on the go.
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Breakfasts to Boost Brain Power
You might not be able to help out with that calculus problem, but you can help boost your kid’s brainpower. These delicious breakfasts are packed with ingredients that are essential for memory, concentration and an overall healthier brain—from mashed banana and whole-grain porridge to white bean huevos rancheros.
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Fast and Easy Back-to-School Breakfasts
Need help coaxing the kids out of bed? Try whipping one of these seven easy-to-make recipes sure to motivate anyone to get up early, from a broccoli frittata to amaranth breakfast porridge with cinnamon and sugar.
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9 No-Cook School Snacks
Back-to-school is one of the busiest times of the year and cooking can be a tough task to fit in. Luckily, there's no need to turn the oven on for these fantastic snacks. From satisfying trail mix to amazing peanut butter cookies; here are nine no-cook snacks that are perfect for back-to-school lunches.
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Healthy Kids’ Snacks
Whether you're looking to make your kids' recess a little healthier or need to kick after-school snacks up a notch, these recipes are all flavorful, kid-friendly, and, above all, very healthy. Make any of these snacks for your kids ahead of time so they can enjoy a healthful variety all week.
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DIY Snack Bars
The snack bar is the ultimate portable nibble to bring to school, but the pre-packaged kinds aren't always delicious or good for you. With these creative recipes, you can make your own super tasty snack bars. From raspberry granola bars to cranberry-pumpkin seed energy bars, we've got the right bar for you.
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Peanut-Free Snacks for Back-to-School
These days, many classrooms are peanut-free due to the high number of allergies. If you're looking for fast and easy peanut-free snacks for your kids to bring to school, F&W has a few incredible options. Munch on supercrispy chile-cheese yucca chips, a gooey broccoli cheese dunk, tomato salsa with cucumber "chips" and more.
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Make-Ahead Back-to-School Snacks
We know you'll be busy once school is back in session, so the best way to get everything done is to make things ahead of time. Get ready for school lunches and after-school snack-time with these nine make-ahead recipes like baked sweet potato chips, maple-soy snack mix and banana muffins.
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Grown-Up Versions of Your Favorite After School Snacks
After a hard day of spelling tests and times tables, we all looked forward to opening the pantry or fridge to dive into the snack we'd been dreaming about since lunch period. In retrospect, many of these go-to foods were terrible for us, but hey, you aced that state capitals test. You earned it. If you're yearning for the same satisfaction after a day of toiling away in your cubicle, here are some grown-up takes on your favorite childhood eats.
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The Best Back-to-School Snacks You Can Buy
It’s great news that snack food has become so seasonal: It’s practically farm to pantry. Now that summer is behind us, so is the time to feast on summer's great selection of produce. It is, however, prime time for crunchy, tasty back-to-school snacks. And here are some terrific store-bought options.
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Healthy, Fast Weeknight Dinners Perfect for School Nights
Busy school weeks just got a little easier. Take the guesswork out of preparing weeknight dinners with these incredible recipes. From a healthier version of Chinese take-out staple General Tso's Chicken to poached salmon with cucumber raita, here are quick and healthy meals that will get you in and out of the kitchen.
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How to Go to Culinary School by Watching Netflix
If you're inspired by back-to-school season, you don't need to enroll in classes to feed your desire to learn. From in-depth food documentaries to profiles of the world’s greatest chefs, Netflix can teach you how to prep, cook and better understand food. We've put together three levels of Netflix programming (basic, intermediate and advanced) that can serve as your basic culinary school education.
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Chef Chronicles: Back-to-School Edition
All this back-to-school talk is bringing back some serious memories. And not just for us. To keep the nostalgia going, we've collected five culinary school memories from five of our favorite chefs. Read on to learn why you should always keep yogurt on hand if you're slicing jalapeños.