There are many students who do not carry a lunch because there is a hot lunch program at their school. But even for special field trip days or picnic days when brown bags are pretty much mandatory, kids will still trade lunches!
What if we made their lunchbox so amazing they would refuse to give it up and they would devour every morsel with delight? I found some suggestions you may like:
• How about including cherry tomatoes, sugar snap peas, or strips of sweet yellow, red or green peppers?
• What would your youngster think about a wrap, using a tortilla stuffed with interesting ingredients like zucchini or summer squash and shreds of raw carrots?
• If your child INSISTS on PB&J, see if he might enjoy spreading chopped strawberries in place of jam or jelly. Raisins might be fun, too. *There will be a special PB&J offering for you at the end of this post.
• English muffins or pretzels might be an alternative to ordinary breads.
• Provide a small, leak-proof container of salsa or bean dip with pretzel sticks for dipping. Veggie strips or veggie sticks can be dipped, too. Yogurt might be another alternative to offer.
• Chicken pieces, leftover from last night’s dinner are a good source of protein. So are hard cooked eggs—slice them and keep in a small container with a pinch of salt and pepper.
• Water or milk is the only truly acceptable drink for children. Juice has too much sugar and soda is out of the question!
Here is a Build-As-You-Go-Pizza that travels:
1 English muffin cut in half *Hamburger buns would be an alternative
2 tablespoons pizza sauce
3 or 4 tablespoons shredded mozzarella cheese
Vegetable toppings: chopped peppers; chopped olives; chopped celery; mushrooms
Meat toppings: shavings of ham or cooked beef
Put each ingredient into separate resealable packs and put them into your child’s lunch bag. When lunchtime rolls around your munchkin can spread the sauce onto his muffin or bun and top it as he likes. Be sure to include a plastic knife and a handful of napkins for this lunch time treat!
For the PB&J Diehard:
1 whole wheat hot dog bun *White will do, if that’s what you have!
1 tablespoon peanut butter or cream cheese or ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon strawberry jam or honey
1 whole banana, UNPEELED
Raisins, coconut or chopped peanuts *Optional
Spread one side of a split hot dog bun with peanut butter, or cheese. Spread the other side with jam or honey. Wrap in plastic wrap. Include the unpeeled banana in the lunch box. When your child is ready to eat, he can peel the banana, place it inside the bun like a hot dog and sprinkle on the toppings he likes!
***For peanut-free school zones, simply substitute almond butter. Peanut allergies can be very serious.
Connie Baum
Connie Baum retired from a lucrative and satisfying career as a massage therapist; then she fell in love with the internet. Her passion for people, food, health and healing is revealed on her websites: http://thehealthyandwealthyyou.com/blog, http://foodstampscookingclub.com/blog and others. Connie dearly hopes her visitors will leave comments on the blogs when they visit.
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