BROWN BAGGING IT WITH STYLE!

An Exciting and Nutritious Way to Pack your Kids’ School Lunches this Fall 

Now that children across the country are heading back to school for a new year, it’s time to think about the kinds of lunches that will keep them full and focused on learning throughout the day.

As a Chef and a father of three, what my children eat for school lunch is high on my radar. I feel it is important to send my little ones to class armed with a lunch that will not only keep them fueled throughout the school day, but be interesting enough to make them want to eat a fulfilling meal.

If kids find something boring in their lunch box, they might be tempted to trade that for a candy bar, and junk food isn’t satisfying enough to keep them interested in algebra or grammar once they leave the cafeteria.

That’s why creating fun and nutritious options for my kids’ brown bag lunches is an important part of my job as a dad. On Sunday nights, I like to gather in the kitchen with my 10-year-old son, Simon, and think up new recipes for a week of school lunches. Simon, who loves to cook as much as I do, tells me what he likes to munch on, and we pull out ingredients and mixing bowls to create the recipes together. 

Despite the improvements to cafeteria lunches at schools across America in recent years, I feel sending your children to the bus stop with a brown bag lunch is just a healthier option. It also provides a chance to bond with your child as you talk about the importance of eating lunch, and how that meal will only improve what they pick up in class, and keep them energized for after school sports and clubs.

Simon and I look forward to our Sunday night strategy sessions in the kitchen. Some of our favorite concoctions have ranged from a hearty, fulfilling Chunky Chicken Salad on pressed wheat bread to a fresh Pear Salad punctuated with rosemary, manchego and parmesan cheese, to a special dessert treat – Homemade Cracker Jacks. (Click here for the recipes)

The Chunky Chicken Salad sandwich features a natural, healthy fat - olive oil – as well as many other beneficial ingredients like cucumber, fresh herbs, balsamic vinegar, lemon, basil, and fresh parsley. Scooped onto heart-healthy whole wheat bread, this filling sandwich will be flavorful enough to make kids want to eat every bite, while serving as a healthier option than cafeteria pizza or chicken nuggets.

As another lunch option, Simon and I crafted the Pear Salad – a combination of fresh pears and other garden ingredients paired with the comfort flavors kids love. This mix of herbs, cheese, fruit, vegetables and light oils is a melting pot of taste that kids find interesting and hearty.

And for that fun, brown bag lunch dessert that all kids look forward to, Simon and I dreamed up our own homemade version of Cracker Jacks. While these may not be the healthiest item in your child’s lunch, you know it’s fresh and what it’s made of, which is more than most parents know about what goes into the lunches serves in a school’s cafeteria!

And hey, sometimes, a kid just has to be a kid.     

For more information about how to create these special kid-friendly lunches, please check out the recipes in this article