This post is from KS contributing writer Mary Voogt of Just Take A Bite.
Warning.
You may want to cover your ears.
I’m going to use the dreaded L word – LUNCHES.
There. I said it.
As much as I don’t like to think about it, before we know it we’ll be packing school lunches again.
You want to send your kids to school with nutritious food. But you also don’t want to make their lunches too different or “weird” (liver pate or sardines anyone?). Not to mention you don’t want to spend an hour making lunch.
Mary has some GREAT ideas here for how to use lunch meat, both in sandwiches AND out. If you need more ideas on sandwich-free lunches don’t miss out on The Healthy Lunch Box!You don’t just get 45 recipes, you get a whole lot more:
- how to pack a waste free lunch
- how to work around allergies
- BONUS printables
- coupon code for 50% off The Healthy Breakfast Book
Just the other day my seven year old asked why I never put “normal” sandwiches in her lunch like her friends have. She mentioned peanut butter and jelly and ham and cheese.
I don’t send peanut products often because I don’t want to make the school an unsafe place for those with allergies.
The ham and cheese? Well, we just don’t have any lunch meat.
Until now.
Did you know you can make your own lunch meat?
Homemade lunch meat is so easy to make. It literally takes five minutes of hands on time.
Start with whatever ground meat you like. Puree the meat with water and seasoning. Then cook it. That’s all there is to it!
What’s really great about homemade lunch meat is that you control the ingredients. That means NO:
- high fructose corn syrup
- nitrates/nitrites
- fillers/thickeners/gums
- artificial flavors or colors
- GMOs
- MSG
- solutions
- BHT
- carageenan
Just a few simple ingredients will give you great tasting, homemade lunch meat for easy sandwiches. You can cook it on the stove top or in your Instant Pot!!
Using an electric knife will allow you to make thin slices. You can also slice the meat thicker by hand.
Growing up we always had smoked or honey roasted chicken or turkey. You can make your own version of a honey roasted lunch meat by increasing the cane sugar or adding honey. Note that it will be for kids one year and older if you include honey.
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Homemade lunch meat is perfect for school lunches. Use it on sandwiches, crackers or eat it plain.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground pork, chicken or turkey
- 2 tsp. unrefined sea salt
- 1 tsp. organic cane sugar or coconut sugar
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 c. water
Instructions
Stovetop:
- Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and process until well combined and smooth.
- Split the meat mixture into two equal parts
- Place each half in a round 2-cup glass container (like a Pyrex dish).
- Spread the mixture in the dish and smooth the top.
- Place each glass dish in a large pot. Fill with water half way up the glass. Cover with a lid.
- Bring the water to a low simmer and cook for 45 minutes.
- Remove the glass container from the pan and drain any excess liquid.
- Allow the glass to cool at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- Chill the glass dishes in the refrigerator, about 2 hours.
- Remove the meat from the glass dishes and slice to desired thickness.
- Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator or freezer.
Instant Pot:
- Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and process until well combined and smooth.
- Place the mixture in a round 4-cup glass container (like a Pyrex dish).
- Spread the mixture in the dish and smooth the top.
- Place 1 cup of water in the bottom of the Instant Pot. Set the trivet in the Instant Pot.
- Place the glass dish on top of the trivet.
- Close the Instant Pot and cook on the meat setting for 20 minutes.
- Use the natural release method to open the Instant Pot.
- Remove the glass container from the pot and drain any excess liquid.
- Allow the glass to cool at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- Chill the glass dish, covered, in the refrigerator, about 2 hours.
- Remove the meat from the glass dish and slice to desired thickness.
- Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator or freezer.
Notes
To make this more like a “honey roasted” lunch meat add extra cane sugar, coconut sugar (use the code STEWARDSHIP for 10% off at that site!) or honey when processing.
This is a very mildly flavored meat. You can add any extra herbs or seasonings you like to change the flavor.
Where to Find Grassfed, Pastured, Organic Meat:
I love my raw milk farm, and they usually have beef for me too – but not all the cuts. And chicken is hard to come by. And pork is hit or miss.
I’m sure you’ve experienced the same sourcing frustrations!
That’s why I’m always grateful that there’s an online source of incredibly high quality meat that I can always count on. A box from Butcher Box is guaranteed to be grassfed/organic/pastured/free range = all the labels important to your family’s health!
If you live in an area (like my mom) where organic local farms are nowhere to be found or have trouble sourcing certain meats or cuts, Butcher Box has you covered.
(free shipping too!)
Find this recipe on Plan to Eat too, so you can add it every other week as part of a lunch-ready meal plan! Jump right to it: Homemade Lunchmeat
No more boring lunches!
For variety, try different types of meat. Or even combine meats. Then change up the seasoning.
Use the lunch meat for sandwiches with an array of toppings like:
- tomatoes
- avocado
- lettuce
- cheese
- mustard
- pesto
- mayonnaise
- homemade Miracle Whip®
But don’t limit yourself to sandwiches. Use the lunch meat to make your own Lunchables®! Homemade crackers (I have a recipe for soaked gluten free crackers, soaked teff crackers or Katie has some “Wheat Thin” style crackers), sliced cheese and cut up lunch meat make a simple and fun lunch for kids of all ages.
Slice the meat thinly, add a layer of cheese, and roll it up. You have a delicious finger food that you can dip in honey mustard or eat plain.
Don’t forget the little ones.
They need easy lunches too. One of the things that surprised me most when I made homemade lunch meat was that my infant liked it so much! The meat is pureed, mildly flavored and soft so it can be gummed. Just break it into pieces and let your little one dig in.
Homemade lunch meat is actually a great on-the-go snack for babies. No big mess. Just simple finger food.
I love to cut half of the batch into sticks for my toddler. I grab a couple out of the freezer any time I need a quick protein for breakfast, lunch or snack.
Try homemade lunch meat. It is even free of allergens!
Make a batch at the beginning of the week and you’ll have the starting point for great sandwiches and fun finger food all week long.
Camping Fun.
Homemade lunch meat can even replace hot dogs!! Cut it into larger sticks. Put some on a fork and get roasting! Such a fun way to enjoy a camping trip or backyard roast.
Stock your freezer.
Homemade lunch meat freezes well. Use some fresh and keep some of it in the freezer for easy lunches later on.
Sandwiches make great school lunches. Now you can pack sandwiches your kids will love and you will feel good about.
Looking for more Lunch?
- 10 Bread-Free “Sandwiches”
- Reusable baggie review: 3 new brands added in 2015
- Bento Style lunch box reviews
- 5 Easy Tips for School Lunch Packing
- Packing a lunch: tips and tricks for easy packing
- Packing the Perfect Lunch (and Avoiding Wasted Food)
- Gluten-Free Lunch Ideas
- The Best Real Food Allergy Friendly School Lunches
Struggling with picky eaters, allergies or oral aversions? Mary has her tried and true methods for turning your kids into great eaters in her book Why Won’t My Child Eat?!. Get your copy today.You’ll learn how to observe your child, what to watch for and where to start, the three different types of allergic reactions your child could have, the key first step to getting your child interested in food again and feeding strategies from birth to teens. She’ll teach you how to to bring joy and nourishment back to feeding your child.
Rachel McAtee says
Has anyone tried using ground beef?
Mary Voogt (Contributing Writer) says
I have not used beef yet, Rachel. But it can be done for sure! Maybe I’ll have to try it soon. We’re almost out again.
Rachel McAtee says
Thanks!
Anne says
This is so genuis. I have never imagined to do this–and I have imagined many things!
At first, I thought like Linda commented, “why not just slice meat?”, but then I began to think of all the possibilities. Wow you meat I can enjoy a healthy pickle loaf?! Oh my! I mean really what a beautiful thought. Thank you so much for sharing.
Funny note also. This is great for me because I found that my daughter will not eat regular roasted turkey but eats processed turkey. Go figure! So I guess I’ll process my own. I prefer the regular roasted turkey. This way we can both get what we want out of the same bird! Ha.
Anne says
*wow, you mean
Mary Voogt (Contributing Writer) says
Yes, Anne – the possibilities are endless! I know many people have that same thought…why not just eat plain meat? But it is totally different. And so much easier for young kids to eat because of the texture. My toddler LOVES it. Actually our whole family does. And it is such a great way to get them to eat liver 🙂
Linda says
Why not just slice meat? What is the point of doing this?
Mary Voogt (Contributing Writer) says
Sliced meat is good, Linda. But it doesn’t have the same flavor or texture as lunch meat. I find this lunch meat is much easier for small children to eat as meat can be tougher to chew. Plus you can make full slices that fit nicely on a sandwich instead of chunks.
Meg says
This is such a great idea! I wonder, would this work with ham? I’m a huge deli ham fan… Thanks!
Mary Voogt (Contributing Writer) says
You could try it a couple ways, Meg. You could grind a (raw) ham into ground meat first and then use it according to the directions. Or you could just use ground pork and add some extra sweetener. I usually increase the sweetener to a few tsp. and my kids go crazy for it. It does kind of taste like ham lunch meat.
Sandra Johns says
Hi I really want to try this recipe and just wondered if you could roll it in glad wrap and then steam it ?
Mary Voogt (Contributing Writer) says
It might be possible, Sandra, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Any time you heat plastic it leaches chemicals into your food. I personally don’t use plastic on any warm or hot food. It isn’t safe. Glass is better if you have some available. Any kind of small baking dish or casserole dish will do.
Rachel says
I’m just not understand the type of container you are referring to just like a bowl?
Mary Voogt (Contributing Writer) says
A 2 cup pyrex dish like this, Rachel: http://www.amazon.com/Pyrex-6-Piece-Glass-Food-Storage/dp/B005JCYSWA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1454183506&sr=8-2&keywords=pyrex+glass
Rachel says
I’m confused on the round containers that holds the meat and where the water goes? Does anyone have any pictures on this part of the process. For some reason I’m just not grasping it.
Mary Voogt (Contributing Writer) says
Sorry if that was confusing, Rachel. Put the meat in the glass container. Then set that container in a larger pot. Put the water into the pot (not the glass) so that the glass is in a little water bath. Does that make sense?
Rachel says
Yes, it probably made sense to everyone on the first go around. But for some reason I was struggling with understanding it. Totally my fault. Thank you for getting back to me, I’m going to make this, this evening.
Do you think I can put this in a large mouth mason jar?
Mary Voogt (Contributing Writer) says
I’m not sure a mason jar would be big enough. The meat shrinks when you cook it. But if you don’t mind a smaller size it would probably be ok. I hope it turns out well!
lesley says
I am so excited about this recipe I can’t even tell you ! Once in a blue moon I buy the best lunch meat I can find and afford but I always feel guilty and usually end up throwing the last few slices away ( money is tight and organic lunch meat is next to impossible to find outside Dublin Ireland and I’m 60 miles away from the city ) I am shopping tomorrow and getting ground meat and making this tomorrow, Sunday, as my daughter starts school again Monday. Thank you thank you thank you ☺
Mary Voogt (Contributing Writer) says
I’d love to hear how it turned out, Lesley! I hope it was a big hit.
Sarah Mueller says
Ooh – I never thought to do this! I buy the organic kind of lunchmeat, but this would be a lot cheaper. Thanks!
★★★★★
Mary Voogt (Contributing Writer) says
I hope you like it, Sarah!
Jeanie says
Hi Katie, I bought the healthy lunch box. Will I get the pdf in an e-mail.
Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship says
Yes, Jeanie, it should come almost immediately – if you don’t see it in spam, send an email to katie @ kitchenstewardship.com and we’ll get you fixed right up! Thank you! 🙂 Katie
Janet says
I have made a similar turkey lunch meat for years. It tastes great and has no additives!!!
Claire says
Wonderful idea. I’m keeping it. Though I STRONGLY suggest that you only use liver from organically raised animals. The liver is the strainer, basically, for your body. And toxins can really build up. I haven’t had liverwurst in years though I love it. Can’t find any organic. Maybe I’ll try this and see how it compares. Thanks for such an interesting recipe.
Mar says
Good point!