Whether you’re looking for food suggestions for your children’s lunchbox, an office worker trying to beat the brown bag blues or someone who just feels like jazzing up a sandwich, I hope this will give you plenty of ideas.

Think Outside the Lunchbox

Think of lunch and what’s the first thing that comes to mind…the sandwich. Not that it isn’t a great choice, but it can get boring if you keep eating the same thing day after day. Who says a sandwich has to made with just regular bread? Just about every sandwich filling goes great in a pita, tortillas, filo pastry. If you really do prefer bread, try this for a little variety and kids love it too. Flatten the bread out with a rolling pin, top it with your favorite sandwich fixings, roll it up. Or try cutting a sandwich with a cookie cutter. Sometimes the same old sandwich doesn’t seem so bad when there’s some variety on how it’s presented. Kids especially love being surprised when they open up their lunchboxes.

Something Just for the Grown Ups
Some older children might like these ideas, but I’m guessing they’ll be more of a hit with the grown up brown bag lunch folks. Add some fresh chopped herbs, or curry powder or even Cajun spices to either the butter or mayonnaise. You can also add the same ingredients to things like chicken, egg or tuna salad. If you’ve never tried chutney, I recommend you keep a jar in your basic pantry supplies. Most supermarkets sell it now and a little goes a long way so it’s not that expensive to add some zing to a meal, especially sandwiches. Try mango with chicken salad and tomato chutney with cheese.

Five Fruits and Veggies A Day
I know it’s sometimes difficult to fit in those five fruits and vegetables a day, but just don’t think dinner, try to add them to the lunchbox. I sometimes add chopped vegetables like red peppers and carrots and mix them into foods like egg or potato salads. It’s a great way to disguise them if you have children who just refuse to eat their veggies.

Leftovers Can Be Lunch Too
Lunch is also the perfect meal to ‘get rid’ of leftovers from the previous night’s dinner. For example, leftover roast chicken can be turned into a sandwich filling. It can be chopped and added to burritos as well as leftover beans and rice. Casseroles can be transported to work or school in a thermos. And any leftover vegetables can be made into a soup that’s always welcome on those chilly fall days that are just around the corner.

The ‘Gourmet’ PB and J
I love PB and J sandwiches. Sometimes I’ll even eat one for breakfast. Kids love them and for grown-ups they can be a comfort food. I’ve seen both PB and J on sale at the supermarket this week. It’s one of the best buys for sandwiches, but you can also turn it into something different. Try using a different jam, like blackberry or peach. Even substitute peanut butter for almond butter. These gourmet butters aren’t as pricey as they used to be and it goes a long way.

Side Dishes
I used to buy those individual pots of yogurt and applesauce until I realized how much money I was wasting. Buy some small containers and 32 ounce pots of yogurt or applesauce and fill your own.

JuiceThe same goes for juice. Don’t waste money on individual boxes, buy a large bottle or frozen concentrate and make your own. It’s also a good way to add more water so you cut down on your sugar intake.

Chips and Crackers
Yep, these two, buy a large bag and divide the contents among zip-lock bags.

A Healthy Treat
I kept reading about how good edamames were for you but never thought I’d like them until I sampled some at the store and got hooked. One good place to buy them is Trader Joe’s. They’re ready salted, take a few minutes to cook and they make a great afternoon pick me up or in between meal snack.

Web Sites for More Ideas

Here are some Web sites I found for more lunchbox ideas

www.kraftfoods.com click on ‘your kids’ and be sure to check out their budgetwise link too.

http://www.thatsmyhome.com/lunchbox/index.htm they have plenty of ideas for sandwiches

http://www.razzledazzlerecipes.com/flavorsoffall/lunch.htm more lunchbox recipes

http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/family/specialfeature/backtoschool_food_sf/ this is one of the best resources for back to school lunches and treats I’ve seen.

Here are some of my favorite healthy snacks. They’re not only great for afterschool treats, but perfect for grown up snacking too.

Spiral Sandwiches
I used to make these for parties but realized they make perfect snacks too. Make some ahead of time and have them ready in the fridge. You just need tortillas and you can use just about any filling you want. I like homemade flavored cream cheese. Another one of my favorites uses leftover refried beans and shredded cheese…these ones you need to reheat in the microwave. You can also make a sweet sandwich by mixing some honey or confectioner’s sugar with the cream cheese and pair it with chopped fruits like kiwi and strawberries. Even a PB and J can be made into a spiral sandwich. Simply roll and cut into about half inch slices. Two or three make a great in between meal snack.

Fruits
I know lots of kids hate the idea of eating an apple or an orange, but if you cut them up and mix them with something they do like bananas or strawberries, you won’t hear any complaints. And here’s a mix I often eat with homemade fruit salad

¼ cup cottage cheese
¼ cup yogurt or you can use sour cream
¼ cup drained crushed pineapple
¼ cup shredded coconut, toast it either in the oven or skillet
Place everything in a blender and serve on top of the fruit salad or use as a dip.

Don’t Leave Big Bags of Chips Sitting Around
While I think individual bags of crackers and chips are a waste of money, I do like the serving sizes. Once I get a large bag of chips home, I divide them into smaller servings using zip lock bags and store them in the pantry. They’re perfect for snacking at home and for slipping into lunchboxes or brown bags.

Frozen Smoothies
Sometimes I’ll make double the amount when I’m putting together a smoothie and then pour the mixture into Popsicle molds and freeze it.

Bulk Bin Finds
Just today I was at the store and saw that the supermarket had a separate display of things like soy flavored almonds, trail mix etc. It all looked good but some of the containers were $7 or $8. If you’re thinking of making your own trail mix, head to the bulk bin section. Everything’s 25-50% less than you pay in the other sections and you can pick and choose what goes into the mix. You’ll find things like dried mangoes, strawberries, sunflower seeds.

And speaking of trail mixes, some of the best buys I’ve found on ready-made ones have been at Trader Joe’s.

Cheeses
I can always tell when it’s back to school time because packages of string cheese go on sale. It’s a good time to stock up but when the sale ends, wait for blocks of cheese to go on sale and make your own. I find Monterey Jack and mozzarella work the best and they tend to be lower in fat too.

Homemade Chips
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to make my own homemade potato chips using the oven instead of a deep fat flyer but had no success. They usually end up breaking into tiny pieces when I turn them. I’ve given up on potato chips but I’ve had better luck with chips using tortillas or pita bread. I lightly coat them with oil then add either chili powder and cumin or just salt and pepper, cut into wedges and cook in a 350 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes. Perfect by themselves or with salsa.

Popcorn
Popcorn is one of my favorite snacks. However, not all are created equal. The first-ever microwave popcorn made with canola oil is made by Pop Weaver, the world’s 3rd largest producer of popcorn. Most other popcorns are made from palm oil. It’s low cost too at about 21 cents per bag and can be found at most Wal-Mart stores.

Giveaway
Popweaver would like to give away one box of popcorn to two Budget Smart Girl readers. This is for US based readers only and all you need to do is leave a comment telling us about your favorite healthy snack. It could be something you give to your children or something you make for yourself. I’ll pick the two best ones and announce the winner on Monday August 30th. Good luck to everyone.

It’s one of your worst nightmares. The freezer’s full and the power goes out…or the freezer quits working. It happened to me about five years ago. I woke up to find the milk at room temperature and ice cream and butter making its way out of containers. If like me you’ve invested money in building a good supply of freezer staples, how do you restock it without putting a dent in your budget?
Here are some the ways I restocked my supply-

Go Slowly
It had taken me weeks, maybe months to buy all the food so don’t expect to refill it in one trip to the store.

Check Coupons
Coupons are a lifesaver. Check your supply, check online and even go to manufacturer’s sites. And make sure to shop on double coupon day.

Membership Does Pay Off
When the fridge quit working, I had a membership to Costco so I headed there to buy bags of frozen vegetables and fruit. If you don’t have one, ask a friend or family member if you can tag along on their next trip.

Shop Sales
I usually look for bargains anyway, but when I was in restocking mode, I visited just about every store to see what was on sale.

Foods for Restocking
I always stock my freezer with foods that are not only low cost but ones I can use to create quick meals. Here are my favorites-

Pizza Dough-sometimes you can find it at the supermarket. If not, ask at your local pizza store. They always seem to have some leftover and often willing to sell it to you. Sometimes at a lower price than a grocery store.

Bread Dough-can also be substituted for a pizza base. You can also make calzone from it.

Ready Made Loaves of Bread-I always stock up when the supermarket is selling it for a dollar a loaf. It comes in handy if you ever forget to buy some and there’s nothing more simple than a sandwich for a quick meal. I also stock up on things like French bread for homemade garlic bread.

Ground Beef/Turkey for hamburgers, meatloaf and yes, another one of my favorites, shepherd’s pie.

Chicken Legs and Thighs-low cost and they cook quicker than a whole chicken.

Pastry-puff, filo, sometimes homemade short crust or I stock up during the holidays. You can make both sweet and savory dishes from any of these pastries.

Mashed Potatoes-quick and great all by itself but also great for things like salmon fishcakes.

Oven Fries-a lifesaver and pair with just about anything, even a simple omelet.

Bacon-another quick sandwich filling or even chopped up and used with mac and cheese or other pasta.

Pasta-I always keep some readymade mac and cheese in the freezer and packages of cheese filled tortellini.

Homemade Soups-yes, you’ve got to put in some work, but combined with a sandwich you’ve got a meal.

Fish Sticks-inexpensive, great by themselves or turned into fish tacos. Check sites like Gorton’s who always seem to have a coupon on their site.

Cheese-cream, sharp cheddar, you name it. Freezing does change the texture but it’s still perfect for shredding or melting.

Burritos-readymade or make your own. I often keep homemade bean and veggie burritos in the freezer for emergency meals.

Ready Made Meals-if you find you have leftovers, say rice, mashed potatoes and there’s not enough for another meal, I sometimes put them on a plate that’s suitable for the freezer and make my own TV dinners. I’ve lost count how many times these have come to the rescue when I’m in a rush to get dinner on the table.

Ice cream and Frozen Yogurt-great by themselves and always seem to be on sale. Combine them with frozen or fresh fruit, even brownies and you’ve got a quick and easy dessert.

Frozen Juice-The frozen juice concentrates always seem to be on sale and when they are I always stock up. You can buy them for $1 or even 50 cents. They also make great toppings for ice cream and homemade frozen treats.