Liven Up Your Lunch With LeanMeanMomma & Homebird

Cliona O’Connor aka LeanMeanMomma has developed some great recipes to liven up the kids lunch boxes just in time for Back To School. All of her recipes include Homebird, Ireland’s only Bord Bia approved range of cooked and ready to serve chicken and turkey.

As we all know it is not easy getting your child to eat the lunch you have so carefully made and packed. With that in mind Cliona has shared her 3 Top Tips for Lunch Boxes:

1. Get your child to open and close the lunchbox in the shop prior to purchasing it. They can look really cool but may end up being a nightmare for little fingers so this is essential. As is easy cleaning!
2. Re-usable stacking pots are a fantastic way of storing mini breadsticks, hummus, yoghurt, fruit sauce or fruit/vegetable slices. It’s a nice way for them to decipher between what to eat on each lunch break also. Pots for small break and lunch box for big one.
3. I re-use the double ended medicine spoons in the lunch boxes for yoghurts. They fit in easily as they are so small and if they go get lost it’s no big deal.

Here are some tasty recipes that can be changed to suit your child’s taste. Why not even get them involved in making their own lunch!

Courgette Turkey Wraps

Ingredients:

• 1 pack Homebird Traditional Irish Roast Turkey Slices
• Cocktail sticks
• 1 courgette
• 1 tub of sweet chilli hummus
• Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Cut courgette in half lengthways – this will help reduce waste after
2. Slice the courgette lengthways with a peeler into several long thin slices
3. Using a teaspoon “butter” them with hummus
4. Lay the sliced turkey on top and season accordingly
5. Roll up lengthways and place secure with a cocktail stick

Inside Out Wraps

Ingredients:

• 1 pack Homebird Traditional Irish Roast Turkey Slices
• 1 tub of Cream cheese
• Fat bread sticks or Celery sticks or carrot sticks

Method:

1. Spread cream cheese on the slice of turkey as if to butter it
2. Place bread stick (or alternative) in the middle and roll up around it
3. Cut across diameter if it needs to fit in a box

Croissants All Day Long

This is a great alternative to Tuna/Sweetcorn combo’s.

Ingredients:

• 1 pack Homebird Just Add Irish Chicken Pieces
• 1/4 cup red grapes halved
• 1-2 tbsp dried cranberries
• Seasoning
• 1 tsp Greek Yoghurt
• 1 tsp Mayonaise
• OPTIONAL: 1/2 cup sliced almonds – not for school with nut allergies but for Mum’s lunch box
• Croissants

 Method:

1.  Simply mix all your ingredients in a bowl
2. Slice open the croissant and fill with the salad
3. You can also serve this on sliced apple – simply bring a full apple with you and slice when needed and serve salad on it in place of a cracker.

Breakfast for Lunch Box! Friday Favourites!!!

Ingredients:

• 1 pack Homebird Traditional Irish Roast Turkey Slices
• 1 Croissant
• 1 hard boiled egg
• 1 portion of berries
• 1 tub cheerios
• 1 yoghurt
• Slice of Edam cheese

Method:

1. Slice croissant and fill with Homebird turkey and slice of cheese.
2. Assemble the rest of the box accordingly.
3. Make it fun!! It’s all about the sell!!!
4. Other inclusions could be mini pancakes, brioche pain buttered with jam in place of the croissant. The cold cuts can be included as a serving alone.

Pinwheels

The advantage of making pinwheels (besides the fact that they look great) is you can pop different flavours of wraps into the lunch box of each child to encourage them to try new flavours without worrying that they won’t find something they like in there – just pop in a few tried and trusted ones too!

Ingredients:

• 1 pack Homebird Traditional Irish Roast Chicken Slices
• Cocktail sticks/lollipop sticks
• 1 sandwich/tortilla wrap
• Spinach leaves
• Sliced Cheese
• Mayonnaise or cream cheese

Method:

1. Spread the wrap with Mayo/cream cheese.
2. Lay the rest of the ingredients on the wrap and roll lengthways.
3. Slice into 2-3 inch pieces and secure with cocktail stick.
4. Mix and match 2 or 3 flavour combo’s per lunch box.

Serving suggestions to accompany each of LeanMeanMomma’s lunchbox recipes:

• Pot of fruit (sliced grapes, berries, kiwi)
• Small mandarin or clementine – just remember to peel it.
• Apple slices – prevent browning by adding 4 cups of water with 1 tbsp lemon juice for 5-10 minutes.
• Veg pot (sliced peppers, carrots, sugar snap peas)
• Small yoghurt (natural or greek style) with fruit puree on top. Slice 6 peeled and cored pink ladies. Bring to boil in an inch of water and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Puree and once cool store in jar in fridge.
• Pot of fruit puree (as above). Add berries as you wish when simmering also.
• Small pot of hummus with small pack of breadsticks or carrots/celery.
• Cheese cubes