For as much as I like to cook dinners and desserts, I've always harbored a fend-for-yourself, rather lazy attitude about my kids' lunches. For years they've been eating sandwiches almost every day. My idea of getting daring was mixing it up between PB&J's and lunchmeat sandwiches. This year though, I decided it was time to turn over a new leaf and mix things up for real. It takes more prep on my part, but it is my goal to send them to school each day with a variety of wholesome and fun foods, that they will enjoy eating. And although I'm just getting started on this venture, this entire week here at Recipe Shoebox will be dedicated to sharing some of our new favorite out-of-the-box lunch box ideas!
My kids love those storebought pre-made "lunchables". Too bad they're not very healthy and are far too expensive when you're making lunches for five every day, so they rarely get them. As soon as I saw the idea for these DIY Pizza Lunchables, I knew it was something I needed to add to our new "real food lunches" as soon as possible. I made whole-grain pizza crust from scratch, but you could also use the sandwich thins from the bread aisle to make this even easier. Additionally, the pizza crusts store well in the freezer, so I made a big double batch to save work for next time. And there will definitely be a next time, because my kids loved these with a capital "L"! They were just as fun as the storebought version, but without the hefty price tag!
Adapted from Mommy's Kitchen.
Posted by Lara.
The ingredients:
(per lunchable)
1-2 pre-cooked mini pizza crusts (see recipe below or use sandwich thins from the bread aisle)
2 Tbs. pizza sauce (my favorite brand
)
1-2 Tbs. shredded cheese (I used a mix of cheddar and mozzarella)
1 Tbs. mini pepperoni (or chopped pepperoni)
Directions:
I used this divided container
for the main part and a small container
similar to this for the sauce. The crust is unwrapped on the bottom of the container with the pepperoni and cheese in baggies on top. Also included were apple slices and a homemade fruit roll-up .
Package up the crust(s), sauce, cheese, and pepperoni as desired. Add in a fruit, drink, a spoon, napkin, and a "fun" item and you've got yourself a cheap and healthy homemade lunchable! It looks a little tight with the sauce sitting on top, but their Lands' End lunchboxes still zipped up without problem.
Enjoy!
PIZZA CRUST
(Makes 2 thin-crust pizzas or 12 mini pizza crusts)
1-1/2 cups warm water (about 115 degrees F)
1 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. oil
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. yeast
3-4 cups flour (I use 1 cup white all-purpose flour and the remainder freshly ground white whole wheat flour)
Directions:
Preheat oven and pizza pan to 450-degrees. Mix warm water, sugar, oil, salt, and yeast. Stir to combine. Add flour 1 cup at a time until dough pulls away from the bowl. Cover bowl and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Divide the dough into 12-equal pieces and roll out on a floured surface. Remove hot pan from oven and carefully place the dough rounds onto the surface of the pan (greased or sprinkled with corn meal). Bake for about 8-minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool completely on wire rack. Store in plastic bags in the freezer.
Enjoy!
*********************My kids love those storebought pre-made "lunchables". Too bad they're not very healthy and are far too expensive when you're making lunches for five every day, so they rarely get them. As soon as I saw the idea for these DIY Pizza Lunchables, I knew it was something I needed to add to our new "real food lunches" as soon as possible. I made whole-grain pizza crust from scratch, but you could also use the sandwich thins from the bread aisle to make this even easier. Additionally, the pizza crusts store well in the freezer, so I made a big double batch to save work for next time. And there will definitely be a next time, because my kids loved these with a capital "L"! They were just as fun as the storebought version, but without the hefty price tag!
Adapted from Mommy's Kitchen.
Click here for printable recipe.
Posted by Lara.
The ingredients:
(per lunchable)
1-2 pre-cooked mini pizza crusts (see recipe below or use sandwich thins from the bread aisle)
2 Tbs. pizza sauce (my favorite brand
)1-2 Tbs. shredded cheese (I used a mix of cheddar and mozzarella)
1 Tbs. mini pepperoni (or chopped pepperoni)
Directions:
I used this divided container
for the main part and a small container similar to this for the sauce. The crust is unwrapped on the bottom of the container with the pepperoni and cheese in baggies on top. Also included were apple slices and a homemade fruit roll-up . 
Package up the crust(s), sauce, cheese, and pepperoni as desired. Add in a fruit, drink, a spoon, napkin, and a "fun" item and you've got yourself a cheap and healthy homemade lunchable! It looks a little tight with the sauce sitting on top, but their Lands' End lunchboxes still zipped up without problem.
Enjoy!
PIZZA CRUST
(Makes 2 thin-crust pizzas or 12 mini pizza crusts)
1-1/2 cups warm water (about 115 degrees F)
1 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. oil
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. yeast
3-4 cups flour (I use 1 cup white all-purpose flour and the remainder freshly ground white whole wheat flour)
Directions:
Preheat oven and pizza pan to 450-degrees. Mix warm water, sugar, oil, salt, and yeast. Stir to combine. Add flour 1 cup at a time until dough pulls away from the bowl. Cover bowl and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Divide the dough into 12-equal pieces and roll out on a floured surface. Remove hot pan from oven and carefully place the dough rounds onto the surface of the pan (greased or sprinkled with corn meal). Bake for about 8-minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool completely on wire rack. Store in plastic bags in the freezer.
Enjoy!
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