Reinventing Box Lunches

In case you hadn’t noticed all the back-to-school sales, getting the kids out the door in time for school is just around the corner. One of questions (and exasperations) I hear about a lot is “I want my kids to eat healthy at school, but I don’t know what to give them and it’s easier to send them off with lunch money for the cafeteria.” Part of the conundrum revolves around a child’s age. When they are younger parents have more influence over their food choices. I always suggest that parents avail themselves of the opportunity to expose their kids to lots of different flavors while they are young and get them used to eating healthy nourishing foods early. This sets the stage for good habits later in life. The tricky part is getting through the tweens and teens when peers have more influence over food choices. 

I highly recommend making time in the morning to make your children box lunches. While you’re at it, make one for yourself if you’re headed out the door too. In the long run you will save money and promote good habits for them (and for yourself). It is very important for kids to see you take care of yourself so they have a good role model. If it takes getting yourself (and your kids) up 15 minutes earlier, it’s worth it. Teens can certainly be making their own lunches after some simple training.

Make it Fun:

One really fun way to keep lunches interesting for kids (and adults!) is to use Japanese style bento boxes (check out www.laptoplunches.com or www.lunchinabox.net) or Indian style tiffin boxes (www.lunchboxes.com/indian.html or www.amazon.com/Eco-Lunch-Box-three-in-one-set/dp/B0040MH642/ref=pd_sim_k_6). This concept falls in line with another recommendation I make with regards to grocery shopping: rather than getting home with all the bags and just stuffing everything away, take a little time to “pre-process” some of the veggies and fruits into slices or chunks that can be easily added to salads, stir-fries, or used for dipping. If you have done some of this work beforehand, it makes it easy to simply fill some of the bento boxes with fresh healthy foods quickly on a busy morning.

Contents:

1. Great things for younger children and for adult mid-day snacks are bean dips and spreads with veggies and/or whole grain crackers. Try the curried hummus recipe below for a vibrant golden tasty option. You can make bean dips from any bean.
2. Leftovers are a great option too. When cooking dinner the night before, think about cooking twice as much as you need for that meal so everyone has leftovers for their lunch boxes the next day. You can even put the leftovers away in lunch box containers so all you have to do is grab and go in the morning.
3. Soups, stews and chili are good choices as well. Again, simply make more than you need for a dinner meal and store in lunch sized (spill proof) containers that you can pack in an insulated lunch box. You can even get soup style thermoses with wide mouth tops
4. Salads: keep in mind that salads don’t have to begin with lettuce! There are thousands of ways to put together a combination of ingredients that can be called “salad”. You can create a grain and legume salad such as quinoa and lentils with a bunch of other delicious veggies diced small and marinated overnight in a simple dressing of olive oil and lime juice with a little salt and pepper. There are also delicious tuna salads, egg salads and chicken salads that you can create to you children’s taste. If you make some of these things in advance, it’s easy to scoop some into a lunch container and blast out the door in the morning. 

It takes a little pre-planning, but home made lunches made from real food ingredients are guaranteed to be more nutritious than most of the offerings at the cafeteria (particularly the options your children will likely choose when left to their own devices), and it is far less expensive in the long run for both you and your children to eat a lunch brought from home.

Quick Curried Hummus

all organic ingredients if you can

by Kia Sanford MS CN

1 large can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

3 cloves garlic, peeled

3 scallions with greens, chopped

juice of 1 lemon (you can add a little grated rind as well, I use Meyer lemons when available)

a generous ¼ cup tahini

2 Tbsp tamari

1 Tbsp cider vinegar

1 Tbsp olive oil

¼ tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp ground coriander

¼ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp turmeric

½ tsp Kosher salt

Put all ingredients in food processor and let it run until the consistency is what you want. Adjust spices to your taste (may want to add a little more salt). To make it more creamy, add olive oil to your taste. Serve with veggies or whole grain crackers for dipping, or use as a sandwich spread.