By Susan Doré

You’ve purchased all of the school supplies and new clothes, confirmed the bus or carpool schedules, and noted on the calendar the date of “Meet the Teacher” night. Think you can breathe easily and contentedly wave to the children as they traipse off to the first day of school?

Think again. Perhaps the most contentious of all school-related issues is LUNCH — you want your kids to eat nutritious, energy-supporting lunches, and they want lunch to taste good. If you are tired of opening the lunch box at the end of the day to find the food untouched and of learning that your child ate somebody else’s extra candy bar for lunch, here are suggestions that may help to ease the battles over lunch at your house.

. . . . variety

Kids, like adults, become bored with the being served the same food every day. Sit down with your family and discuss what they like to eat for lunch, what doesn’t work in a brown-bag lunch, and what kinds of things other kids have in their lunch boxes that your kids think they might enjoy. The last suggestion will often yield a trove of good tips. Once you’ve made up lists of likes and dislikes, address the issues of variety and frequency. Some children don’t mind eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every day; others will tolerate this lunch box staple a maximum of once a week.

. . . . convenience

School lunch periods are notoriously brief (20-30 minutes) and most children feel quite rushed because they like to and need to socialize with friends while they eat. Make sure the food and drink you pack in a lunch is easy to eat and does not require heating (some schools have microwaves for heating food; this involves standing in line and wasting precious minutes.) Small, individual containers of grated cheese, salsa, nut butters, dips, and cut-up fruit and vegetables keep crackers, bread, and buns from getting soggy before lunch time. Invest in snack-sized zipper bags, plastic containers, and plastic cutlery (especially knives for spreading). A sturdy, hard-shell lunch box resembling an insulated ice chest will keep food fresh and uncrushed and small wide-mouthed thermal containers will keep soup hot and tuna salad cold.

. . . . protein

Identifying healthy, kid-friendly sources of protein demands creativity. Try serving a variety of nut butters, not just peanut butter. Almond and cashew butters are commercially available, or you can easily make your own. If your child is not a sandwich eater, pack the nut butter and some good jelly or honey to be spread on whole-grain crackers. Nut butters can also be spread on to apple slices and celery sticks. Tuna salad, chicken salad, and cheese are all excellent cracker-toppers. If your child likes only pasteurized processed cheese food, make a trip to the market dairy case together and experiment with different varieties of “real” cheese. Several manufacturers are marketing small, individually wrapped cheeses that children find appealing. Thinly sliced summer sausage is another delicious and easy-to-eat source of protein. Roasted and raw almonds, walnuts, cashews, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds, unsalted and zipped into small plastic bags, are excellent additions to the lunch box.

Avoid, at all costs, the prepackaged lunches available in grocery refrigerator sections. These meals are loaded with fat, and the sodium levels are astronomical. If your child is a fan of the pizza or hot dog lunches, try these alternatives. For pizza, pack pizza sauce, grated cheese, and whole-grain saltine crackers in individual containers. The pizzas can be assembled at the lunch table. For hot dogs, microwave a turkey hot dog and wrap in layers of plastic wrap and aluminum foil. The frank will stay warm until lunchtime. Seal a fresh whole-wheat hot dog bun into a zipper bag, and send along individual packets of condiments.

. . . . fruits and veggies

Fruit is an important and delicious energy source. Discuss fruit likes and dislikes with your child; you may be surprised to learn how important eye appeal is to kids. For example, many children won’t eat the slightly browned apple slices you so love cutting up and wrapping. Live with it, and buy bags of very small apples. Wash these, pop one into the lunch box, and your child can eat a whole piece of fruit. On the other hand, soft fruits such as plums, peaches, and nectarines often fare better if you slice them into a small, airtight container that keeps the fruit from being bruised. Red and white grapes, fresh cherries, blueberries, and raspberries are easy treats to include.

Many parents throw their hands up when the subject of children eating vegetables comes up, but savvy parents have observed that most kids prefer raw vegetables to cooked ones. Perfect for the lunch box! Cut up carrots, celery, and cucumber into thin sticks or discs. Refrigerate the vegetables in a small amount of water overnight so that they will be crisp and sweet. Seal the slightly damp vegetables into a snack bag and include a small container of either homemade or store-bought low-fat ranch dressing. Kids love this. You may even be able to get your children to eat raw cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower provided you serve it raw with plenty of “dip.”

. . . . sweets

Worried that your kids will eat the sweets and nothing else? Well, they will quite likely eat the sweet first, so you have to be tricky. Remember the discussion of variety and frequency? Don’t include a treat in every lunch. Keep them guessing, and vary the nature of the treat every time. One day the sweet could be a small handful of sour jelly beans or fruit Gummi Bears, the next a couple of home-baked oatmeal-chocolate chip bar cookies (bake these together on a Sunday afternoon), and on Friday a favorite candy bar. Remind your child that treats are just that —a treat, something special, and not an essential part of every meal. If lunches start to come home with only the treat consumed, sit down with your child and explain that lunch comes first and that the treat privilege is forfeit for a set period of time.

Use the issue of healthful school lunches as a way to teach your child about good food habits. Shop together, cook together, and share the enjoyment of tasty, simple food.

Filed Under: Food Talk