Freshening Up the Lunchbox for Spring

About author / Pamela Chester

Mom of two; graduate French Culinary Institute; kids cooking program instructor; Master's degree in food studies. Creates kid friendly foods and loves her slow cooker.

There are a couple more months of school left and you are hearing that familiar complaint from your kids: lunch has become the same old, same old. If your kids are bored with their lunchbox, try spicing things up a bit with some new ideas that’ll see you through the end of the school year in style.

Although I am a couple years away from having to pack school lunches for my kids, I often pack a kiddie lunch to take with us on errands or outings, and I am guilty of falling back on the same two offerings, usually one of two sandwiches on whole wheat bread: turkey and cheese or a peanut butter and jelly.

But we all know that even if you buy all natural nitrate-free lunchmeat, it’s still full of sodium. And I often wonder about the nutrition in jelly or preserves. Although the kind I buy is made from real fruit, it still contains an awful lot of sugar and not a whole lot of real nutritional value. Plus I just recently saw a picture comparing marshmallow fluff and grape jelly--and the fluff actually has fewer calories and less sugar in a serving size that is twice that of the jelly!

Our lunches are frequently packed just before we head out the door, so that’s why I rely on those old sandwich standbys. It’s a no-brainer. And I usually accompany either of these choices with a yogurt, carrot sticks, and a few pretzels. So I thought earlier today, it’s time to shake things up a bit.

I took a look at the contents of the fridge to see what I could cobble together. Of course, there are a few colored eggs still floating around to make egg salad sandwiches, but we are a bit tired of that choice. Then I spied some hummus, of which we seem to have a never ending supply. And my son has been really into cucumbers lately, so I thought why not pack a yummy and nutritious vegetarian wrap, made with hummus, cucumber and sliced tomatoes on a spinach flour tortilla?

You can also make your everyday sandwich choices fresh by swapping out the standard bread for some more novel choices: pita pockets, tortillas, bagels, or naan flatbread. Or add a little crunch with some fresh ingredients like sliced cucumbers, fresh greens such as romaine or spinach, or jicama. Or make an easy to assemble lunch of cheese, whole-wheat crackers, and fresh fruit.

For a nice change of pace, you could also make a batch of fresh pasta salad (save some for a dinner meal side dish) and add some lean meats and cheeses to round out the meal. You can keep it cold with a cold pack or better yet, a frozen bottled water or juice box of your child’s choice.

Try going retro and getting a thermos for some good old-fashioned soup (you can make some out of last night’s roast chicken dinner or buy a wholesome variety of canned soup). Just heat the soup in the morning, and transfer to the thermos, and toss in a baggie of crackers to round out the meal.

Most kids seem to love dips of all kinds and might try some veggies they would otherwise shun if given their choice of dip, like ranch dressing or spinach-artichoke dip (My son’s favorite is ranch dressing and he will eat almost anything if you dip it in ranch). Pack a little container of dip along with some veggies, old standbys like carrots and celery, along with snap peas, cherry tomatoes, asparagus, and broccoli.

So have fun coming up with exciting choices for the rest of the school year and let me know if your kids have any new favorite lunch choices!