We all have them, those random baggies and tupperwares of food leftover from recipes where we didn’t quite use everything…half a cucumber, a few stray carrots, maybe some random slices of cheese, and leftover salmon from dinner the night before. On their own it doesn’t seem like much, but together (strategically plated), it can make for a delicious, nutrient dense meal for your family – enter the snack lunch or snack dinner! And don’t worry about things that seemingly “don’t fit together,” consider this your art project for the day: there are no rules, just make it look pretty.

Typically when creating a snack lunch or dinner, I pull everything out of my fridge that doesn’t really have much leftover or that I’ve used a portion of. I’ll lay it all out on my countertop and think about what pairs together well. For example, yesterday I had some leftover smoked salmon, half a cucumber, and some cream cheese. I spread the cream cheese on the slices of salmon, then wrapped them around narrowly sliced and peeled cucumber.

When I served this at lunch time, my son Ethan proclaimed “cucumber in a blanket!”. I also threw some random leftover fruit, nuts, pita chips, and anything else I could find to make it look pretty (that’s a key element here).

In an effort to not throw away any food, we’ve been trying to repurpose any stray leftovers for our snack lunch trays. The kids love it because it creates a family dining experience and encourages them to play with their food. When creating a healthy relationship with food, it’s important as parents we teach our children that food should be FUN! I love serving my kids this way because we talk about the textures, the hard foods, the soft foods, the colors, and then I get to watch their creativity come alive! Last week we sliced up leftover cucumbers and halved grape tomatoes – they decided to make “cucumber hats” and completely devoured the entire plate of veggies. If there’s anything I’ve learned about instilling a healthy relationship with food in your children and ensuring that they have a broad and healthy nutrient-rich diet, it’s to serve foods creatively. Perhaps they don’t like tomatoes in a salad, but “cucumber hats” are fun for everyone!

Remember, especially during our current circumstances, no fuss meals are a great way to ensure your family is eating nourishing food without much effort!