School is out...WHAT do you serve those kids for lunch?

Does the phrase, "School is out!" send panic through your system? On many levels, summer vacation is a welcomed event. A break from the business of the school year, more laid back days, picnics, trips to the river or backyard swimming pool, and many other fun summer activities await you and your kids. For some of us, however, it also means that the kids are home for one more meal during the day.

Are you prepared? Need ideas? No worries, summer lunches can be fun and don't have to cost you an arm and a leg either.

Sandwiches are always a hit. They are easy and you can make so many different kinds. That does present a problem in the bread department though, I know. Buying gluten-free breads to feed your family sandwiches every day can add up in a hurry. Let's face it, there are many wonderful breads out there to buy, even some amazing ones. They all cost quite a bit more than a loaf of wheat bread and if you have a crowd of kids to feed you can easily go through a loaf in a day. Do the math, it adds up fast. In just 5 days of sandwiches here in my home, we'd be spending an easy $100 a month just on bread. I don't know about your grocery budget, but I know mine can't afford that.

Baking bread at home, from scratch may seem like a really big job. Thankfully, I have found a wonderful solution to that problem. I'm a busy mom, I know how much time it can take to feed a family well and how much work is involved in caring for kids and keeping a home. It is no small task, time is precious. My bread machine is a lifesaver when it comes to making bread.

I've made bread for years, often a weekly thing when wheat was part of our world. All of that bread was made by hand or with the help of my heavy duty stand mixer. Gluten-free breads can easily be made with that mixer, and sometimes I do use that method. I have found, however, that my bread machine can put out a very good loaf of gluten-free bread perfect for sandwiches or french toast. All I have to do is gather ingredients, put them in the machine and let the rest of the work be done for me. It may take a bit longer to produce a loaf of bread, but thankfully it takes very little hands on time for me. Huge bonus there!

Are sandwiches just not going to fly with your crew? They don't always here either. My kids favorite lunch these days is so simple and inexpensive they tend to have it once a week or so. My daughter will get a pot of rice going in our rice cooker (yet another invaluable tool in my kitchen), either brown or white long grain rice. When the rice has finished cooking, she opens a can of tuna, gets the bag of Parmesan cheese from the refrigerator and they have tuna rice bowls with Parmesan cheese on top. The heat of the rice melts the cheese, quite tasty! Sometimes we'll add some peas to the mix so they are getting a bit of veggies too. Another great option is to use leftover chicken, pork or beef, in place of the tuna. Quick and easy and I have little to no involvement. It's a lunch that my kids can make for themselves, get full and they love it!

My kids love pasta. It was one of the hardest things for them to do without until we found a variety that we all liked. Pasta is one of those things that has improved greatly over the years, thankfully the makers of gluten-free pastas are figuring out how to make a quality product that tastes amazing! One of my kids ultimate lunches before avoiding gluten was buttered noodles with a bit of garlic and Parmesan cheese. This is another dish that a bit of leftover meat can be added to.

Speaking of pasta, how about macaroni and cheese? So much can be done with macaroni and cheese. Add a bit of beef and you have a complete meal!

Another favorite in my house are quesadillas. So quick and easy to make either from store bought tortillas or homemade. Add a bit of cooked chicken, ground beef, fish or even just a bit of refried beans and your kids will love them.

How about nachos? This is a favorite in my house too. I try to have a pot of cooked pinto beans in my house every week or so for the kids to use in either nachos, quesadillas or even in their rice bowls. Easy, inexpensive and so good for them. Cooking dry beans is super easy and takes little hands on time at all. If you are going to be home anyway, or even if you want to put them in your crock pot to cook, they require little to no "work" for you. The savings you will see versus buying canned beans is huge for very little effort.

Salads are always a good lunch idea at my house too. My kids all love salad. Green salad, pasta salad, potato salad...the list goes on. If you are making a green salad, add some chicken, or any leftover meat to it. Add some cooked beans, tomatoes, cheese, hard boiled egg, pickled beets, or anything else your kids love to eat at a salad bar. If you have a garden, fresh lettuce makes the best salad and you can't get a salad that fresh anywhere! Not to mention the savings to your food budget.

Let's face it, feeding kids and keeping them full can be a full time job and cost a small fortune sometimes, especially when you factor in the cost of gluten-free foods. I can tell you, however, that it can be done economically and you don't have to spend hours in the kitchen cooking yet another meal. Sure, some of these options do take a bit of time on your part, but many of the dishes can be made ahead of time, or use up leftovers to complete the meal.

You don't have to spend a huge amount of time cooking unless you just love doing that sort of thing. Take an afternoon each week, make up a pot of beans, a loaf or two of bread, a batch of tortillas....whatever you think your kids would eat best that week and have those components to your noon meal ready. Get your kids involved in cooking some of their food. You may find that they eat better and more nutritious meals if they are involved in some of the cooking process.

Take advantage of fresh produce. Summer time has a host of amazing foods that are in season from veggies to berries and everything else that says, "Summer!" Buying in season will not only give you more variety for your summer meals, but is also amazingly good for you.

Enjoy this time with your kids. Lunch time does not have to be a stress, goodness knows this life has enough of them without worrying about lunch. Take a bit of time to plan out your meal options, do a bit of precooking and utilizing leftovers. You will see your food budget get a bit smaller, your kids eating more nutritious meals and can mark one more stress off of your list.