Back to School Lunch

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Photos By Leandra Blei

It's that time of year again! Back to school. I don't have any little ones so this really just means more traffic, and sales on office supplies for me. Kids or no kids, everyone can tell when it is back to school time. Children just seem to multiply everywhere you go. Where do they come from? It takes me back to all the fun times at school. Naps. Oh how I miss naps. One thing I remember being not so attractive about school was the cafeteria lunch. Which was why I stayed away from it. Luckily I had a mom that packed my lunch all the way up until I graduated high school. I needed the finer things in life and it was not square pizza from the lunch line. 

As I was thinking about how lucky I was to get turkey & sprout bagel sandwiches for lunch growing up, I thought why do other children have to eat packaged fruit cocktail. There has to be a healthier, fresher option to frozen fish sticks. 

 I thought of an average lunch I saw others carrying around growing up. Chicken fingers, green beans, mashed potatoes, fruit cocktail, and Milk. Simple! I just twisted them around, kept them kid friendly, and ditched anything packaged, canned, or unhealthy. 

Here is my fresh and healthier version of a kid-friendly, back to school meal!

Baked Coconut Chicken Fingers

You Will Need:

• 8-10 Chicken Tenderloins
• 3/4 cup Coconut Flour
• 2 cups Coconut Flakes
• 1 teaspoon Paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 teaspoon Dry Mustard
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tablesooon water
• kosher salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 
2. Rinse Chicken and pat dry,
3. Season chicken tenderloins with kosher salt on both sides
4. Whisk together eggs and 1 T of water.
5. Mix coconut flakes, coconut flour, paprika, garlic powder, and dry mustard. 
6. Dip Chicken in egg mixture and let and excess drip off. 
7. Next, coat chicken in the coconut mixture and lay them on a non-stick baking sheet.
8. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the juices run clear. 
9. Enjoy!

I enjoyed these with a greek yogurt dipping sauce. 

•  1/2 cup greek yogurt
•  1 T cilantro
• 3 chunks of pineapple
• 2 T fresh squeezed orange juice
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 1/2 tsp. honey
• 1/2 tsp sriracha
• kosher salt to taste. 

1. Blend together until smooth. 

Cheesy Cauliflower Mash

You WIll Need:

• 1 Head Cauliflower
• 1/2 cup Coconut Milk
• Cheddar Cheese
• kosher salt

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Flavor the water with 2 T of kosher salt. 
2. Cut the cauliflower into large pieces,and add to the boiling water.
3.  Cook for 6-8 minutes, until tender. 
4. Drain, and let all the water steam out. 
5. Meanwhile, heat up milk, just until hot not boiling. 
6. Add to the cauliflower chunks, and blend with an immersion blender until smooth.
7. Season with kosher salt to taste.
8. Top with cheddar cheese.

Roasted Green Beans with Almonds

You Will Need:

• 1/2 lb.  fresh green beans
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1 lemon
• extra virgin olive oil
• kosher salt

1. Cut the ends off the green beans to make them more kid-friendly.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
3. Bring a medium pot of water flavored with kosher salt to a boil.
4. Add the green beans until they become bright green and slightly tender. 
5. Strain and place in an ice bath until cool (a bowl of ice and water)
6. Pat green beans dry.
7. Put green beans in baking dish, add almonds, and lemon juice.  
8. Toss with olive oil, kosher salt, and bake for 10 minutes. 

Serve all of these items with fresh fruit, and a delicious milk!

Check more recipes: Citrus Basil Roasted Chicken