Scrap the crap… pack a REAL lunch!

Super Charge Me! Cookies

On occasion I catch a glimpse of some of the lunches and snacks kids eat at school.  It’s disheartening to see so much processed, packaged foods.  While all families need some quick snacks and shortcuts, should our kids be eating lunchables?  And, how about popping some grapes, orange wedges, or dried apricots in your kid’s snack bag instead of fruit gimmicks marketed with the help of  the newest, coolest kid movie (I say sarcastically), or Barbie (good lord!).  (Barbie might be better suited to market pop tarts).  Okay, enough of my attempts at humor…

Yes, these “foods” may be convenient, but are void of nutrition, and instead deliver doses of artificial colors, flavors, saturated and hydrogenated fats, refined sugars, and refined flours.  Yes, it takes some time to shop and prepare more healthful lunches and snacks, but it’s worth it… and you can plan ahead and have some meal and snack solutions that you can put into rotation every week.

Tamari Roasted Chickpeas (top left)

I pack lunches and snacks every day for our two daughters, and also for my husband.  I’ll share some of my ideas and tricks, and hopefully you will have some new and easy solutions for getting those lunches together.

Here are some general preparation tips along with more specific lunch and snack times.  (Feel free to comment with your own organizational tips and lunch ideas… I can learn from you as well.)

• Make lunch when you make lunch.  One of my girlfriends once remarked “I cannot stand having to pull out more food and pack lunches in the night“.  I said “you’re doing extra work… pack the lunches at lunchtime“.   When I get to prepping veg, fruit, sandwiches, etc, for lunch for the day, I get the lunches together for the next school day.  That way, I’m not doing the same job two times in one day.  I explained to my girlfriend that she might as well get lunches prepped for the next day while she has all the lunch fixings out for that day.  It does require planning and having an extra half-hour or more to get the lunches in order and packed, but it’s worth it not to dirty up your kitchen again at the end of the day.   If it works better for you to prep lunches at dinner hour, then go that route.  Either way, you won’t have a kitchen to clean again in the evening or worse, in the morning, when you’re already squeezed to get the kids out the door.
• Save small leftovers.  Most of us save appreciable amounts of leftover rice, casseroles, soups, etc, but we may not keep smaller amounts to refrigerate.  What’s the point, what can you do with them, right?  Well, lunchboxes are a welcome home for small amounts of foods.  After all, kids love to nibble on different things, and I can often make a lunch around nibblers of roasted potatoes, bean dips, baked beans, rice, potstickers, a few pieces of tofu, and more.  Think about how quickly you can make a wrap with last night’s leftovers of a few tablespoons of rice along with a sprinkling of beans, a drizzle of tahini sauce, and some grated or chopped veg.  Voila!  A tasty, tidy wrap that made use of your rice scraps!  Or, pair those roasted potatoes with some cubed tofu or chickpeas, add some condiments if you like and pair with a couple of slice of whole grain bread with fruit and/or veg to round out the lunch.   Keep a half-dozen or so small containers handy to refrigerate small bits of leftovers until it’s time to pack the lunches.
• Bake and cook in batches.  When possible, double or triple recipes that can be used in lunches.  Things like muffins, hummus, and tamari roasted chickpeas can appear in several lunches through a week.   I’ve started making triple batches of those chickpeas this year!  So do the work once in the week rather than several times, when you can.
• You can match “hot lunch days”.   If your child has insecurities about eating “differently”, try to find ways to have their lunches ‘match’ the items on hot lunch days.  This can be tricky when most of the hot lunch items are essentially junk (cheese pizza, hot dogs).  Nevertheless, you can try and mirror them with healthier choices.  And, most kids don’t mind if their lunches aren’t exactly hot – they’re happy to have food they enjoy to eat, cold or hot!  For instance, on hot dog days, pack up a veggie hot dog in a whole-wheat bun or wrapped in a whole-wheat tortilla.  That cheese pizza can be shown up with a whole-wheat crust version, topped with vegan cheese, veggies, and chickpeas, or even with a nut or seed-based “cheese” and toppings (I will have a nut-free, seed “cheese” recipe to post very soon)!   Or, if you have a couple of slices of leftover take-out pizza, send that along.  Leftovers of pasta come in handy for those pasta hot lunch days.   Warm frozen peas and corn (in boiling water, drain off water once warmed through) and toss with leftover whole-grain pasta along with marinara sauce, or simply olive oil and tamari.  Add protein-rich additions like seeds, beans, or tofu/tempeh if you like.

Here are more lunch and snack ideas:

Tahini Sauce in Wrap

• Wraps.  Easy for the kids to eat, and can be filled with countless ingredients, such as baked beans, refried beans, chickpeas, lentils and other beans, corn, chopped or grated raw veggies (ex: chopped cucumber, grated carrot), rice, quinoa, millet, chopped leftover baked or roasted potatoes.  Also a good way to ’sneak’ in veggies they might not otherwise eat and other nutritional add-in’s like nutritional yeast.  Sauces and spreads can be used to help ’stick’ ingredients together – try using hummus, tahini sauce, Goddess Dressing mixed with nutritional yeast (try it, it’s tasty!), seed or nut-based spreads and sauces.  If all else fails, add a squeeze of ketchup! 


White Bean Hummus with Fresh Basil and Thyme

• Hummus.  I bow to the greatness of hummus!   So many variations, and so many uses.   Many days I simply pack up hummus along with tortilla chips and/or pita breads, fruit/veg, and another munchable, and my daughter’s lunch is set.  For this reason, I make triple and quadruple batches of hummus (because we all love the stuff!).  But, hummus can also be used in sandwiches as a spread, in wraps, as a layer on pizzas to hold veggies, or even mixed with grains like rice or into pasta.  Hummus is truly a lunch lifesaver.  Make it your friend (and make it yourself, it’s much cheaper and far tastier).
• New take on pb&j.  I doubt there is a school that allows peanut butter.  But, some allow nuts, and if not, seeds are usually permitted.  So, switch up pb&j and make sandwiches with almond, cashew, or pecan butter.  Seed butters are more bitter and less palatable, and sunflower and pumpkin seed butters are your best options for kids.  Try adding cinnamon to make them naturally sweeter.  Also, look into organic soy nut butter spreads – there are even varieties with cocoa for a special treat.  Then, change up the ‘j’, using a drizzle of agave nectar and sprinkle of cinnamon instead of jam from time to time.  You can also add raisins or small pieces of dried apple inside the sandwich.  Next, switch up the bread!  Use whole-grain pitas instead of sliced bread, or whole-wheat tortillas.  You can either roll up the fillings in the tortilla, or make a quesadilla of sorts.  Spread the butter over the face of the tortilla, add the dried fruit or other filling to half of the surface, fold over, and lightly toast (either under the broiler, flipping after a few minutes, or pan toasting).  Cool on a cooling rack, cut into wedges with kitchen shears.  These tortilla wedges are especially fun if paired with a dip like an unsweetened applesauce or non-dairy yogurt.  If your children like crispbreads, you can also use Wasa to sandwich ‘pb&j’ in lunches (tip: spread nut butter on both crispbreads with jam or agave in the centre, that way the crispbread won’t absorb the jam/agave).
• Savory sandwiches.  Tofu is terrifc in savory sandwiches, and if you have leftover grilled or baked tofu, pulse it through a mini-food processor and then mix in chopped veggies and condiments and use as a sandwich filling.  Or, simply use slices in sandwiches with a tahini spread, hummus, or other condiment to hold the tofu in place.  Chickpeas can be mashed or pureed and again mixed with veg and condiments for a hearty sandwich filling.  Grilled cheese sandwiches are a favorite, and you can use any vegan cheese you prefer, or a nut or seed cheese in place of a commercial vegan cheese.  Cool before packing, and include a small container of ketchup for dipping.  If your child is a true veggie lover, make simple sandwiches with chopped, sliced, or grated fresh veggies or roasted veggies layered with hummus or another spread is a
• Snacks for lunches or recess.  Fresh fruit is an obvious choice, especially easy-to-eat fruit like grapes, strawberries, and orange segments.  But things like cubed melon, plums, kiwi wedges (they can eat them like an orange) and half a mango (scored) are welcome changes.  Also try switching up raisins for other dried fruit like apple slices, mango, and apricots.  Choose unsulphured and organic whenever possible.  For snacks, our girls love to have some of these dried fruits mixed with popcorn or pretzels, or added to a nut-free trail mix, or in a container with some rice crackers (the yin and yang of salty-sweet)!
• Prepared items.  Lunches and snacks are made even easier with a few prepared items like healthier granola bars, dairy-free yogurts, whole organic fruit bars, unsweetened applesauce cups, crackers, and some treats like cookies and pretzels. 

With all these tips, I haven’t touched much on nuts and nut recipes that can be used in lunches.  Many schools don’t allow nuts of any kind, including cashews, almonds, pistachios, and pecans.  But, if you can bring nuts to your school, you have so many more options for sandwiches, and you can make use of many dip and spread recipes as well as simply packing roasted almonds or raw cashews into your kidlet’s snack.

Here are a handful of recipes that are fairly easy, very tasty, and substantial for lunches and snacks:

Banana Oat Bundles

Easy Pleasin’ Oat Bars

Maple Banana Bread

Maple Banana Loaf

Tamari Roasted Chickpeas

Super-Charge Me! Cookies

Also, try this Goddess Garbanzo recipe from ed&bv, a chickpea-based sandwich filling that uses the ever popular Goddess Dressing.  It’s easy to whip together, and with the kelp granules and other seasonings, the flavor is reminiscent of tuna sandwiches – only much better!

Goddess Garbanzos

Makes filling for 3-4 sandwiches.

1 cup cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

3–3½ tbsp Annie’s Naturals Goddess Dressing

1 tbsp Nayonaise or Vegenaise

1–1½tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tsp tahini

½ tsp kelp granules (optional; I use Maine Coast Sea Seasonings brand)

1/16–1/8 tsp sea salt (to taste)

2 tsp capers (optional)

¼ cup celery, minced

2 tbsp apple, minced (optional)

In a large bowl, mash all ingredients except celery and apples (alternatively, you can use a food processor and pulse until blended but still chunky, but do mash or pulse to improve texture of chickpeas – the filling is not as good when the chickpeas are left whole).  Stir in celery and apples, and season with additional salt and pepper and/or more mayonnaise if desired.

Note: If making this recipe for kids, you can sneak other veggies into the mixture if you mince or grate them. For example, replace celery with grated or minced carrot or cucumber. They may also like additional chopped apples or raisins added to the mixture. Finally, for us big kids, try stirring in a sprinkling of chopped fresh herbs like dill, chives,or parsley.