Well, the kids have headed back to school, and with that we once again have the lunch box dilemma: How to pack a lunch that is both healthy and kid-friendly?
According to news reports, school lunch prices will increase this year nationwide. In the Tahoma School District, the prices are up from last year. Elementary student lunches will cost $2.25 per day, and junior and high school students will be shelling out $2.75. That means if you have just one elementary-school kid buying hot lunch every day, you will be paying $45 a month. And if you have more than one child in the school system – well, you do the math.
Obviously, the cheaper option is to brown-bag it. But not all kids are excited about a home made lunch, and it’s often a hassle for busy parents, as well. If your children are used to eating school lunches exclusively, try negotiating. One family I know views hot lunch as a special treat. They post the month’s menu and each kid chooses one lunch per week; they bring their lunch from home on the other days. Skipping hot lunch even once or twice a week will save money.
Homemade lunches are also often healthier. After all, the lunch is as healthy as parents make it.
So how do you keep your kids happy?
Start with a cool lunch box. One thrifty mom said she waits to buy the current year’s lunch boxes until after school starts, when prices are reduced.
If you plan to pack perishables, there are a number of insulated lunch bags on the market. These are usually found at stores or online; some companies even personalize for free.
Other tricks for keeping food fresh: Freeze a juice box or water bottle and pack with the lunch. Small ice packs work well, too. I’ve found perfectly sized ice packs in cute shapes (cookies, lifesavers, soccer balls, etc.) in grocery stores.
Kids love to play with their food. Dipping, rolling and stacking their food makes lunch more interesting. A few ideas from my home and from other moms:
• Stack: Try making a homemade version of the expensive “Lunchable” by cutting lunch meat and cheese into squares and including crackers to make their own little sandwiches.
• Dip: Lots of foods can be dipped, such as cut up veggies packed with a small container of ranch dressing, or apple slices dipped into peanut butter, or a dip made for fruit.
• Roll: Make roll-ups by rolling several slices of lunch meat together, cutting the roll in half, then securing each with a fancy toothpick. You could include a dip for this one, too. Another idea: Roll deli meat around cheese sticks.
Wrap: Turn their favorite sandwich into a wrap. Large tortillas can be found in a variety of flavors and turned into almost any kind of wrap, from PB&J to turkey, avocado and cheese. Leftover dinner, barbecue beef or teriyaki chicken wrap well, too. Wraps can also be made with large lettuce leaves instead of tortillas.
In the colder months, kids can have a hot lunch from home if they have a thermos. A thermos can be filled with anything from canned soup to last night’s leftover chili. To keep foods hot, try filling the thermos with hot water, letting it sit for five minutes before emptying, and then filling it with heated food.
Keep kids interest by varying the contents often. For the diehard sandwich-eater, large cookie cutters can be used to make fun shapes. Or use a bagel or bun instead of bread for a change.
Of course, don’t forget the dessert. Invest in a package of small plastic containers with lids and make your own pudding, Jell-O or fruit cups. Making a larger batch, then dividing it into containers saves money over purchased individual servings, and it creates less trash.
Last but not least, a little note included in their lunch makes a kid feel special. Love notes, notes of encouragement on test day or a joke or riddle will let them know you care.
Tiffany Doerr Guerzon, a homemaker and freelance writer, lives in Maple Valley. She can be reached at homespun@reporternewspapers.com
