Weekly Lunchbox-Peanut Butter and Jelly Power Muffins, Chicken Burgers, Steak Quesadilla or Chicken Pita with Roasted Veggies, Pepperoni Sandwich

My son has been begging me to make these chicken burgers for at least a week now. I finally got around to it and he wanted another one the next day! The only problem is, we ate them for lunch too, and didn't have any left. I will definitely be making them again, and will probably double the recipe. They were great cold or warmed up and I added extra sprouts on top for mine. The muffins were super moist and a great, healthy treat. The other sandwich-type items add some ideas of how to get extra veggies into the lunchbox and also add a variety of meats, breads, and sandwiches so that kids won't get bored of the same old thing everyday. Who knows, you might just find a new favorite!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Power Muffins from Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed our Children by Ann Cooper and Lisa M. Holmes

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsps baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup maple sugar (I used 1/4 cup white sugar, and 1/4 cup light brown sugar)

1 tsp cinnamon

6 Tbls rolled oats

3 Tbls raisins

1/4 chopped raw peanuts (I used dry roasted)

1/2 cup soy milk (I used skim milk)

4 Tbls canola oil
6 Tbls pure maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 Tbls cider vinegar

2 medium bananas, mashed

4 Tbls strawberry jam (I used blackberry and red raspberry)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a mini-muffin pan

Into a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, soda, salt, maple sugar, and cinnamon. Add the oats, raisins, and peanuts.

In another bowl, combine the soy milk, oil, maple syrup, vanilla, peanut butter, vinegar, and bananas and mash until the ingredients are well blended, then pour into the dry ingredients, stirring just until all ingredients are incorporated. Take care not to overmix.

Fill muffin cups two-thirds full with batter, then drop a little jam onto the top of each muffin. Sprinkle the tops with the remaining peanuts and bake for approximately 20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Chicken Burgers slightly adapted from The Top 100 Recipes for a healthy Lunchbox by Nicola Graimes

1 small onion, diced

2 Tbls chopped alfalfa sprouts

1 small carrot, finely shredded

1 apple, cored and grated, skin and all

1 lb ground chicken

1 small egg, lightly beaten

all-purpose flour, for dusting

salt

pepper

olive oil, for brushing

Put the onion, sprouts, carrot, apple and ground chicken in a bowl. Stir to break it up or use your hands and mix everything together.

Add the egg and seasoning and mix again by hand

Lightly cover a plate and your hands with flour. Divide the mixture into 6 portions and shape into a circular, flat burger. Place the burgers on a plate, cover with plastice wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
Heat the broiler and line a broiler pan with foil. Brush the foil lightly with olive oil and place the burgers on top. Brush the tops of the burgers with oil, lightly and broil about 8 minutes on each side until golden. Chill until ready to serve.

I toasted a hamburger bun under the broiler, added some lettuce and put the chicken burger in the middle.

Steak Quesadilla or Chicken Pita with Roasted Veggies by Mary Ann

whole wheat pita of flour tortilla

cooked chicken, shredded or leftoevet steak, sliced

leftover roasted veggies (from last week)

shredded cheese

You can make a steak quesadilla or a chicken quesadilla. I make them in the George Foreman grill because then you get a crispy quesadilla without using any butter or grease. Just get your tortilla, layer the cheese, meat and veggies, and cook until cheese is melted and everything is warmed. For the pita, which you could also make with steak, I just put shredded cheese, veggies, and chicken in the pita and kept all of them cold.

Pepperoni Pizza Sandwich by Mary Ann
I take two slices of bread and spread soft butter on the outer sides.Then I spread pizza sauce on the inside of one piece and put in on the hot griddle. Next comes a layer of mozzarella cheese, a layer of turkey pepperoni (a healthier option, not as greasy), and another layer of cheese. I spread pizza sauce on the inside of the other piece of bread and place that slice of bread, sauce side down on top of the layer of cheese. From there on out it is treated as a grilled cheese sandwich. You can also make these with just cheese, or any other veggies. My son likes them with pepperoni best.