Lifestyle – School lunch ideas
Listen to this by clicking 
here
School lunch ideas on Lifestyle with Safeera Kaka
Lunch Wraps
Ingredients
• 1 flour tortilla
• 3 tablespoons hummus
• 1/4 avocado (sliced thin)
• 1/3 cup alfalfa sprouts (or a few leaves of green lettuce or both)
• 2 to 4 tomato slices
• Optional: cucumber slices leftover chicken
Left over rice
Ingredients
• 1/4 cup peanut oil (you can substitute a neutral-flavored oil such as safflower oil or canola oil)
• 1 tsp. kosher salt (or sea salt)
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. sesame oil
• 4 cups cooked brown rice (chilled)
• 1 carrot (diced)
• 1/2 cup snow peas (chopped)
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 stalk celery (diced)
• 1/2 red or yellow bell pepper (diced)
• 3 green onions (chopped)
• Optional: 1/2 cup corn kernels
• Garnish: 2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
In a small mixing bowl, combine the peanut oil, salt, black pepper, sugar, and sesame oil. Whisk until the sugar dissolves.
Pour the mixture over the chilled brown rice in a large mixing bowl. Toss gently to coat the rice, then set the bowl aside.
Steam the diced carrots, snow peas, and corn if desired, for 1 to 2 minutes, until they just start to turn tender. Plunge them into an ice bath to flash chill them and halt the cooking process, drain them, then stir the vegetables into the rice.
Refrdgerate and serve
Meatball bombs
• Ready made kebabs
• Dough of your choice
• 1 1/2 cups tomato chutney
• 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese (shredded)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (extra virgin)
• 5 tablespoons butter (melted)
• 3 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 teaspoon parsley (finely minced)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Garnish: parsley
Cook the kebabs till done
Flatten balls of dough, top with kebab chutney and cheese
Enclose like a bun and put it seam side down on a lined baking sheet
Brush with butter mixture
Bake until golden.
Serve
Avocado Toast
Ingredients
• 2 slices of toast (thickly sliced, multigrain)
• 1 avocado
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt (flaky, if possible)
Steps to Make It
1. Gather the ingredients.
2. Toast the bread slices to your desired level of crunchiness.
3. Prepare the avocados right before you are ready to eat. Cut, pit, and remove the avocado from its peel. Mash them with a fork until you have your desired level of texture. Mix in the lemon juice as you mash. A fork works best but you can also use a mortar and pestle if you wish.
4. Divide the avocado mixture between the two slices of toast. Drizzle olive oil over the top of each slice. Add a sprinkle of the red pepper flakes and salt to each piece and serve immediately.
5. Enjoy!
Recipe Variations
• Greek Avocado Toast: Lemon juice, crumbled feta, and sliced cherry tomatoes combine to make a salty, tangy garnish that pops with a hint of sweetness.
• Mexican Queso Fresco Toast: Queso fresco is another irresistible crumbly and salty cheese that pairs perfectly with mashed avocado. Add a sprinkle of chili powder and a dash of lime juice to give your toast a little Mexican flavor.
• Poached Egg: Everything’s better when you put an egg on it, including avocado toast! A squeeze of hot sauce and sea salt make this everything you want out of breakfast.
• Creamy Sriracha, Radish, and Scallion: For extra crunch and a spicy kick, add sliced scallions, radishes, and a drizzle of Sriracha mayo.
• Everything Bagel: Sprinkle a little Everything Bagel Seasoning on top before serving.
• Tomato Basil Balsamic: Transport yourself to the Italian coast with some beautiful sliced red tomatoes, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, and shredded basil leaves.
• Garlic: Rub your multigrain toast with a cut garlic clove before topping with the mashed avocado.
• Guacamole: Top your avocado toast with guacamole instead of your basic avocado mash.
Calzones
1 recipe dough
Pizza sauce (sautre garlic in olive oil, add canned tomato salt, pepper, chilli flakes, a pinch of sugar and herbs. Cook till thickened )
Polony steak or chicken
Chopped olives, peppers, onions
Mozarella cheese
Doll dough into discs, top with sauce, meat, veg and cheese.
Fold over and moisten edge with water, seal and flatten edge with a fork
Bake until golden brown
Brush with butter immediately after baking
Salmon Pinwheels
Ingredients
• 3 pieces fresh sandwich bread (white or whole wheat)
• 4 ounces cold smoked salmon
• 3 tablespoons cream cheese (approximately)
Steps to Make It
1. Use a rolling pin to roll the bread out flat and thin. The crust can be left on or cut off.
2. Spread a layer of cream cheese on the bread. Lay a thin layer of smoked salmon on top of the cream cheese.
3. Tightly roll up the slice of bread, rolling from the longest side. Squeeze the roll together gently to secure. Use a serrated knife then cut the roll into 4 or 5 pieces.
Honeyed Fruit Salad
½ cup unsweetened juice
• 3 tablespoons honey (plus 2 teaspoons)
• 2 tablespoons lemon (juice of)
• 1/2 teaspoon zest (lemon)
• 1 tablespoon sugar (granulated)
• 1 pint strawberries (hulled)
• 2 pears (cored)
• 2 peaches (pitted)
• 3/4 cupcherries (sweet, pitted)
• Optional: 1 kiwifruit
Steps to Make It
1. Process the first five ingredients in a blender until the dressing is smooth.
2. Chill for 20 minutes before serving.
3. Halve or quarter strawberries, cut pears and peaches into 3/4-inch pieces, and halve cherries.
4. Cut the kiwifruit in half lengthwise and then cut each half crosswise into 1/4-inch slices.
5. Toss the prepared fruit with the desired amount of dressing and serve immediately or chill.
Caprese Sandwiches
Ingredients
• 1 ciabatta loaf
• 1 cup grated Mozzarella cheese
• 2 tomatoes sliced
• 1 ball buffalo mozzarella
• 2 tbsp basil pesto (I use coriander chutney instead of pesto)
Instructions
1. Pre-heat the grill of the oven.
2. Split the ciabatta in half and drizzle with olive oil. Toast under the grill until golden brown.
3. Spread the pesto onto the bottom half of the bread and top with the grated mozzarella and tomatoes. Season the tomatoes then place under the grill again until the cheese is melted.
4. Remove from the oven then top with the fresh mozzarella, basil leaves (optional) and more pesto.
5. Top with the top half of the bread, slice and serve.
Chicken Mayo Salad
• 3 cups chicken breast ( cubed or shredded)
• 1 cup greens of your choice (lettuce, cucumber, celery)
• Avacoado optional
• 1/2 cup] mayo
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• A dash of tobacco
Mix everything together, serve with crackers or on a sandwich. If toasting omit greens.
Fish Stick Wraps
Ingredients
• 16 fish sticks
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/4 cup tartar sauce
• 1 cup lettuce
• 4 shells
Instructions
• Cook fish stick according to package instructions (8-10 minutes in the oven).
• While the fish sticks are baking warm up the peas in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, until no longer frozen, then combine with tartar sauce and use either a food processor or blender to blend peas and tartar sauce together. If you don’t have a blender or food processor you can mash them together with a fork.
• Spread 1/4 of the mixture onto each wrap shell, sprinkle 1/4 of the lettuce, and then top with 4 fish sticks. Roll up and enjoy!
Notes
Use a good quality tartar sauce that has a zip to it, or simply add pickles to the wrap at the end.
Lettuce Wraps
INGREDIENTS
• 1 head iceberg lettuce, cored and outer leaves removed
• 1 tablespoon mayo
• 6 slices chicken
• 2 thin slices tomato
• 1 piece of parchment paper, about 14″ x 14″
1. Place the parchment paper down on your work surface.
2. Layer 6 to 7 large leaves of lettuce in the middle of parchment paper so that you create a lettuce base about 9 inches by 10 inches.
3. Spread the mayo in the center of the lettuce wrap.
4. Layer with the chicken and tomato.
5. Starting with the end closest to you, roll the lettuce wraps jelly roll style using the parchment as your base as tight as possible.
6. Halfway through rolling, tuck the ends of the wraps towards the middle.
7. Continue to roll the lettuce wrap, keeping it as tight as possible and using the parchment paper to guide you.
8. When it is completely wrapped, roll the remainder of the parchment around the lettuce tightly.
9. Using a serrated knife, cut the lettuce wrap almost completely, leaving a small piece of the parchment intact to help hold it together.
Airfryer Taquitos
INGREDIENTS
• 1 cup cooked chicken breast (any leftover or rotisserie chicken works)
• 1/3 cup shredded cheese (Mexican blend or cheddar)
• 2 ounces (1/4 cup) cream cheese
• 2–3 tablespoons chunky bean & corn salsa (any salsa works – less if thinner, more if thicker)
• 4 taco size tortillas (8 inches – flour for flautas, corn for taquitos)
• avocado oil spray
______________
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Make the filling: Combine the cooked meat, cheese, cream cheese and salsa together in a bowl until completely blended.
2. Roll up the taquitos/flautas: Use your spoon to loosely mark/divide the bowl of filling mixture into four quarters (this helps make each taquito about the same size). To make it easy, use flour tortillas because they don’t rip (flautas). If using corn tortillas (taquitos), warm them by wrapping in a paper towel and microwave on medium power for 10 second intervals until just barely warm to the touch (20 or 30 seconds max). Arrange a quarter of the filling in a line across the widest part of each tortilla (lots of pictures in the post above!). Roll them up and place them into the air fryer, then give a quick spray over the entire thing with your spray oil.
3. Cook: Air fry for 7-10 minutes at about 375F (my air fryer is analog so it’s not exact). Check them at 5 minutes so see how fast they’re cooking. You want the taquitos to be nice and golden brown all around. Top with your faves: guacamole, sour cream, cilantro, salsa, tomato, etc. Serve over some greens for a full meal.
4. To freeze: Make the filling and roll the taquitos, but instead of cooking them, place each taquito on a small baking sheet with the edge of the tortilla facing down so they stay rolled. Transfer the frozen taquitos into a storage container with an airtight seal and keep them for 3-6 months! Cook from frozen: Place frozen taquitos in a single layer in your air fryer and spray with a quick spritz of avocado oil. Cook at 375F for 12-15 minutes, checking at 10 minutes to see how fast they’re cooking.
