Dip-and-eat dinner on a folding chair at a June tournament
This is the box that makes other parents ask what you did. It looks like a lot and it is fifteen minutes: chicken you already had, a cucumber, a block of feta, and two tubs from the refrigerated aisle.
Cut the pita into wedges and toast them dry in a pan so they stay stiff. Soft pita in a cold box goes limp by the second inning and stops working as a scoop.
The dips go in two-ounce cups with lids pressed on hard. Hummus loose in a divided box finds its way into the feta, and then nothing in the box is what it was supposed to be.
Ingredients
The recipe fills 4 boxes. Plan on about 20 minutes.
- 4 pita breads, cut into wedges
- 2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
- 1 cup cucumber, diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives, optional
- 1 cup hummus
- 1/2 cup tzatziki
How to Make It
- Cut the pita into wedges and stack them in one section of each box.
- Toss the chicken, cucumber, and tomatoes together and divide among the boxes.
- Add a small pile of feta and a few olives if using.
- Spoon the hummus and tzatziki into separate lidded cups.
- Pack each box and chill until you load the cooler.
Pack It Cold and Tidy
Chicken, feta, and tzatziki all need to stay cold, so this box belongs against an ice pack.
- Nestle the boxes against two ice packs in an insulated bag
- Keep cold food at 40F or below, and do not leave it out longer than 2 hours
- Keep the tzatziki sealed and cold until serving
What Stays Crisp (and What Gets Soggy)
Dips are the soggy-maker here, so keep them apart until it is time to eat.
- Pack the pita wedges dry and separate so they stay soft, not mushy
- Keep the hummus and tzatziki in their own cups for dipping at the field
- Add the cucumber and tomatoes the morning of so they stay crisp
- Serve with: a clementine, grapes
Parent Tip
Salt the diced cucumber and pat it dry first so it does not water down the box.
Make it fit tonight
Small changes that make this one fit your night
Rolled into a wrap instead
Spread the tzatziki on a whole pita and roll it for a kid on the move.
Baked falafel in place of chicken
Four falafel from the freezer aisle make it meatless and add real crunch.
A scoop of cold quinoa
It turns a grazing box into something that actually fills up a sixteen-year-old.
Ranch in the tzatziki cup
Some kids are not sold on a yogurt dip, and ranch ends that conversation.
Olives left out
Kalamatas are briny enough that most younger kids push the whole box away.
Plan the next step
Plan the cold-box games
Use the planner to slot this in for the milder evenings when nobody wants something hot.