Kids Cuisine

Today was my daughter’s first day back to school, and for me that means the clock has started ticking.  I have about one month of time to convince my daughter that the lunch Mom packs from home is much better than the processed lunches her classmates are eating.  For the last two years the novelty of the homemade lunch quickly wore off, resulting in a compromise of half-time school lunch. This year I am determined to keep those lunches interesting as well as delicious.

The first step is hardware.  We are fans of the Laptop Lunchbox and will continue to use one, but for those who may be more budget conscious, there are literally dozens of new options this year. From totes to boxes to the more pricey bento boxes, there really is something for everyone, just take a peek at Lunchboxes.com.  We’ve also added a small Thermos this year for transporting hot foods like soup and stews.  Think whole grain spaghetti tossed with marinara and low-fat turkey meatballs.  How can school lunch beat that!

The toughest part of lunch is keeping the boredom out of the box.  It’s very easy to get into a sandwich/wrap rut and leave it at that.  I look to websites like Brown Bag Blues for inspiration.  Even Kraft Foods has a page called Lunch Box Builder offering suggestions for different salads, wraps, and sandwiches.  Of particular interest to me there is the Waffle Apple-Wich.  A Sandwich made from waffles?  That could be very fun to a second-grader.  Do you have a fun lunch idea?  I would love to hear it – please feel free to leave a comment in the comment section below. Who knows? Perhaps your lunchtime idea will start a revolution in my daughter’s lunchroom and be the subject of a future Kids Cuisine post.