KIDS’ BAGGED LUNCHES
You’ve been making your kids’ lunches (or they have) since September, but June is still a couple months away, and, let’s face it, everyone’s a little bored with your kitchen’s lunch fare. Here are a few ways to change things up and get healthier along the way. Just a few tweaks can make all the difference—to your child and to your landfill. 1 - Heat it up Invest in a quality thermos to send hot items in place of a sandwich (try shopthermos.com). Thermoses have revolutionized our lunches because my son doesn’t like sandwiches, but even kids who do like them will appreciate a change of menu. Try hearty soup, pasta with cheese or marinara sauce, or rice and black beans. For an extra fiber boost, send whole wheat pasta or brown rice. Tips: The shorter, squattier thermos shape is easier for spooning up lunch. Confirm that your child can open the thermos before you commit him to it. 2 - Skip the sandwich bread For variety, try flat bread, rice cakes, whole grain crackers, or whole-wheat bagels. For sides, pack hummus, cream cheese, cheese slices, or string cheese. Rice cakes and crackers do better as separates, but flat bread holds up well with a spread on it. Greek pita bread is a favorite in our household. 3 - Wrap it upTry wrapping cream cheese and a turkey slice in a flour tortilla, or sending a quesadilla with refried beans and cheddar cheese (kids don’t mind that it’s cold by lunchtime). 4 - Try dippingPack vegetables, such as carrot sticks, celery, cherry tomatoes, or sliced green pepper, and include a little container of favorite salad dressing or hummus for dipping. Kids love veggies they can dip. 5 - Send fresh fruit Browned apple slices may not be your child’s cup of tea. Try my new trick of slicing and coring an apple, putting it back together, and wrapping it standing up in wax paper. The slices don’t brown, and my kids eat a whole apple or pear. Alternatively, send a banana, orange slices, kiwi slices, or frozen berries. For extra protein, include a container of nut butter for that banana (before sending peanut butter, check on allergy policies in your school). 6 - Add some crunchChange out potato chips for a different kind of crunch: pita chips, low-salt nuts, popcorn, or whole wheat crackers. Often, children are required to supply their own snack in the classroom, and a container of tamari almonds will serve them better than fried chips. 7 - Bake itMake your own cookies or bars for treats or enlist an older child’s help (my 11 and 14-year-old kids love baking). Weekends are a great time to try out new recipes, get your kids involved, and stock up for the week. You’ll cut down on processed treats and extra packaging, and save money in the process (processed foods cost more). 8 - Buy in bulk As tempting as those individual packets of Annie’s crackers are, they cost you more than a single larger box that you can parcel out into kid-sized containers. Pre-packaged snacks also may be wasted if not consumed entirely, or may contribute to your child eating more of a product than he would normally eat. Buying in bulk allows you to tailor the amount you send. 9 - Pack a sippy Send water, milk, or 100 percent fruit juice as a beverage in a re-usable sippy container. Water is best. Kids need to rehydrate to avoid afternoon fatigue, but if your child is like mine, he’ll refuse water in favor of milk. Skip the packaged drinks to cut down on unnecessary sugar and extra waste. Best trick, send a water bottle with your child that she can use all year in her classroom. 10 - Box it up--simplySome folks love Bento boxes, but I find that any lunch box able to accommodate a thermos serves us just fine (plus I get frustrated fitting puzzle-like containers all together). Invest in a stack of tiny Tupperware containers to cut down on throwing out plastic baggies, and you’ll avoid spending more than you intended on a fancy lunch kit. Worried about plastic? You can learn more about Tupperware products at order.tupperware.com in the “Help” section, where you’ll find a list of their products’ plastics content. Our family has also moved to wax paper and wax paper bags to cut down on plastic. Wax paper bags can be difficult to find—try your local natural food store for the popular brand, Nature Value, that’s not coated in petroleum-based wax. The natural bags are biodegradable and can be composted.
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