So the school year is here again, and with bans on peanut products (and in some schools, other food items) many of us struggle with what to pack for the kids’ lunch. Here are some ideas to provide variety to your kid’s school lunch, compiled by our little group of moms.
Snacks
Vanilla yogurt and fruit. Pack it in a little thermos with some fresh (or frozen) fruit. My kids especially like frozen raspberries, blackberries or sliced strawberries, and I find this very convenient. The fruit thaws out by snack time, but everything stays nice and cold. For a change of pace, I put some granola in the thermos lid, and the kids sprinkle it on at snack time. This is also an economical option as I purchase the large containers of yogurt instead of the single serving packs. Time to pack yogurt with frozen fruit: 1 minute.
A little carb snack to go with it. A slice of home-made banana bread, zucchinni loaf, or a healthy muffin are great. A couple of graham crackers or a granola bar will do in a pinch.
Vegetables & dip OK, by vegetables we mean baby carrots. Of course, cucumbers, red/yellow/orange sweet pepper slices, little tomatoes, pea pods etc. are great IF your child will eat them. Most of us found that by grade 2 the kids have no interest in eating vegetables at school, even if they do devour them at home. So the solution is to send what they will eat — which is unanimously baby carrots — and offer the other veggies at home. Ranch dressing, hummous and Tzatziki make great dip choices.
Crackers & cheese: You can send a little container of whatever cracker your child prefers along with some cheese. You can cube mild cheddar or mozzarella, or send a pre-packaged cheese snack like a mini Babybel, cheese singles, or cheese strings.
For a little variety, try some Stone Wheat crackers. They travel well, and kids like to break them in half, and build little cracker sandwiches out of them. You can send slices of cheese, or the Laughing Cow party cubes — this is a smooth, sweet, buttery cheese that appeals to a lot of kids. It’s spreadable, and serving size, so the kids can just squish it between the crackers.
Fruit Anything goes here. In our experience, the easier it is for the kids to eat, the more likely they are to actually eat it.
» Grapes and fresh berries…
» Choose smaller fruits, like smaller apples, apricots, or 2 prune plums, instead of one large one
» Cut them up (apple slices, orange slices, melons)
» Cut a kiwi in half and send a spoon for the kids to scoop it out with;
» Pre-slice a grapefruit, put it in a container with a spoon.
Lunches
To add some variety to lunches, try the following:
» Mini-Bagels with cold cuts and cheese, cream cheese or Nutella spread.
» Mini-pita sandwiches notice a trend here? Well, kids love mini stuff. Just open up the pitas, and stuff them with ham and cheese.
» Tortilla Wraps wrap their favorite fillings in a tortilla.
» Cheesy Tortillas sprinkle olives and cheese on 1/2 a tortilla. Fold it over, melt in the oven. Cut in 1/2 or 1/3 and send to school cold.
» Tortellini & sauce, or a similar pasta in a thermos.
» Dinner left-overs, like chili, meat stew, goulash in a thermos.
» Soup in a thermos, with a roll or crackers on the side.
Beverages
Fruit Juice is great. There is a wonderful variety of PURE fruit and/or vegetable juices with no extra sugars added on the market. Yes, you pay a little bit more than fruit drinks, but why add sugar to something that’s naturally sweet? To keep the costs down, you can buy large sizes and pour them into reusable drink containers. You may also want to dilute them with some water, which is a benefit to both your budget, and your child’s health.
Yogurt drinks are a mix of yogurt and juice. Watch out for extra sugars and/or additives. Like Milk & Soya Milk, they should be served cold.
One final note: Water, water, water… Last year I found out that my son’s teacher did not let him go to the water fountain. I understand that it disturbs the class, and once one kid gets up, they all want to go, but let’s get real people. A grade two boy (or girl, for that matter) will not spend their play time to go get a drink; we’ll be lucky if they go to the bathroom. As a result, my son was dehydrated. So now I send a water bottle to class. Guess what? The teacher ended up encouraging all the kids to bring bottled water. Apparently a hydrated kid is a kid that learns well. So there you have it!
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