38 THE QUEENS COURIER • KIDS & EDUCATION • AUGUST 27, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
38 k TiHdE QsU E&EN Se CdOUuRIcERa • tAUiGoUnST 27, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Ready-made children’s lunches to prep for
blended and remote learning in 2020-2021
BY JENNA FANELLI AND DONNA
DUARTE-LADD
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
We know you keep hearing it over and
over again. Th is school year is going to be
diff erent. It is the “new normal.” And parents
are amazing; we adapt, we make it
work. And whether your kids are participating
in blended learning or remote —
the kids’ lunchtime in some form is on us.
So, we’ve rounded up some great readymade
lunches and snacks for kids: some
take just a minute to heat up at home, and
others that can come ready to eat. Th e best
part — these are kid-tested and approved!
*Please keep in mind that not all products
may be free of tree nuts, milk or
wheat. Please read the packaging before
purchasing.
In-store ready-made lunches
Most schools are closing the cafeteria,
meaning no hot lunches. For some kids,
they are going to be required to eat at
their desks. If your child is at one of these
public schools, they can do a grab-and-go
lunch. And most schools have gotten creative,
off ering meal kits and deliciously
nutritious meals.
However, kids oft en get bored about
school lunch, even during pre-COVID
times, and these meals are great to add to
the school lunch mix, whether at home or
in the classroom.
If you are home, these are easy meals
that require no heating or fast heating.
If you are dealing with multiple kids or
working remotely and need to be timeeffi
cient, these are aff ordable meals to feed
the kids this year.
Good & Gather™Lunch Kit
Target’s in-house brand of lunch kits
off er yummy lunch kits off eringsmoked
turkey and cheddar cheeseanduncured
ham and cheddar cheese lunch kit,to
name a few kids’ favorites. Th e turkey
is raised without antibiotics and growth
hormones, and the ham has no added
nitrates or nitrites, making this an easy,
healthy lunch choice you can feel good
about.
Price: $2.79-$2.99
Lunchables
Lunchables has always been a kidfriendly
favorite. Th ey’re available at
most grocery stores, easy and fun, and
there are great options to choose from
off ering a multitude of off erings such
asLunchables with Juice,Lunchables
Uploaded,Lunchables Bruncheables,and
more. From chicken kabobs toExtra
Chessy Pizza,there are many options for
the pickiest of kids this school year.
Price: $2.69-$3.79
Happi Foodi Beef Brisket
Give your taco-lover this super tasty and
straightforward pack of seasoned shredded
beef brisket, diced onions, Peppadew
peppers and cotija cheese in white corn
tortillas.
Price: $3.98
Kid Cuisine
Kid Cuisine meals can be heated in the
microwave or oven and feature longtime
favorite amongst ready-made kids’ lunches
such asBikini Bottom Chicken Breast
Nuggets Meal,which features breaded,
white meat chicken for a slam dunk meal
your little one will enjoy. Each frozen
meal comes with macaroni and cheese,
corn and vanilla pudding with graham
sprinkles on top.
Price: $1.98
Ready-made
lunches for delivery
Listen, we all want to be able to pick
the herbs from the garden and bread the
chicken into the nuggets ourselves. But
we’re busy! Delivery meals are yes, an
extravagance, but we found two services
that provide nutritious meals that not
only the kids will love, but so will the parents.
Also, from our research, these plans
were cost-eff ective, and meals were well
thought out, just like moms!
Yumble
Yumble is quite aware of its audience.
Th e meals are delivered in a fun
box have cool names likeClass Cheese
Ravioli,Say Cheese! Gluten-Free
Chicken Nuggetsand more. But they
also know what parents want, which is
high-quality meals that mom doesn’t
have time to make. Meals such as the
Class Cheese Ravioli and Say Cheese!
Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggetscome in a
chef-craft ed tomato sauce that is packed
with pureed veggies and lentils to give a
boost of Vitamins A, C, and E, and features
a side of green beans. Refreshing
tricky recipe add-ons that mom (or
dad!) does on the sly for her dishes are
part of these meals; expect to fi nd their
signature hidden-veggies caulifl ower
puree cheese sauce.
Meals are microwavable and ready in 60
to 90 seconds!
Price: Starting at $5.99/meal
Nurture Life
Nurture life provides meals for babies,
toddlers, kids, teens and adults. Meals are
nutritious with balanced portions, so your
kids get to the right nutrients. Our testers
loved thecheesy pesto tortellini with
chicken breast and carrots— with mini
tortellini, the favorite little cheesy pasta
pockets are tossed in a nut-free pesto that
is blended with spinach. Grilled chicken
breast and baby carrots round out the dish
with a pop of protein and a bit of crunch.
Andveggie ragout pasta with fresh mozzarellafeatures
nine diff erent veggies, and
a surprising pack of protein from lentils
blended right into the sauce! Tossed
with fun spiral whole wheat noodles and
topped with fresh mozzarella, this meal
feels familiar while keeping it nutritious.
Price: $7.99-$8.99
Snacks
Snack Poppers No-Nut
Flax Seed Kids Snack
Th ese ready-to-eat rolled oat balls are
sweet and chewy and make the perfect
kids’ breakfast or midday snack. Made
with protein-packed grains and seeds,
snack poppers are balanced with the right
amount of honey to make a yummy treat
that growing bodies will love.
Price: Starting at $5.99/meal
Luna Bar Mash-Ups™:
LemonZest® + Blueberry
Get your zest on with this delicious
twist on a family-favorite fl avor. Cool and
lemony with organic rolled oats. Jammy
blueberry fl avored topping drizzled with
creamy vanilla kicks those tastebuds up
into high gear.
Price: $19.50/15 bars
Kid Zbar Protein
Cookies ‘n Creme
Th is is the bar that kids will love! It
tastes like cookies ‘n’ creme and is packed
with organic oats and 5 grams of protein
to keep them going. Th ey are going to love
this creamy cookie crunch bar.
Price: $4.75/fi ve bars
Monster Pop
Kids will love every bite of this gluten
free, healthy and natural buttered
popcorn. And, they can mix things up
with each bag when they try any of the
four fl avors including Big-Time Butter,
Cheeseriffi c Cheese, Sweet ‘N Salty Kooky
Kettle and Finger Lickin’ Pizza!
Price: $11.98/28 bags
Crunch Pak Disney Foodles
Getting your kids to eat healthy is as
simple as can be with Disney Foodles
Apple and Cheese Snacks from Crunch
Pak®. With each pack coming with diff erent
options, you have your choice between
apples, pretzels, cheese, grapes and more.
Th ey are perfect to pack in their cold
lunches or to have as a midday snack.
Price: $2.49
Horizon Organic Good & Go!
Th ese organic snack packs are the perfect
size to take on the go and come in a
variety of nutritious and delicious combinations.
With a convenient peel open top,
kids can dig right in. And, having at least
fi ve grams of protein per pack, it’s an easy
way to keep kids going. Available in three
combinations, the snack packs off er new
feel-good snacking options for all families.
Horizon Organic Good & Go Snacks
are available in three varieties: cheddar
and pretzels; colby and apple crisps; and
cheddar, raisins, cashews and sweetened
cranberries.
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