Beef Makes Back to School Easy

As kids head back to school parents everywhere want to make sure their children have everything they need to succeed including nutritious meals to get them through another busy year. Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner., funded by the Beef Checkoff, has five meal trends to help save time and keep kids happy and fueled.

Bento Boxes

Even the pickiest of eaters can find something they like with the variety delivered in a bento box. Known for their divided compartments, the Japanese-style lunch boxes make prepping school lunches easy. Fill the different sized compartments with different sides like fruits and vegetables to accompany a kid-friendly entrée like these Personal Beef Pizzas.

Handheld Items

Back to school often means being on-the-go, so anything you can hold in one hand, like these Saucy Beef Wraps, makes for a great lunch and quick cleanup. As an added bonus, this is the perfect way to use leftovers from the night before to stretch your budget and save on time. And for those afternoon snacks, a handful of this Beef Jerky Trail Mix packs in the protein. 

Strength for Sports and Extracurriculars

For many, the day is only halfway done once school is out and after school activities can require a lot of fuel. These Beef, Dark Chocolate and Cherry Power Bites offer a boost of energy to get through the day. Equally important, they can be made in advance and kept on hand for a quick power up between activities. 

Experience Other Cultures

It’s easy to feel stuck in a rut at mealtime when you have so much else going on but venturing beyond traditional family favorites and introducing flavors from other cultures and heritages keeps mealtime exciting. Not only are these Korean-inspired Beef Bulgogi Lettuce Wraps kid-friendly, they make trying new foods fun and help everyone learn about different flavors and cultures.

Cook Once, Eat Twice

Back to school time can be expensive, but dinner doesn’t have to be. Recipes like this One Pot Lasagna Pasta give you so many options. Just cook up some extra ground beef to make extra lasagna for later, or use it for Italian Beef & Cheese Calzones.  Using ground beef and getting creative with items you might already have in your fridge or pantry is the perfect way to get dinner on the table quickly not just once, but multiple nights with leftovers or planned-overs.

To keep the inspiration going you can find more beefy recipes in our school lunch recipe collection

About the Beef Checkoff
The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States may retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval.

About NCBA, a Contractor to the Beef Checkoff
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is a contractor to the Beef Checkoff Program. The Beef Checkoff Program is administered by the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, with oversight provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.