Home baked tortilla chips (of course, dollar store tortilla chips are also a favorite around our house)
If I'm going to do chips, it's more likely I'll do tortilla chips. Tortilla chips have substance. They have fiber, and actually fill you up.
You can make your own baked tortilla chips using flour or corn tortillas from the store. Here's how I make mine:
Spread whole tortillas out on a large baking sheet and spritz with olive oil cooking spray. Sprinkle with any desired seasonings, such as salt, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, cumin, or just leave plain. Flip the tortillas over and spray and season the other side. Stack the tortillas up on a cutting board and cut into wedges, 8 or so each tortilla. Place on baking sheet in a single layer, and bake at 400 degrees F for 6 to 7 minutes, until the edges are golden and curling up slightly.
Add a healthy dip such as bean dip, salsa or guacamole, and you have a snack which packs a nutritional punch.
Bean dip boasts protein, fiber and some veggies, if made with onions, peppers and tomatoes. The salsa is loaded with lycopene and beta carotene. And the guacamole has the good fats. Fats are good for us, in moderate amounts and if they're the right kind. If you're packing a lunch for kids, remember their bodies and brains need these good fats. Guacamole can also have some lycopene (if made with tomatoes) and fiber.
Other alternative to potato chips
If it's just a wholesome snack food I'm interested in adding to the lunches, I'll make a large batch of popcorn and scoop into individual bags.
Mini corn or bran muffins make a healthy alternative to potato chips.
Small baggies of whole grain crackers also make a great substitute for chips. They're usually baked (less oils) and with the whole grains, have more vitamins and fiber than chips.
This summer was a cracker-y kind of summer around our place. I made the lavosh, and the girls got it in their heads that they wanted to do all kinds of crackers. They made Wheat Thins, Ritz, and Graham crackers. They used online recipes for the wheat thins and ritz-style crackers. But they followed my very old graham cracker recipe that I cut off the back of a box of brown sugar, when my son was a toddler.
I used to make these grahams as animal cookies for my kids when they were little. I have these small, animal-shaped cookie cutters. The cookies were adorable, and I knew that they were much healthier than the white flour animal cookies sold at the grocery store.
Here's the recipe I use for graham crackers. You can make them rectangular, like store-bought (that's what my daughters wanted to do this summer), or cut out with cutters and adjust the baking time, for shaped cookies.
Graham Crackers
3/4 cup (135 g) light brown sugar
1/2 cup, or 1/4 lb. (113 g) margarine
1 teaspoon (5 mL) vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups (210 g) whole wheat flour
1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon (5 mL) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) baking soda
1/4 teaspoon (1.25 mL) salt
1/3 cup (80 mL) water
In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and margarine. Add vanilla and beat until fluffy.
In a medium bowl, stir together flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Alternating flour mixture with water, mix into creamed margarine/sugar. Mix well. Cover bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour, until firm.
Divide dough into 3 portions. Roll out to 1/8" thickness, on a sheet of waxed paper that has been lightly dusted with flour. Work your dough into a rectangle roughly 5 X 15 inches. Trim dough to even the edges. Cut into 6 smaller rectangles, about 2 1/2" by 5". Score these rectangles into quarters and prick all over with a fork. Transfer to a greased baking sheet.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C). Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden around the edges. I think these are better slightly well-done, rather than undercooked. When they cool, they become crispy. Remove to a cooling rack immediately. Yields 36 graham crackers, which is 9 more than a standard box of grahams, and costs about $1 for the batch. (YMMV)
What are some extra goodies you like to add to the lunch boxes in your house?
For more ideas on what to put into the frugal lunchbox see Our frugal lunchbox: sandwiches
If you'd like an idea on making a lunch tote here's one you can make in an afternoon
