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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday January 19, 2008 - 19 H E A LT H & W E L L N E S S Tired of making lunches? The Freezer is your friend! You've served dinner, cleaned up the kitchen, helped with homework, and put the kids to bed. Just when you thought the rest of the evening was all yours, you realize that you still need to make tomorrow's lunches! Do you find yourself scrambling to come up with new lunch ideas? This is a chore that never seems to go away, and looking for new ideas that are quick and nutritious is always a challenge. To save yourself some time, all you need is a free afternoon and some "Texas Sized" muffin pans (available at most department stores). Here are some lunchbox ideas that work for my family - give them a try and you'll never go back. Guacamole can be frozen in muffin cups ­ and it doesn't turn brown! Make up a quick batch with some ripe avocados, lime juice, salt and pepper. Spoon into muffin cups, freeze, then sit the muffin tray in a pan of hot water for a moment and carefully pop the discs out with a knife. Store the frozen discs in Ziploc freezer bags and grab your individual servings as needed. Pack up some whole wheat pitas and you've got a healthy and filling lunch. Here are some other lunch ideas that freeze very well in muffin pans: mac `n cheese, minestrone, split pea soup, tortellini with marinara, leftover chili ­ the possibilities are endless! Once the food is frozen and stored in the Ziplocs, you just need to grab a frozen disc in the morning, re-heat in the microwave, and spoon into a thermos. Send along a homemade buttermilk biscuit or cornbread (make a large pan, cut into squares, and freeze) and your children will be all the envy at lunchtime. By Sanyo Lue-Kim, owner of Just Add Heat at 610 Ford Drive www.justaddheat.ca Crunchy Chicken Drumsticks are a hit at my house: 3 cups Cornflakes or Special K cereal 1/2 cupAll Bran cereal 1 envelope dry onion soup mix 1/2 cup buttermilk 2lbs chicken drumsticks, skins removed (you can buy them this way) 1. Preheat oven to 350° F (175° C). 2. Combine buttermilk and drumsticks in a large bowl and set aside. 3. Process cereals and soup mix in a food processor until they become fine crumbs. Place crumbs in shallow dish and press each drumstick into cereal mixture to completely coat. Arrange in single layer on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake for 40 minutes or until no longer pink inside. Cool, then gently place in Ziploc bag and freeze. Reheat as needed - you can generally fit two drumsticks into a thermos. The light at the end of the tunnel just got a little closer. Another reason to smile