Easy Veggie Waffles

Savory Waffles are one of my favorite things to pack in a lunchbox. They’re the delicious leftovers from a relaxing weekend breakfast. My kids are not going to school these days, due to the novel corona virus, but in an effort to find some routine and sanity, I started packing lunchboxes again.

My kids grab their lunchboxes out of the fridge when online school has a lunch break, and we can all sit around the table together, because I’m no longer a line cook. This is what’s working for us now. These Veggie Waffles are easy to make, easy to freeze and easy to love. I hope you give them a go.

Veggie Waffles

I love this recipe because the waffle base (the ingredients minus the veggies and cheese) is so versatile. There’s flour and cornstarch, plus raising agents like baking powder and baking soda, eggs to make them fluffy and buttermilk to give them that perfect acid balance.

From there, I’m free to customize the flavors however I’d like. Cinnamon + cardamom + turmeric make a delicious dairy free and nut free Golden Milk Waffle. Add cheese + paprika and garlic powder for a cheesy waffle. Depending on the additions, I can adjust the cornstarch and flour to get the right texture.

Use these Veggie Waffles as a sandwich base or just by themselves, and your kids will celebrate. My kids eat these cold. Happily. And they love to pack them in their lunchboxes using the LaLa Lunchbox app. Of course you can warm them and place them in foil in that lunchbox, if your kids like things warm. You can pack my Grilled Cheese Wafflewiches or these Veggie Waffles and either way, you’re good.

Veggie Waffle ingredients

VEGGIE WAFFLES

INGREDIENTS
1 cup + 3 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup finely chopped veggies (such as broccoli, carrots, spinach)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk*
4 tablespoons of neutral oil
1/4 cup grated parmesan (or any) cheese (optional)

*If you don’t have buttermilk, use 1 cup minus 2 tablespoons of milk + 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Let that sit at least 5 minutes until it curdles.

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the waffle iron and the oven to 200 degrees F. In a medium sized bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients.

2. In a large bowl, add the wet ingredients: apple cider vinegar, oil, eggs and buttermilk and whisk together until just combined.

3. In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients, making sure that everything is fully incorporated.

4. Whisk together the dry ingredients with wet ingredients and mix thoroughly to make sure there are no flour clumps. Add chopped veggies and cheese.

5. When the waffle iron is hot, pour about 1/4 cup of batter to create each waffle (may change depending on your waffle iron). Close the waffle iron and cook for approximately 3 minutes, or until the steam stops spraying out of the sides.

6. Use a spatula or your fingers to remove the waffle and repeat until the batter is finished.

7. Place the waffles on a rack and place that rack in the oven to stay warm and crispy.

If you make these, tag me on Instagram @lalalunchbox #lalalunchbox

Lunchbox Ideas for Slow Eaters

Here’s the dilemma: we teach our kids to eat slowly. To chew carefully. But in the school lunchroom, there’s hardly any time! The message becomes “eat faster!” It’s confusing, right?

The lunchroom is a social place. It’s the only time of day that the kids reliably have to just sit and chill and chat. At recess, they want to run around or play in some way. But the lunchroom is a different kind of socializing. It makes sense to me that the kids aren’t solely focused on the food. My kids have about 20 minutes for lunch, which has to include the actual eating, conversations, bathroom field trips and getting settled or packed up, That feels jam packed to me!

If your kid is a slow eater, nutrient dense options are your best friend. Here are three lunchbox ideas that are high on the satiation scale and easy to eat in a busy environment. If you’ve got others to share, let me know!

1. Banana Rollups

These are big on flavor and filling at the same time. It has an entire banana (loaded with potassium), plus nut or seed butter for protein rolled up in a tortilla to make it easy and fun to eat.

To make Banana Rollups:
Lay out a tortilla and spread a thin layer of your favorite seed or nut butter on the entire surface. Place a whole, peeled banana on the bottom edge. Roll up the tortilla and use the seed/nut butter to seal the rollup. Place seam side down and slice into pieces.

Banana Sunbutter Rollups

2. Egg Muffins

Eggs are one of my favorite foods to pack in lunchboxes. Make a batch of egg muffins with some veggies and you’ve got a hearty, filling, veggie loaded situation!

To make Egg Muffins:
Combine 10 lightly scrambled eggs with 2/3 cup chopped veggies (cut into very small pieces), salt to taste (I use 1/2 teaspoon) and (optional) 1/2 cup of shredded cheese. Spray a muffin tin with avocado or vegetable oil and bake these in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes (or until cooked through). Makes 12.
Options:
Season with 1/2 teaspoon of garlic or chili powder for extra flavor.
Add 2 tablespoons finely chopped herbs, such as parsley or cilantro for an added flavor boost.

Egg Muffins

3. Pizza Rollups

I don’t know about you, but my kids inhale pizza. For my slower eater, pizza rollups are an insurance policy of sorts; Even if that’s the only thing that’s eaten, it’s got vitamin C from tomato paste, protein from cheese to keep them satiated, and carbs from the flatbread or naan to provide energy.

To make Pizza Rollups:
Lay naan or flatbread out on a baking sheet. Spread a thin layer of tomato paste. Note: I use tomato paste instead of sauce because it prevents sogginess. Sprinkle on shredded cheese and pop under the broiler for a minute or so, or until the cheese has melted. Optional: add fresh basil after removing from the oven. Let this sit for at least 5 minutes and then roll up and slice into pieces with a sharp knife.

If you make any of these and share them on Instagram, tag me @lalalunchbox #lalalunchbox

p.s. like these lunchboxes? Check them out on my Amazon shop.

Beating the Lunchbox Rut

It’s that time of year again…
The holidays feel long gone, the January slog is over, but there’s no end to lunchbox packing in sight. Enter: the lunchbox rut. If you’re feeling like you’re out of inspiration for packing that lunchbox, you are not alone. Here are some tips to getting over that hump and sailing through the end of the school year. If you find it helpful, share these ideas with others and tag me on Instagram when you post your lunchboxes using these ideas!

1. Don’t panic

   Lunchboxes don’t have to be new and exciting every day. Are there a handful of foods that your child loves? Do they eat those foods reliably and happily? There is absolutely nothing wrong with packing the same lunchbox ideas over and over. I think that parents get bored with the foods in their children’s lunchboxes faster than kids do. There is no reason to reinvent the wheel every day. Remember: a fed kid is most important.

2. Switch it up

   Adding things like lollipop sticks or food picks to the lunchbox can breathe new life into old foods. I buy lollipop sticks in bulk and use them for loads of foods in the lunchbox. When foods become kebabs, there’s renewed excitement! You can find the lollipop sticks that I buy here on my Amazon Shop. Some examples include:

fruit kebabs

sandwich kebabs

tortellini kebabs

3. Use Leftovers

Does your child have a favorite dinner? Pack it up for lunch! I often hear from parents that they don’t pack foods because they’re worried that their kids won’t eat them cold or room temperature. It’s a normal, understandable concern. Here’s how I handled that here: I serve dinner at room temperature from time to time. It sounds crazy, but hear me out… eating a meal at a different temperature at home made my kids much more open minded to eating it that way outside of my home. Bonus: this really comes in handy on those days when I need to make dinner in advance and then tend to a million things before actually serving dinner. Try this with your kids’ favorite foods first. Did my kids complain initially? Not really. They were happy to eat their favorite foods. The best examples of this strategy used in a lunchbox is with pasta and meatballs, or cold pizza. My kids now eat these dishes room temp or cold!

leftover meatballs and pasta

leftover pizza rollups

4. Involve your kids in lunchbox planning

I am all about this tip. My kids are actively involved in the decisions around what’s for lunch. They use the LaLa Lunchbox app (free to download for iOS here) to plan their meals in advance. There are no surprises when they open the lunchbox, and they love that. They decide what to eat and how much, but I decide what to make available for them, so I am always in control.

LaLa Lunchbox app

Have more questions about beating the lunchbox rut? Drop me an email or send me a direct message on Instagram. I’m happy to assist where I can!

Pasta Lunchbox Ideas

I hadn’t realized how many ways there are to serve pasta in a lunchbox until I launched Pasta Week on Instagram. But wow! The ideas are limitless! Here’s a roundup of the ideas I’ve shared with links to recipes where applicable.

Beyond the traditional mac and cheese lunchbox, there’s a world of ideas using pasta to pack up for school lunch!

Do you have a favorite pasta lunchbox idea? Share it in the comments below!

Pasta with Quick Meat Sauce

Here’s a meal that comes together in under 30 minutes, and works seamlessly from dinner to lunchbox leftovers. Score! The recipe has just 7 ingredients and is absolutely kid approved. It’s on steady rotation around here and is one of the few lunchbox ideas that I send in a thermos. I’ve used our Lunchbots thermos here.

Pasta with Quick Meat Sauce in a thermos

Pesto Pasta

Pesto is something I didn’t eat for years. With nut allergies like mine, pesto is one of those things that can be dangerous. I love pasta. I love basil. It’s a natural flavor fit for me, so I developed a recipe that I’m absolutely crazy about, and so is my family! I love the simplicity of this recipe, and that I can freeze any unused pesto. This is a perfect example of “cook once, eat twice;” so make a big old batch for dinner and send it off in a lunchbox (assuming you have leftovers!) This is packed in our Monbento.

Nut Free Pesto Pasta Lunchbox

Tortellini Kebabs

This lunchbox idea doesn’t have a recipe, and it couldn’t be easier. Tortellini absolutely tastes more delicious on a stick, right? :) All you need are cooked tortellini, veggies of your choice and some lollipop sticks. Here I’ve used tomato and basil, but in the past we’ve used all different veggies (peppers, cucumbers, summer squash, cooked carrot, you name it!) This is packed in our Yumbox Panino.

tortellini kebab lunchbox

Chicken & Veggie Lo Mein

I started making Lo Mein a few years ago after seeing it on my friend Karen’s feed and drooling over it. Karen runs the blog Healthy Gluten Free Family and has loads of great ideas to feed families. When I decided to give this one a go, it was an immediate hit with my crew. Now we’ve got it on repeat. I’ve modified Karen’s recipe slightly based on our preferences, and make this with either gluten free pasta or regular pasta. This is packed in our PlanetBox Rover.

Chicken and Veggie Lo Mein Lunchbox

Taco Pasta

We love tacos. We love pasta. It finally dawned on me to combine the two! The tricky part: coming up with a name for this! Is it Taco Pasta? Tacsta? Pasco? Something else?
Essentially it’s pasta with taco seasoning and veggies. For us, this is a fridge forage meal that uses up the odds and ends of the vegetables in the fridge. It also goes nicely with added grilled chicken. Here it’s packed in our Lunchbots Cinco.

Taco Pasta Lunchbox

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Nut Free Lunchbox Ideas

If your child’s school has a no nut policy, or if you’re navigating tree nut or peanut allergies, this one is for you!

My home is always nut free because of my allergies, and here’s a roundup of some of my favorite no-nut lunches. You’ll see that some of these lunchboxes have sunflower seed butter. We usually use a store bought variety for that, but I’ve also made my own. Patience is key with that, but the reward is great.

Don’t forget that the LaLa Lunchbox app has a special Nut Free Bundle available for download to provide you with some lunch packing inspiration. Let’s get to it…

Nut free granola, grapes, carrots, banana, dates with sunflower seed butter

There’s a lot to love about this lunchbox.

It’s got my favorite homemade granola - which is usually hard to find without nuts. If you’re nut free, trust me, you’re going to want this recipe. It’s perfect for snacking, breakfast or lunch, filled with a variety of wonderful textures and flavors, with exactly the right sweet/salt balance.

Here we’ve also got carrots, grapes, a tuxedo banana, a couple of strawberries and some dates filled with sunflower seed butter. I eat that regularly as a hearty, delicious snack and it always hits the spot.

Lunchbox with prosciutto, peppers, grapefruit, pomegranate, dates with sunflower seed butter and chocolate chips.

I like to think about this lunchbox as a cold busting-lunchbox. Here we’ve got vitamin C from both the citrus and the peppers, with fiber and magnesium from the dates, protein from the sunflower seed butter, and vitamins B and C from the pomegranate. 💪🏻 As for that prosciutto and the chocolate chips? Well, that’s for added deliciousness. 

In the lunchbox: Turkey BLT with guacamole and peppers, grapes and orange.

How about a turkey BLT for that lunchbox? We make ours with mustard instead of mayo, but you can customize yours however you’d like! The key is to toast the bread first, so that this sandwich stays crispy for lunchtime. This lunchbox features turkey bacon, but any bacon will do. My tomato-hating kid gets a BL sandwich with no T, occasionally with a scrambled egg. Make sure not to place the lettuce next to your condiment, or you’ll end up with limp soggy lettuce!

In the lunchbox: pizza rollups, banana with chocolate chips, cucumber and baby carrots, strawberries.

Here’s a lunchbox that is sure to make the kids smile. These pizza rollups are made with naan, but you can make them with any bread. Here’s how:
Spread marinara sauce on top of the bread. Add shredded mozzarella and fresh basil and place under the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese has melted. When cool enough to touch, roll the bread up, and slice to make these bite sized roll ups. The process is very similar to rolling sushi. Want a tutorial? Right this way.

To make that spotted banana, use the pointy tip of a chocolate chip and spear into the banana.

Grilled cheese wafflewich in the lunchbox with strawberries, grapes, tomatoes, cucumber and chocolate.

When I made grilled cheese wafflewiches for the first time, my kids celebrated! What a fun mash up of breakfast and lunch! They're easy to eat, delicious and my kids dig them hot and melty, or cold from the fridge. It’s a serious win in my book! Hop on over to find that recipe, and be sure to stash some in the freezer!