3 Super Easy Lunchbox Recipes That Your Kids Will Love

This post was written in partnership with my friends at Made with Local. As always, all opinions are genuinely my own 🙂

It’s almost that time again – back to school! And although many of us are more than ready for our little darlings to head back to class, we aren’t super excited about packing lunches every day. Or is that just me (**I doubt it!**)?

Lunch packing needs to be simple and quick–especially when you’re packing multiple lunches like me this year. Forget the perfect Pinterest-worthy lunches that you can only sustain for about a week (until you give up). Who has time for that anyways?  For me, finding nutritious and easy lunchbox options is key–especially ones that my kids actually want to eat–so I’m always on the lookout for products that I can feel good about, with real, nutrient-dense ingredients and not too much added sugar or any funny ingredients.

When I discovered Made with Local’s Real Food Bars, I was thrilled both as a busy mom and dietitian, because these bars are not only delicious, but also have a really nutritious and simple ingredient list (rarely is there a boxed packaged snack bar that I approve of you guys!!). And the best part is that they have a Real Food Bar Mix, which you can use to make your own school-safe bars (see recipe # 3 below), or other tasty snacks (recipes #1 and #2).

I love that this mix is made with local Canadian ingredients like organic oats, seeds, and dried fruit  And contains NO additives, preservatives or funny ingredients.  What I love about this company too is that every bag of Real Food Bar Mix is made by a local social enterprise (right in Nova Scotia!) they’ve partnered with, that supports and employs people with disabilities.

Enter to win a Made with Local back to school giveaway

My kids and I made these three recipes together (ok, they pretty much did everything) and we enjoyed them so much that we wanted to share the love. So, if you’re interested in winning a prize pack full of Made with Local products just in time for school, simply leave a comment below (either in the blog post comments, or on social media) using this #MwLBarMixcontest. Contest runs from August 21st at 12am to September 3rd, 2018.

See terms and conditions of contest here:  Made with Local’s contest rules

Recipes:

1) Choco-Chia Protein Bites

Ingredients:

• 1 bag Real Food Bar Mix(choose your favourite variety)
• 1/4 cup protein powder of choice
• 1/3 cup ground chia seeds (I used part ground, part whole)
• 1/4 cup flaked coconut
• 1/4 cup ground flax seed
• 1/2 cup honey
• 3/4 cup nut or seed butter of choice
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Pinch of salt
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips, melted.

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients and blend well. Roll into balls and place on a cookie sheet. Cover in plastic wrap and chill for 4 hours – store in fridge for up to one week.

Makes 24-30 bites

2) Flourless Apple, Oat Cinnamon Breakfast muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 package Real Food Bar Mix
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• dash of salt
• 2 eggs
• 3 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 1/4 cup milk (your favourite kind)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp melted coconut oil
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 apples, grated

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 F and grease 2 muffin tins.
2. In a large bowl, mash bananas with a fork. Add eggs, vanilla, brown sugar and milk and blend well (we used a fork).
3. Melt coconut oil in the microwave and allow to cool a little bit. Add it into the mixture and stir until well blended.
4. Add dry ingredients (real food bar mix, BP, salt) to the wet mixture and blend well. Add chopped apple and stir a little more.
5. Fill muffin tins 2/3 cup full and bake at 375 F for 22-25 minutes.
6. Allow to cool and enjoy!

Makes 20 muffins

3) Real Food Bar Mix Bars (as indicated on package)

Ingredients: 

• Real Food Bar mix
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/2 cup nut or seed butter of choice

Directions: 

1. Grease or line an 8 X 8 baking pan and preheat your oven to 325 F
2. Combine ingredients well, pour your mix into the baking pan, and press down with a spatula.
3. Place your bars into the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned.
4. Bake for 10-12 m until edges lightly browned