It’s back to school time! But if the thought of coming up with new ideas for school lunches day after day fills you with dread, then Catherine McCord, founder of the popular blog Weelicious and Weelicious book, has you covered with her latest cookbook.
Released just in time for the start of the school year, Catherine’s newest cookbook Weelicious Lunches, offers recipes for quick, delicious and healthy lunches. I have been following the Weelicious blog for quite some time now. When Little M started eating solids, I found myself in much the same place that Catherine did when her son was very young. There weren’t many sources for parents who were looking for nutritious, easy and realistic recipes for their children. Catherine started Weelicious to provide that resource for parents. I love her recipe posts, they are always inventive and interesting. They inspire me to get into the kitchen and try out new dishes!
I also firmly believe in introducing kids to wholesome and delicious food, whether that is by getting them involved in the kitchen, taking them to farmers markets or planting a small herb or vegetable garden for them to tend. Catherine shares her ideas for this as well, and it is lovely to see how her children enjoy being in the kitchen with her.
While Little M is not in school yet, we have many friends who do have little ones who will be starting school this year so I know what a struggle it can be to think of ideas for a variety of school lunches. We want our children to eat well, and enjoy their food, but it is a challenge to come up with healthy ideas, especially for parents who are low on time (which is pretty much all of us, right?) Weelicious Lunches offers recipes like Shredded Chinese Chicken Salad, Zippy Lentil Chili, Carrot Hummus, Silky Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Crouton Bites (yum) and Cinnamon Roll “Sushi” Sandwiches. We made the Eggplant Burgers the other day, Little M helped me to stir and scoop, and they were a big hit! The pictures in the book are beautiful and Catherine’s anecdotes make it a quick and enjoyable read. If you have a picky eater at home, Weelicious Lunches has strategies to help with that and has entire chapters for variations on PB&J, Pizza, Dips and Snacks.
Can’t wait to check out Weelicious Lunches? Here is your chance to win a copy. Tell Crayons and Croissants what your favorite lunch is in the comments below and you will be automatically entered. Only open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. states, D.C. or Puerto Rico. Winner will be chosen at random on Tuesday, September 10, 2013 at 12pm EST.
This giveaway is now closed.
Photos courtesy of Weelicious
Crayons and Croissants 
Our 14 months old son loves pasta with peas and shredded chicken! Can’t wait until he’s a bit bigger and we can try out some of the older kid weelicious ideas!
My 2year old loves ham & cheese quesadillas.
My toddler and I recently discovered a new healthy take on egg salad but with avocado and just a touch of mayo. Good protein, healthy fat and he loves to mix—and if he gets to mix, that means he’ll try it!
Chicken Salad in a pita pocket! 🙂 Always my favorite.
Grilled cheese with tomato and avocado plus soup
We love tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches!
Wraps!! Any kind of wraps!!
My son loves his grilled cheese sandwiches or some plain cream cheese drizzled with some honey topped with raisins in a sandwich and of course the classic homemade chicken nuggets. We try and be healthy so I would love to get some wonderful ideas with this book. I have been following weelicious for a while now and love her blog.
A salad with dried cherries, cucumber, and feta. Then a bag of pretzel crisps and yogurt for dessert. Plain old water to drink and sometimes I throw in a piece of necessary dark chocolate!
We love beans and rice.
Turkey Sandwiches!
tuna sandwich!
Egg salad sandwich.
Rice with chicken teriyaki and edamame
grilled cheese for sure!
My favorite lunch is a hearty pasta and some salad.
Any kind of sandwich makes a lunch enjoyable for me.
My own veggie tacos. I saute a veggie burger then cut it in half into 2 taco shells. Then I add salsa, cheddar, avocado. My twin 2-year olds like grilled cheese with fruit on the side.
Can I say any lunch that I get to take more than 10 minutes to eat? I love a really good sandwich instead of a plain one too. Can’t nail down one specific item though. I’m sure Catherine has a new one for me in her book!
Chinese dumplings
Anything warm. Even on a hot day. It feels so good to have that calm moment of something warm filling you up.
I’ll give you my girls favorite….chicken salad on crackers, I think they just like putting it on the cracker. They just started prekindergarten and I’m having a hard time with lunch variety. This book would be a great help
My son’s favorite lunch would have to be fresh salads. Whether it be oriental chicken, tuna or chef, he loves them. I pack them with lots of ice packs so they stay crisp. He says his salads are the envy of the lunch table amongst the sea of soggy sandwiches.
My favorite thing for lunch is chicken wraps with sauteed veggies….the kids love it too.
Derien 2.5 loves all kind of pasta with or without sauce. Since he is a really picky eater the top favorite is fried chicken and rice. He loves rice sometimes even for breakfast he wanna eat rice 🙂
My little guy and I are crazy about paninis. And Catherine’s Israeli couscous salad.
PB&J “sushi roll” sandwiches are a favorite with my kids!
Mexican Pizza!
My favorite lunch is a chicken salad sandwich on a toasted croissant, kettle chips and a pickle with sweet iced tea. Yum!
My son absolutely loves grilled cheese!
My 2yr old LOVES pasta! I am constantly trying to come up with ideas for pasta and other lunches!
We love all kids of hummus with veggies and pita chips fpr dipping!
We do lots and lots of dinner leftovers!
My 2 1/2 year old son’s favorite lunch is PBJ rolls with a side of whatever fruit is available, usually apple slices.