We’re heading into August already, and the summer has been both long and short somehow. Pool days and splash pads, outings and play dates, vacations and other travel times…we’ve all been busy with summer fun. But many of us are getting weary at this point. Outings are getting tiring, we’re broke from buying sunblock, and decent meals are a thing of the past – like way back in June. So, here at the end of the summer, let’s find some easy summer meal ideas for your little ones. This just might get us through the next few weeks of feeding our people.
If we’re talking about meal ideas, then it’s a good idea to check out the mealtime section of our Signing Time Dictionary. Let’s learn a few new food signs! Breakfast, lunch, and dinner signs are a great place to start.
Breakfasts
Do you have early risers? Or do you have kids who are getting up at different times or sleeping really late? It helps to have some quick and easy summer breakfast ideas. That way, we can each eat a healthy breakfast when we are ready to.
How about fruit and yogurt and a bit of granola or oats? Easy to throw together, but healthy and yummy. You can even drizzle some honey or maple syrup over it to make it sweeter for your kids.
And there’s the classic avocado toast, which you can make as fancy or as simple as you want. I have a kid who is happy with avocado, salt, and some everything-bagel seasoning. Want another shortcut? Look for little single-serve packages of mashed avocado. They keep wonderfully in the refrigerator, and you don’t have to have a perfectly ripe avocado or prep the avocado for your kids. Just open the little tub of avocado and spread it on the toast. Magic! Such an easy summer meal for your littles. This one could be a snack or lunch as well.
Feeling a little more motivated in the morning? Try these easy and fast banana pancakes! Just throw a banana into a blender with 2 eggs and a dash of cinnamon. Cook it up like any pancake, and serve it alone or with syrup or with some more fruit. Such a fast and easy summer meal idea!
Lunch ideas
Are your kids sick of sandwiches? Sometimes it helps to just change the packaging. Try wrapping your sandwich fillings in a tortilla to make a fun wrap instead of a sandwich. Or eat your sandwich fillings with crackers instead of bread.
A hummus and veggie wrap is another easy and healthy meal idea for lunch. Use whatever kind of tortilla works for your family, and spread it with hummus. Then add shredded carrots, sliced or speared cucumbers, bell pepper strips or whatever veggies your family enjoys. Roll it up and eat it as a wrap or slice it into bite-sized pieces.
If you’re home for the day and have a few minutes to cook, you could make some simple quesadillas. Throw a tortilla into a greased pan and sprinkle some cheese onto it. You can add beans or veggies or meat, or just keep it simple with cheese. Let the cheese melt, and fold the tortilla in half. Then you can cut it into fun triangles. Serve them alone or with some sour cream or salsa.
Skewers are so fun for kids. They can even help prepare these, and they are easy to pack and take along when you head out for the day. Your skewers can have pieces of chicken and some veggies like cherry tomatoes and cucumber slices. Or you could do skewers entirely of fruit. A skewer with all veggies could go with some dip for each bite. There are so many ways to load up a skewer! And kids love to eat lunch off of a stick!
Snacks!
With summer schedules that can be all over the place, our kids end up living on snacks sometimes. So let’s think about some healthy snacks to have around.
This takes a little bit of prep, but ends up being really fun. Drop some Greek yogurt into some silicone trays or molds. Or you could even just drop the yogurt onto a lined sheet pan. Then top the yogurt with fresh berries or chopped up fruit. Freeze the yogurt bites fully, and then store them in containers or zip-lock bags in the freezer. You can take out however many you need as you need them.
Apples are available all the time, and most kids are happy to eat them IF WE SLICE THEM FIRST. What is the deal with that? Thankfully, it’s not that big of a deal to slice an apple. And if you want a protein boost with the apple, you can serve it with nut butter or slices of cheese. If you want to get really fancy, you can make “Apple Nachos.” Arrange your apple slices on a plate, and drizzle them with nut butter. Then sprinkle them with raisins and granola. This could be an easy, fun, and healthy lunch too!
And then we have good old veggies and dip. Buy or make a dip that your kids really enjoy. And then put out the sliced veggies with the dip and let them go to town. This is a great trick for the starving people who hassle you while you are trying to make dinner. Just put out some carrot sticks and dip. I used to just put the plate on the floor, and my kids would eat it all. Veggies with dinner? Check!
We hope these easy summer meals ideas for your little ones can help get you through these last few summer days. And if you’re working on food signs along the way, don’t forget our popular Silly Pizza Song over at My Signing Time. It’s the perfect way to learn a bunch of food signs, and it’s super fun too!