One of the best things to do with National School Lunch Week is to rename your menu items to reflect the year's theme. If you are like us and the last video game you played was 30 years ago and involved colorful shaped blocks dropping from the sky, you may need to become more familiar with today's video game lingo to rename your menu items for this exciting week. The School Nutrition Association suggests calling milk and juices "health potions" or "mana potions" and calling grab-n-go items "XP Boosters" (XP meaning experience points). In hopes of helping you create some fantastically creative menu names, we compiled a list of popular video game lingo with brief descriptions linked here - Video Game Lingo Cheat Sheet.
What to Menu?
The term "Handheld" comes to mind when thinking about video games and food. Kids hold controllers, phones, or a computer mouse to play video games and eat many foods that fit perfectly in their hands. Try creating a fun "Handheld" menu to celebrate this year's LEVEL UP theme. Below are some of our favorite handheld menu categories. Click on the category name to discover all available market basket options. We also created some new quantity recipes for sliders (the perfect handheld food for any size hand).
Pizza - America's favorite handheld food option! Check out our selection of over 50 different types of pizza and pizza-making options. Have you tried our latest market basket pizza addition? Schwan's Big Daddy BBQ Chicken Pizza is sure to be a hit with all ages.
Burgers and Hot Dogs - The new Home Market Foods Cheeseburger Rollerbite combines the best of both worlds. The flavor of a cheeseburger shaped like a hot dog - WOW!
Tacos and Burritos - Try the super yummy and versatile Taco Stick from Integrated Foods.
Cheese Stuffed Breadsticks - Great options, including Wild Mike's Mozzarella Bites and Jalapeno Mozzarella Bites.
Calzones and Stuffed Sandwiches - Perfectly shaped to have a fun video game name like "Game Controllers."
Sliders - Pint-sized hot or cold sandwiches with unlimited topping options. Here are some of our favorite slider recipes customized for school nutrition using market basket ingredients.
- Roast Beef Sundae Slider with Fried Onions (2 M/MA, 2 B/G, 1/2 Cup Starchy Veg)
- Cheesy Buffalo Chicken Sliders (2 M/MA, 2 B/G)
- Country Fried Popcorn Chicken Sliders with Cheese and Country Gravy (2 M/MA, 2.75 B/G)
- Meatball Parmesan Sliders (2 M/MA, 2 B/G)
- Chicken Cordon Bleu Sliders (2 M/MA, 2 B/G)
- Pork Carnita with Queso and Guacamole Sliders (2 M/MA, 2 B/G)
Please note: Recipes are quantified to meet school nutrition meal requirements but still need to be standardized for your operation. Need help standardizing a recipe? We are here to help! Reach out anytime.
We wish everyone a happy National School Lunch Week and a rewarding school year.
If you are having trouble navigating the market basket or finding new pairings to build a creditable breakfast, lunch or snack, our food consultants are here to assist. We would LOVE to help! If you're not an AEA Purchasing Cooperative Food Member, let's talk! Email megan@aeapurchasing.org!
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