Sunday, March 8, 2009
What Do You Pack for Lunch?
By CharlotteSmartyPants Guest Blogger, Kristen D.
Bologna sandwich, apple or orange, Little Debbie snack cake. I survived on this everyday of elementary school...except on pizza day. I got to buy rectangular cheese pizzas with tiny square things they call pepperoni and a side of corn. I can't believe I made it. I do not fault my mom - I was a picky eater and this is all I would eat...for years.
Now it is my turn. I took the mom job seriously and was often made fun of because I meticulously made all of my daughter's meals. I prided myself on providing a healthy lunch everyday for my first born. From the day Abby could pick up food, I carefully cut every item into tiny bite size pieces of healthy items. Grilled chicken, fresh cut strawberries and cantaloupe, appropriate temperature carrots and green beans, yogurt, etc. Then Lucy came along and it became more difficult to pack a healthy lunch everyday for both girls so I began to purchase pre-packaged chips, lunch meat, Go-gurt (what is that anyway), and the expensive but convenient, Lunchable.
It occurred to me as I was making lunches at 6am yesterday that I will be making lunch for my kids for the next umpteen years and I need some new ideas. I am mindful of the threat of childhood obesity and really try to instill healthy eating (when we are not at Chick-fil-A for the second time in one week!) and making healthy choices. I am jealous that my friend has no qualms about having her child buy a school hot lunch everyday. For some reason I feel I need to have some control over what Abby eats so I let her buy twice a week and she brings her lunch the rest of the time. I have to make Lucy's lunch for preschool everyday anyway. My friend Lisa and I recommend you purchase a divided container with a lid (found in the baby section of Target). Mine was pink and purple for $1. I pack lunch in it everyday. My girls thought it was babyish but I explained how eco-friendly it is because we have less baggies, trash, consumables. Now they think they are saving the Earth - they are. We recently bought a Thermos from Target and this has opened up some new options...leftover casserole, mac and cheese, soup, chicken nuggets, etc.
It would really benefit our family and other readers to share some healthy lunch options or even your child's favorite/most convenient option. Here is my current lunch pick:
baby carrots
cottage cheese
string cheese
pepperoni
tuna cups
rice
Quick comment from Jen P of CharlotteSmartyPants: According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, you should wait until your child is three years old before you introduce peanut butter. When my almost 7-year-old was a toddler, my pediatrician said it was safe at one year. So I gave her a peanut butter sandwich on the way to her 1-year check-up. Now that we are better informed of peanut allergies, you should wait until 3 years and give it to her/him on your way to your 3-year check-up. That way if anything bad happens, you will be in expert hands! Also remember, no big chunks of peanut butter because it is a huge choking hazard!
Here is my favorite Smarty tip for lunches that can be carried over into adult lunches:
Buy a few fun Oxo cookie cutters at Michaels in the shapes of hearts, flowers, circles, Christmas trees, etc. Use these as sandwich cutters for PB&J, ham/cheese, turkey/cheese, or even the flower-shapes can be used for cucumber sandwiches at baby showers. Your kids will love this precious surprise. Plus, the Oxo cutters are so big that they do an excellent job of trimming the crust off.
Please share your Smarty lunches!
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8 comments:
our kids went through a phase where they loved roll ups, turkey and swiss rolled up in a whole wheat small tortilla, a mini tupperware (available at the dollar store) with salsa was their favorite dipper. I also found that a quick pasta salad was an easy meal for us to take to the pool. One can black beans rinsed and drained, 1 cup frozen corn (cooked in microwaved and cooled) 1 finely chopped carrot, 1/2 finely chopped bell pepper, 1 cup broccolli finely chopped (I use the handy chopper from pampered chef) onion is optional, and some leftover cooked pasta (my kids like mini penne, or farfalle) throw all of it together in a large tupperware with 1/4 cup-1/2cup of your favorite salad dressing (we use a walnut vinagrette) You can also add chicken if you like.. Let set overnight, and the next morning scoop it into the kids lunches with some multigrain crackers on the side.
Homemade Guacamole (avocados are a super food!) with whole grain crackers, carrots, carrots, pita to dip to make--a heaping tablespoon of your families favorite salsa, mixed with 1/2 a sliced ripe avocado, mash until you get the desired consistency, put in a small tupperware and put a piece of cling wrap pushed down on top of the dip to seal out as much air as possible.
Another favorite: Hummus with crackers, carrots, celery, and cucumber and apple to dip.
Make a great "trail mix" by adding roasted and salted soynuts, dried cranberries, apricots, blueberries, shelled sunflower seeds roasted/seasoned garbanzo beans and a few chocolate chips a side of milk, or an apple!
To make roasted garbanzo beans (which are delicious) drain and rinse garbanzo beans from a can, place in a resealable container with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon steak seasoning place on a cookie sheet and bake at 250 for about 25 minutes..let cool and enjoy
I highly recommend the book "Super Baby Food" to moms with new babies, not only did it have great tips about how to introduce healthy foods, but it explains a lot about nutrition.
We do a lot of Costco shopping for lunches. Not always the healthiest, but definitely the easiest if you are trying to save time when packing lunches. They have plenty of pre-packaged items that I put it in the pantry. My kids can choose their own lunch items that way and throw them in their lunch boxes. All I have to do is make their sandwich.
Oooh, Summer - I knew YOU'D have some good food ideas! Thanks for sharing!
We use Laptop Lunch Boxes (www.laptoplunches.com) to eliminate waste from individually packaged lunch items. My kids will eat nearly anything I put in them, so I find it's a great way to get them to try new things (which they wouldn't try off of a dinner plate at home). For the main item, I typically include a sandwich, cheese and crackers, or meat and cheese roll-ups. Sometimes, I pack a bagel or small salad for variety. I include fresh vegetables (cucumbers, carrots, broccoli are favorites) and dip (ranch or hummus), some type of fruit, a dairy item if there's no cheese in the sandwich. They usually get a small treat/dessert - their favorite is when I send dried cranberries with a few chocolate chips. Most of the time I include water or diluted juice, though sometimes I send a box of soymilk if we have them on hand.
We don't use a thermos right now, but I'm looking forward to the flexibility it will bring when the weather cools off in the fall.
RLR-- I checked out that laptop lunches site, it is super awesome!! My kids don't go to school yet, but when they do I will totally use this stuff. I'm already wondering if I can find a way to work into our summer budget and use it at the pool. Did you get the whole system or just the basic? My kids already have a great water bottle (camelbak w/bite straw .5L) how necessary is the case?
Super tip!!
Summer (and others) -
I purchased the complete system, but it's not necessary. If you don't get the case, definitely get the sleeve to insulate (I use icepacks that you can pick up at Target, etc). With just the sleeve, I'm sure it'll fit more easily into a backpack or other bag. I'm planning to order one or two more, and I'll just get the sleeve for those. In favor of the cases - the kids carry them and lighten my load when we are going to story times, picnics, etc.
Can't tell you how much I love the Laptop Lunch Boxes! By the way - they hold a LOT. They don't look like it, but they do. I can pack two boxes and feed myself and both kids. Still, they aren't too bulky for my kids (5 and 2.5) to handle.
One of my favorite things to make and pack for lunch is a pumpkin muffin. Yes, it's on the sweet side, but it's got pumpkin in it, a great source of fiber, Vitamin A, and a decent source of iron, too. If I sneak in a little whole wheat flour it's even better. My kids love these and if I add a vegetable with dip like carrots or red pepper strips, and a protein like cheese sticks or nuts, I feel like my kids are getting a pretty good lunch.
Was so glad to see so many healthy options out here. I also get teased for my anal attention to my son's diet, but I just refuse to cop-out to "too easy" & sacrifice his health. I have to admit that I cringed when I saw Lunchables mentioned....ouch...Holy Preservatives Batman!! OK...on the flip side I was excited about the other great ideas. My son looooves cheese sticks (he is about to enter Kindergarten so this is GREAT timing) & I'm planning on some natural flavored apple sauce w/ some ice packs. I think my son is also the only child on the planet that could eat his weight in cottage cheese so I'm hoping to put some mini containers of that in as well. We will see what actually comes home. I will also probably relax a bit & let him BUY his lunch some days (pick your battles, right?) but he's REALLY looking forward to a Star Wars lunch box, so I think I gotta buckle on that ;-) So glad there are other mothers out there that don't sacrifice their children's health for too many hydrogenated snacks. I still get a kick out of my son trying to pronounce "High Fructose Corn Syrup" when he asks for something at the grocery store!!!! Gotta teach them young!
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