Archives for August 2010

In the previous post in this series, I brainstormed some creative rut-busting ideas for the lunchbox sandwich. Today, let’s go even further beyond the sandwich to something almost universally loved by small children - Dipping! Almost every article I’ve ever read on the subject of how to get your child to eat healthy foods mentions the #1 Mom Trick: Make the food finger food and add a dip. Something about that experience just turns a boring, mundane or even disliked food into fun, exciting and delicious! Be honest: even as an adult, a little bit of dip makes a celery stick a lot more edible, right?

Celery sticks aren’t the only things you can dip, though. Grab some mini leak-proof plastic containers, a few basic ingredients from your fridge and pantry, and see what fun things your child can dip in his lunch today!

What To Dip

*Chicken Nuggets/Fingers and Meatballs
I really wouldn’t recommend purchasing these at the store, since almost every kind has had the life processed out of it and contains a lot of undesirable ingredients. There are healthier brands, which are worth the money if you can afford it and don’t have time to make your own, but they’re definitely expensive. Both are actually really easy to make, though, and if you cook up a large batch and store it in the freezer when you do have some spare time, it will be ready for a quick lunch when you really need it. I’ve browsed the web for you to find you some great, creative recipes to give you a head start (I may have found one or two on my own blogs…):

Pan-Fried Lemon Chicken Nuggets (You don’t even need to turn on the oven!)
CrockPot Chicken Nuggets (Again, no oven - Stephanie at A Year of Slow Cooking makes everything - and I mean EVERYthing in the crock pot! A great resource for busy moms.)
Baked Honey Mustard Chicken Nuggets (You will need the oven for these.)
Sweet and Spicy Chicken Nuggets (Replace the flours with regular wheat flour, bread crumbs or any crushed cereal or cracker)
Chicken Meatballs (Ground chicken makes a delicious, tender meatball. This is more of a method than a recipe: add seasonings to taste.)
Porcupines (The name alone is enough to pique a child’s interest! This is a take on a traditional Mexican soup.)
Make-Ahead Meatballs (That’s what I’m talking about! Love make-ahead stuff!)

Tip: Send along a toothpick or two to make dipping easy.

2.Sweet Potato Fries, etc.
I have never met a kid who didn’t like French fries. Unfortunately, fried potatoes don’t keep well at all, so they’re not a great idea for lunchboxes. However, sweet potato fries hold up better, taste just as good, are just as dippable, and pretty easy to make as well! Here’s a round-up of a variety of sweet potato dippables…

Oven-Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Rosemary Garlic Sweet Potato Fries
Fried Sweet Potato Chips
Baked Sweet Potato Chips


3. Crudites
Dipping is certainly one way to get your child to eat her veggies! Check out this link for a great tip that makes sending veggies and dip to school super easy. Here are a few veggie ideas (cut them in thin strips or sticks):

• -celery (I personally like to cut it pretty thin, makes it easier to bite and chew … and swallow!)
• -carrots
• -cucumbers
• -red or green peppers
• -broccoli
• -cauliflower
• -cherry or grape tomatoes

4. Fruits
A lot of fruits brown when cut and exposed to air, so douse them in diluted lemon juice and pack them in an airtight container. My DH actually prefers slightly browned fruit to the lemon taste, so depending on your child, you can just skip that part. Here are some fruits that pair well with dip:

• -apple wedges
• -sliced pear
• -orange segments
• -melon cubes
• -berries
• -grapes

5. Bread or Crackers
My friend Sheila at Alice and the Mock Turtle had some great lunch ideas last school year: check out her post from last August about how to make a delicious lunch out of bread sticks and dips! Also try pita bread (cut in triangles) or bagels cut into chunks. Tortillas and tortilla chips go well with certain dips (like guacamole for example).

Crackers are another great option - they go well with all manner of dips and spreads and are easy, portable finger foods. Check the ingredients, and find crackers with whole grains, minimal sodium, and no hydrogenated oils.

What to Dip it IN

Ketchup and mustard aren’t the only options for dipping. Read on for some tasty alternatives.

*BBQ Sauce
Most store-bought bottled BBQ sauce has high fructose corn syrup in it, among other undesirables. You can shell out the big bucks for healthier versions, or you can make your own. It’s really so easy; Most recipes start with a ketchup base. Here are a few that I really like:

Old Bay BBQ Sauce
Basic BBQ Sauce
Honey BBQ Sauce

*Ranch Dressing
You can go with the bottled varieties - there are some mainstream brands with relatively healthy ingredients - but it’s super easy to make at home as well. I usually just take some plain yogurt (and/or mayo, and/or sour cream, depending on what I have on hand. Buttermilk is good, too.) and add garlic powder, a little salt and pepper, and dill. I’ll occasionally throw in other things that sound good, too, like lemon juice or chives. If you want a real recipe, try this one (Instead of the yogurt cheese, just use a thick yogurt like Greek yogurt.) Here’s a Buttermilk version.


*Honey Mustard
Just stir some honey into the mustard, and there you have it.


*Sweet and Sour
The perfect flavor for chicken nuggets or meatballs! It’s easy to make at home, too.

*Sweet Dips
Fruit calls for a sweet - but not too sweet - dip. You can also use these dips with graham crackers, pretzels or the like for a treat.


-Peanut Butter Honey
This is particularly good with sliced apples. Just mix a few tablespoons of peanut butter with a couple teaspoons of honey and that’s it. It’s also great with a dash or two of cinnamon. Substitute another nut butter or sunbutter for allergies or peanut-free classrooms.
-Peanut Butter Chocolate
The perfect combination! Just mix together some peanut butter and chocolate sauce. You don’t even have to mix it to thoroughly; the marbled effect is even better!
-Cream Cheese Dip
There are a lot of variations on this. First you have to soften the cream cheese and whip it up a bit in the mixer. Then you can add other dairy products like yogurt or whipped cream, and then a sweetener such as honey or brown sugar. Jam is also delicious and adds some color.
-Yogurt Dip
One of the most basic and very versatile: to plain (or flavored) yogurt, add some honey and just a dash of lemon juice. Stir it well with a whisk. You can add whipped cream to this also and make it nice and fluffy.


Really, the sky’s the limit when it comes to dips! They can be altered subtly or dramatically simply by changing the seasonings or sweeteners (depending on the dip). Have fun!

Other Posts in this Series

 

Quick and Easy Lunches

 

Saving Money on Lunches

 

Healthy Lunches

 

Is it Empty?

Creative Lunches Part 1

There’s no point in putting thought and planning into saving time and effort, money and nutritional value in your child’s lunchbox if it’s not emptied - into his stomach and not the trash can! - by the end of lunchtime. If you are constantly frustrated by finding that your child has traded or trashed his carefully packed lunch, here are a few ideas that may help you win this battle in the Lunch War:

*Enlist her help in choosing and packing the lunchbox contents.
Pride of ownership goes a loooong way! If she’s actually had a hand in choosing what goes into the lunchbox, she’s going to be a lot more likely to eat - and enjoy - it, come lunchtime. Of course, depending on the age and the child, a little parental guidance will be necessary, but a child of almost any age can choose their lunch menu within certain parameters. For example, allow her to choose the flavor of yogurt when you go shopping (or make it), or allow her to choose which fruit/vegetable is packed in her lunch that day. If she chooses the same one 3 solid weeks in a row, don’t worry. The rest of the lunch is likely to be varied, and at any rate, it’s only one meal 5 days a week. Make up for it at the other meals.

*Don’t pack foods he won’t eat.
If you can’t convince your child to eat Brussels sprouts at home with all your motivational powers, there is no way on God’s green earth that his peers or his teacher will be able to do any different. And if he doesn’t like anything healthy, the process of changing his diet needs to begin at home under your tutelage, and not at school where it’s simply not likely to happen. If the only fruit he eats is grapes, by all means, pack grapes every day until you have succeeded in broadening his horizons at other meals.


*Make it fun.
A fun lunch is more fun to eat, naturally! I’ll get more into this in my next post, but suffice it to say, make your child’s lunch a fun experience that she will look forward to eating. Give the lunch a theme, or call the foods by fun names (monkey food=banana, for example). And most kids love to dip, so make the entire lunch dippable (not a word, but you know what I mean!).

*Adjust your expectations.
It may be you’re expecting your child to eat too much. Make a conscious effort to observe how much he eats at lunchtime when he’s home, and pack accordingly. A teacher friend of mine often told her 3-year-old students’ parents that their children’s stomachs were only the size of an adult fist. Not much food can fit in there at one time! Keep in mind that children in pre-school and sometimes elementary grades often have snack time as well. It’s a good idea, of course, to pack a little extra for those days when he’s super hungry or going through a growth spurt, as long as you don’t expect him to eat it all the time.

And, let’s face it, when he’s eating with his friends at school, he’s distracted! It’s entirely likely that he will consume less food at school than he does at home, and that’s OK. As long as his school work and relationships are not suffering because he’s grumpy with hunger (not likely), it’s not a problem.

*Keep her accountable.
This is a tricky one, because you have to be careful that you don’t become the food monitoring police, and yet you do have genuine, valid concerns about your child’s welfare. Some of my students were instructed by their parents to pack everything - including trash and leftovers - back in the lunchbox, and at home, the parents would have an instant update on how well (or not) their child was eating at lunch. This is a great system, as long as you don’t go to micro-managing extremes. An ideal way to handle it is to simply observe the lunch remainders without comment. As days and weeks go by, you’ll be able to see trends and patterns in her lunch consumption. Does she eat all the snack and none of the fruits/vegetables? Does she only eat half a sandwich? Does she leave the water bottle unopened? As you see behaviors develop into trends, then you can address them. If she’s constantly eating the cookie first and leaving behind the healthier stuff, withold the cookie until she gets home for a while and re-establish the boundaries. If she never opens the water bottle or juice box, perhaps she’s not able to and is too shy to ask the teacher. If she only eats half of her main meal on a regular basis, perhaps half a serving would suffice for now. The purpose of this system is not to judge or punish, but to observe, determine what’s going on, and find a remedy when necessary.


If nothing works, and your child is consistently eating way too little at lunchtime, you may need to do some detective work to figure out what’s going on. A conversation with your child might help, but if he’s close-mouthed on the subject, a conversation with the teacher might be in order. It could be a simple problem with a simple fix, but it could also be the sign of a deeper problem, like bullying, for example.

Other Posts in this Series

Quick and Easy Lunches

Saving Money on Lunches

Healthy Lunches

As a teacher, I saw a LOT of lunchboxes through the years… and their contents, which occasionally amazed and astounded me. And not necessarily in a good way. To be perfectly frank and honest, the initial thought that popped into my head when observing my students’ lunchbox contents was often, “What were his/her parents thinking?!?!?!” Sometimes I came to the conclusion that they weren’t. Other students impressed me, though, with the contents of their lunchboxes, and those parents I mentally congratulated. I understand it’s difficult to provide a well-balanced, easily portable, easily eaten, well-liked, not-likely-to-be-traded lunch for a picky pupil every. single. weekday. Throw in that most parents barely have time to think about such a lunch, let alone actually create it, and one can easily understand how a child ended up with a lunchbox full of random odds and ends mostly full of sugar, bad fats, and far-from-complex carbs.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. If you’ve already conquered the Lunchbox War, congratulations to you: Well Done! If you’ve been defeated though, or hardly begun to fight, I’ve come up with a few tips to save you Time, Effort, Money… and most importantly, your child’s HEALTH. Today we’ll start with Time and Effort, probably the biggest obstacles in the fight for the healthy lunchbox. Most parents know what should ideally go in the lunchbox, but many are too discouraged by the amount of time and effort it would take to make it happen. Maybe these ideas will help you surmount those obstacles and lead you to a better lunchbox this school year.

Quick & Easy Lunches

Create a flexible but reliable menu.

Develop a basic framework you can use every day that will save you from having to think too much. For example, plan on variations of the following in each lunch:

• -Main Dish (sandwich, soup, leftovers, etc.)
• -Drink (water’s always good!)
• -Yogurt or Cheese
• -2 Fruits or Veggies
• -Small Dessert or Snack

This is a proven formula that will give them enough to eat every day, but is easily varied by including different main dishes, fruits, vegetables, and snacks. Adapt this formula for your own child, one that is easy for you and enjoyed by him or her. It’s easy to change up, but the basic formula stays the same so you don’t have to think too much about what goes in the lunchbox.

Involve your child(ren).

This is easier and saves more time than you might think, especially if you have a formula like I described above. Even a kindergartener can help out with his/her lunch if they know what goes in it. In fact, I would say that from first grade up, if mom or dad takes care of the main meal (and kids can even help with this, depending on age and what it is), the child can take care of the rest. Post a checklist on the fridge, pictorial if necessary, that clearly shows what items should go in the lunchbox every day. Place those items at an accessible level, and make it your child’s responsibility to put all those items in their lunchbox every day. If you’re not comfortable leaving it entirely up to them, all you have to do is instruct them to leave it open until you check it for accuracy. Inspect each lunchbox quickly, correct where necessary, zip it up and off they go!

Fill the lunchbox the night before.

You’ve heard it before, but it bears repeating. Make lunch the night before, and then your morning routine will be slightly less hectic. Every night after dinner, when we clean up the dining room and kitchen, we make lunches for the next day. The lunches go into the fridge with all the leftovers and are ready for to grab the next morning. If you don’t have enough room to store their actual lunch boxes in the fridge overnight, place a large plastic box of some kind on one of the shelves, and put all the lunch contents in it every night. In the morning, just grab the contents and transfer them to the individual lunch boxes. This will still save plenty of coveted morning prep time.

Corral lunchbox items in the fridge and pantry.

This goes hand in hand with the previous tip. Collect all the yogurt cups, cheese sticks, and other refrigerated lunchbox items in one big plastic container on a shelf in the fridge, or designate one of the meat/produce drawers as “lunchbox drawer”. In the pantry, place all the shelf-stable items, such as snacks (healthy ones of course!), juice boxes, fruit cups and other lunch munchies in a designated, clearly labeled, easily accessible container.

Invest in some inexpensive, time-saving tools, like an apple slicer or an orange peeler.

The apple slicer is an incredible invention that will allow you to slice up an apple for your child(ren) in seconds and is a lot easier than pulling out a paring knife and cutting board. It will make the apple easier for your children to eat, especially if they are younger. Apples will brown when exposed to air, so you can either dowse them in a bit of lemon juice and water or just pack them in an airtight container to reduce the browning. The orange peeler is especially useful for elementary-aged children as it can safely be packed with their lunch and allow them to peel their own oranges, clementines or tangerines by themselves at school. If you’re not comfortable with packing the peeler, simply use it to slice through the peel before putting the citrus in the lunchbox, so at least they have a starting point and they can peel easily from there.

What about that main dish?

It’s easy enough to figure out the side items: yogurt cups, cheese sticks, fresh fruit or fruit cups, etc. But what about the main dish? This is usually the biggest quandary when it comes to lunch-packing time. A little forethought and preparation goes a long way to help.

If your child has access to a microwave, make use of it!

Of course, not every school or classroom has the capability of reheating a child’s lunch, which is a bummer. Also, many people prefer to avoid overuse of a microwave. If that’s the case, refer to the next tip:

Invest in a thermos or other insulated container.

Even though both schools where I have worked had ready access to microwaves for all the student lunches, some parents still opted to use a Thermos or similar container instead. And it worked great! If the food goes in hot, it keeps its temperature long enough to be deliciously warm at lunch time. This opens up SO many time- and effort-saving options for filling up those lunchboxes. Read on to see how!

Cook a double batch for dinner and send the leftovers for lunch.

I do this all. the. time. In fact, we eat leftovers for lunch more often than anything else. Usually, the lunch version is simplified, in other words, doesn’t necessarily include all of the sides, sauces, etc. Also, for small children, the food needs to be easily eaten, which means some foods will have to be cut up for them in advance. Plan your dinners ahead of time, determine which ones will easily translate into lunch, and voila! Your lunch the next day is instantly ready at the same time as dinner!

Make big batches and freeze the extra.

Whenever you cook up basic staples like noodles and rice, cook extra and freeze the extra. You can even pour spaghetti sauce over them before freezing for an instant meal, in which case you should freeze them in individual containers. The noodles and rice can be used for dinners OR even for quick lunches when you don’t have leftovers or sandwich options available. Also, extra shredded chicken, beef and pork can be used as sandwich fillers or noodles/rice/potato toppers for delicious lunches.

Make use of the crock pot.

Cook Chicken Noodle Soup (this is where some pre-cooked noodles will come in handy!), Homemade Spaghetti-os (this only gives you 7 hrs max, so it’s perfect if you’re late to bed, early to rise), or Chili in the crock pot overnight and your main dish is ready in the morning! This concept is limited only by your imagination and the contents of your fridge and pantry: cook just about anything (cooking times vary, so keep that in mind) overnight, place it in an insulated container (or re-heat at lunch) for a delicious, fresh, hot lunch!

Always keep sandwich items available.

This is an area where I frequently fail. The idea is to keep some kind of bread, as well as sandwich filler items (lunch meat, tuna, eggs for egg salad, etc.) available at all times, so that when lunchbox-filling-time comes and there are no leftovers or other hot food available, you still have easy options without resorting to cans or packages of processed food. Currently, I pretty much exclusively make sourdough bread, but one thing that has really helped in the past to have fresh bread available almost all the time is the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day method, and its companion, Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. With this method, you can keep bread dough in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or longer in the freezer. Pull it out and bake it whenever you need fresh bread. Loaf or sandwich bread requires a 60-90 minute resting time, but flat breads, like pita for example, require no little-to-no resting time and are baked up in half an hour or less. The only prep is mixing the ingredients and storing them in the fridge once every two weeks (depending on how often you bake up the dough). No kneading, punching down, or extra risings necessary. I hope this gives you some great ideas for lunchboxes this school year! I’d love to hear any ideas you have or things you like to do when it comes to lunchbox time. Next Post: Saving Money This post was originally published in 2008.