Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables is super important …and our kids should be no exception to this rule! So let’s start the school year off right by packing a wide variety of colorful produce in our children’s lunches – and I am not just talking about a rotation of apples, grapes and carrots.
Today we are talking about a fabulous (colorful) fruit option that holds up really well in the lunch box, and that’s berries! Not everything looks appealing after being tossed all around on the way to school, but I think berries hold up beautifully and they also work well in recipes, which is why I am excited to partner with Driscoll’s on this post. And let’s face it, berries by themselves are basically one of nature’s fast foods with no chopping or peeling required.
If you saw my recent post on “Thinking Outside the Sandwich,” you know that I’m all about coming up with some creative ideas other than just the predictable PB&J to keep your kids interested in trying and eating real food. So I think you’ll be excited about this new berry recipe below – Raspberry Almond Lunchbox Waffles! You can send it as-is with a yogurt or maple syrup dipping sauce, or spread some organic cream cheese on the waffles to make it into a sandwich. My daughters absolutely love this variation, and I love feeling like I am packing something fun and different instead of an old stand-by.
And I know you’ll especially be excited about this one …we added this new waffle recipe to a free 5-day school lunch meal plan that we developed just for Driscoll’s. It’s simple (no fancy skills required) with a super cute visual to help get your kids excited about their real food school lunches! Here’s a tease below – be sure to click on the image to download the full meal plan from the Driscoll’s website:
What is your favorite way to pack berries in your kids’ lunches?
Raspberry Almond Lunch Box Waffles
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups whole-wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ cups milk
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- 1 banana, ripe
- ½ cup raspberries, fresh, and halved
- ¼ cup almonds, sliced
- pure maple syrup, for serving
Instructions
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Preheat the waffle iron.
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In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
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Make a well (hole) in the center of the flour mixture and drop in the eggs, milk and melted butter. Stir to combine.
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In a separate small bowl mash the banana with the back of a fork. Carefully fold the banana into the batter along with the raspberries and almonds.
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Cook the waffles according to manufacturer directions and either serve warm with pure maple syrup or use the waffle pieces as “bread” to make a cream cheese sandwich for the lunchbox.
Recipe Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
Video: A Tour of My Kitchen!
Just started reading on your site tonight. Looking for ways to feed my family better. Just wondering how a day of eating might look for you all. Is it 3 meals, no snacks. 3 meals 3 snacks, etc… and what are your families go to’s for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Looking forward to getting your book in the mail and starting to make some changes around here. Fingers crossed my little guy eats no fruits or veggies. He will have a smoothie every once in a while. Its going to be a big week over here. Thanks for the great site and inspiring us moms!!!
I had heard of your website for awhile, but hadn’t really delved into it before the start of this school year. We have always strived to eat local and organic foods. I considered my 7-yr old daughter to be somewhat of a picky eater (with the exception of fruit), but since sending her to school this year with “real food” lunches that come back entirely eaten – I now believe she just prefers less processed, natural food. We enjoyed looking through the pictures of all your past lunches together so she could point out what appealed to her. She especially loves the frozen peas – I would never have thought of packing that! Thanks for the inspiring website, Lisa – I look forward to trying some of your recipes…