Something That Works: Lunch Choices

Sometimes I pack a lunch that doesn't appeal to one (or more) of my children.  Normally I encourage them to take it and try it.  Sometimes, though, the "take it and try it" approach doesn't work.  That's when you can offer a lunch choice to your child that is quick to pack and easy to make.

Here's how you can give your kids a lunch choice during the week without going crazy:

1. Offer Leftovers.  Pasta salad, pizza, quesadillas, and frittatas.  These dinner staples all work as lunch repacks.  Toss in some fresh fruit and chocolate and your child will be happy!
2. Freeze Sandwiches.  It works for Smuckers Uncrustables.  And it can work for you.  Just make the sandwich, uncrust it, and freeze in a sandwich baggie.  Or if you're anti-plastic-baggie, wrap with non-bleached vegan waxed paper and put in a reusable fair trade bamboo container.)
3. Stock Ready-to-Go Lunch Options.  Tortilla chips, refried beans and salsa.  Cottage cheese, canned pears and granola.  Marshmallows, graham crackers and Hershey bars.  (No, not that, actually.)
4. Eat Native American Style.  Native Americans used to eat something called pemmican to sustain them on their heap big journeys.  You can do something similar for your little Indians.  Pack trail mix, dried fruit and maybe some beef jerky.  It's a calorie-dense lunch which is also high in sodium, so use this lunch choice sparingly.  And pack some water, too.