21 Secretly Healthy Back to (Home) School Recipes Kids Will Love

Here’s an understatement: the start of the 2020-21 school year is going to look a little different. 

Whether you’re facing the reality that your kids will remain your full-time work-from-home office mates to kick off the year, or you’re still trying to make sense of the complicated flow chart outlining if and when and how your kiddos will maybe-kinda-sorta-some-of-the-time actually get back to the classroom, or you’ve just decided to take matters into your own hands and join the ranks of homeschoolers...yeah, it’s not back to school as usual. 

As we’re all wading through this sea of uncertainty (and frustration, boredom, loneliness, [insert negative emotion here]), we want to help you tackle the one challenge that’s a sure bet: your kids are going to be hungry. And they will expect you to feed them, regularly, and probably to their highly specific preferences. Yes, depending on the extent to which you are currently sleep deprived this might sound like a downright Herculean task, especially when you throw in caveats like allergies, dietary restrictions, or just general good health and nutrition. But, it really doesn’t have to be. 

With a few stand-by recipes in your back pocket, you can start tweaking and substituting to keep things fresh, tasty, and easy so your young scholars always have the brain fuel they need to ace those lessons (and give you a few blessed moments of peace and quiet). Read on for a few of our go-to, kid-approved, nutrient-packed recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and every snack-attack in between.

Breakfast

It really is the most important meal of the day. Your kiddos are busy growing, and after those 8-12 hours of sleep their systems need fuel to get and stay focused in the morning (not to mention avoid becoming moody little monsters). 

These six simple breakfast recipes are not only packed with blood-sugar balancing complex carbs and protein and brain boosting nutrients, they’re also deceivingly delicious. We won’t promise bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, but we’re pretty darn confident you’ll see a reduction in breakfast table tantrums and eye-rolls with these easy morning meal options made with JOI.

Vegan Apple Almond Breakfast Bars

Dairy-Free Berrylicious Smoothie Bowl

Energizing Chocolate Oatmeal Muffins

Perfect Fall Vegan Pumpkin Pie Chia Pudding

Immune-Boosting Cashew Turmeric Granola

Boredom-Busting Make-Ahead Overnight Oats 

Lunch

Lunch is an especially tricky meal to plan for this school year. If your kids are heading back to the classroom, the school cafeteria may not be as reliable (or appealing) of an option as in years past. If you’ll be continuing at home learning, lunchtime may be a massive scramble you’re trying to coordinate in the middle of your own busy work day, or a big chore that somehow needs to not derail all concentration and learning progress. 

Either way, make-ahead is the secret here. These three JOI-ful options keep the hassle to a minimum, and are guaranteed to get better reviews than the cafeteria stand-by’s.

Della Bowl’s Not-So-Secret Secret Yellow Sauce to Up Your Bowl Game

Make-Ahead Cold Sesame Cashew Noodles

Vegan Poppy Seed Dressing on Kale and Cranberry Salad

Dinner

We’re all doing our best to just make it til dinner time most days. Cooking an elaborate meal is nowhere near priority after a chaotic day of at-home learning or the inevitable scramble of picking kiddos up from school or activities. Reward yourself with something even better than take-out--a super simple, super healthy dinner that you and your kids will love. 

These 5 weeknight dinner options made with JOI have all the indulgence factor of a meal you labored over, without the time, effort, or through-the-roof calorie count. Be sure you put the kids on dishes and clean-up duty.

Vegan Cashew Pesto Flatbread with White Beans and Kale

Gluten-Free Cashew Coconut Curry

Vegan Tacos with Avocado Crema

Creamy Vegan Romesco Penne Pasta



Comforting Gluten-Free Vegan Korma

Snack and Smoothies

How many times have you heard a little (or not so little) voice crying out about how ferociously hungry they are?

Anyone with kiddos knows that ‘hanger’ is real, and it is best dealt with swiftly and surely, especially when focusing on school work is the priority. We’ve got you covered for all of those between-meal snack emergencies. These seven treats are all powered by JOI, all secretly healthy, and all guaranteed to satisfy even the choosiest child.

Perfect Dairy-Free Banana Berry Smoothie

The Pink Smoothie Made With JOI, Pitaya, Goji Powder, and Chia Seeds



Crave-Worthy Vegan Queso



Creamy Dairy-Free Caesar Dressing and Dip

Healthy Key Lime Pops

Gluten-Free Date-Sweetened Blondies

Healthy Avocado Fries with Cashew Aioli

Parents, we are sending you all our good vibes for patience, sanity, and a return to (some) normalcy this fall. Tag us @AddJOI with the recipes that are keeping you and your young scholars fueled up at home this fall, and check out our complete JOI recipe collection for even more inspiration!