School Lunches: Main Dish Ideas

Hey, everybody! Today, I have two main dish recipes that you can easily put in your school lunch. Hopefully last week's post and all of my Instagram updates have given you a good idea of what I typically eat at school, and I hope this post helps even more. There's also a video about school lunches that I posted. Click here to watch it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDmubkNm7js

Left: Make-Your-Own Yummy Bowl
Right: Guacamole Chicken Salad

Guacamole Chicken Salad
Serves 6 - 8 

4 split (2 whole) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 avocados
½ of a large red onion, diced
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1 orange bell pepper, diced
The juice of 1½ limes
1 cup cilantro, finely chopped½ tsp ground cumin
A few dashes of hot sauce
3-4 cups pre-washed baby spinach
Preparation
1. Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and the olive oil. Grill the chicken breasts, bake them, or prepare them in whichever manner you like best. I prefer grilling. Once they are fully cooked, let them cool and cut into bite-sized pieces.

2. Scoop the flesh out of the avocados and mash them using a potato masher. Add the lime juice, cumin, hot sauce, and more salt and pepper. Mash once more to achieve a creamy consistency. 

3. Combine the rest of the ingredients (except the spinach) and mix well. Adjust the seasonings. Put a bed of spinach (½ cup per person) at the bottom of your Tupperware container and spoon in the chicken salad. Enjoy! 

Make-Your-Own Yummy Bowl
Serves 4 

Ingredients
4 cups (cooked) of your favorite whole grain (i.e. brown rice, amaranth, quinoa, bulgur, etc.)
8 cups of your favorite assorted, chopped veggies (i.e. tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, cauliflower, avocado, cucumber, carrots, etc.) 
1 (15 oz) can your favorite bean (i.e. black beans, navy beans, white beans, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, etc.) 
½ cup your favorite (preferably homemade) sauce/salad dressing (i.e. salsa, balsamic vinaigrette, pesto sauce, marinara sauce, oil and vinegar, etc.) 
(Optional) ½ cup of your favorite cheese
2 cups pre-washed greens of choice (i.e. spinach, arugula, lettuce, etc.) 

Preparation
1. Stir your sauce of choice into your grain of choice and fluff with a fork. Season your beans, if you so desire, with your favorite seasonings. 

2. Combine the beans, dressed whole grains, and veggies together in a large bowl. Serve each serving on a bed of greens. Enjoy! 

I hope you enjoy these recipes and enjoyed the video! They're super simple. Please remember to share your recreations with me using #teenscancooktoo, and don't forget to follow me on all the social media handles below:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/teenscancooktoo (@teenscancooktoo)
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YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdiKFPsBoLhYw2W42P7LvKQ 

I'm going to be busy performing in The Little Mermaid, Jr. as Ursula for the next few weeks, so some of the team members will be posting instead of me. They are going to have some awesome recipes, so keep an eye out for those.

Stay healthy!
- Madeline