Put Some Zip Into Kids' Bagged Lunches -- Without Driving Yourself Crazy

With the start of the new school year just days away (I can hear all you moms and dads cheering out there) one of the biggest questions is what to feed the kids for lunch.

If your children are like my teenager who refuses to eat the school lunch, or if you simply prefer to pack their lunches, it can be easy to fall into basic sandwich and chips rut. Let’s face it, though: most of us are trying to juggle our jobs, the house and their schedules, so creativity goes out the window.

Here’s some ways to shake up the ham-on-bread routine, plus ideas for healthy snacks to get them through school days and afterschool activities and sports -- so they’re not raiding the refrigerator the minute they get home.

1. Wrap it up. Sandwich wraps have become very popular and they can be filled with whatever you like. Take a flour tortilla, lay some lettuce and your sandwich ingredients on it, fold one edge about a third of the way up, then roll it up with the folded part at the bottom. Yes, it’s a glorified sandwich but it will still be different. You can use lunch meat, tuna salad, chunks of chicken breast or rice and beans to fill it. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination and their taste buds. GoodHousekeeping.com has recipes including this turkey melon wrap.

2. Salads. If your kids will eat salad, this can be very easy to do. I buy spring greens in one of the large prepacked containers to have easy salad fixings during the week and they seem to last longer than many of the bagged salads. Look, too, for shredded or diced fresh veggies to add to the greens. Add some deli meat and cheese if you want a chef salad, or sliced chicken breast for a Caesar salad. RealSimple.com suggests a BLT salad to change things up.

If they want salad dressing, you can get 2-ounce mini cups with lids (Walmart sells a bag of 50 for $3) to fill with bottled dressings you have on hand rather than buying individual dressing portions. If you’re concerned about spillage, put the cup in a zipper-seal bag before you pack it in the lunch.

3. Tacos. Easy to do with baked chicken you’ve prepared ahead of time, or even leftover taco meat from dinner. Use zipper-seal bags or 2-ounce cups with lids to include salsa, shredded cheese or other toppings, and either hard shells or small tortillas (soft tortillas will travel better, however).

4. Pasta salad. Again, lots of variations available and can be prepared ahead of time and then packed in a lunch-sized portion in the morning. My daughter loves a broccoli pasta salad that has tomatoes, bacon and pecans mixed in (recipe below).

Snacks can be easy as well and they don’t have to cost a fortune or be limited to prepackaged chips or fruit snacks.

• Try cutting an apple into eighths and including a small container of peanut butter for dipping.
• Red seedless grapes are easy to fix -- pluck them off the bunch, rinse and toss in a zipper bag -- and healthy. Add a side of cubed cheese with the grapes.
• Include a banana, for a quick and natural energy boost, especially for kids who play sports after school. Or combine banana and peanut butter in a treat that Elvis would have loved: Peanut butter-banana swirls; recipe on CookingLight.com.
• For that need to crunch, go old school with Chex mix. You can add nuts, pretzels and even M&Ms or chocolate chips for a dash of sweetness.
• Send corn tortilla chips or baked sliced pitas to get away from potato chips.
• Baby carrots or other sliced vegetables and hummus or guacamole to dip them in will give your kid a healthy side to go with their sandwich.

Other hints to minimize the stress and the fuss:

Chicken is versatile and easy to prepare ahead of time, and it freezes and thaws well. Buy a large package of chicken breasts and bake them while you’re making another meal. Or use drumsticks/thighs. When they’re cooked, slice/dice/shred them and make up single-serving portions using zipper bags and stick them in the freezer. Then all you have to do is pull a package out of the freezer.

Prepackaged foods -- like the spring greens mentioned earlier, or shredded cheese, or chopped/sliced vegetables -- can speed the lunch preparation process. Baby carrots are easy to toss in a baggie. Bell peppers hold up well even if you slice them the night before.

I highly recommend going with disposable packaging as much as possible, especially with younger children. Going green and recycling is ideal, but some younger children simply are forgetful. When my daughter was in elementary school, trying to get her to remember to bring home containers was nearly impossible and left me frustrated. She’s in high school now, but I still pack things in disposable containers -- even going so far as to pack her lunch in plastic shopping bags from the grocery store. Zipper-seal bags are great for most things -- including packing a reasonable portion of a snack -- and I no longer worry that some container will be forgotten or accidentally thrown out.

Here’s my broccoli pasta salad recipe (serves 4)

8 ounces of bowtie pasta, cooked and drained
1 pound of fresh broccoli
1/3 cup diced red onion
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup chopped pecans
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup mayonnaise (do not use Miracle Whip)
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread pecans on a baking sheet and toast for 5-7 minutes until fragrant.
While the pasta is cooking, cut the broccoli florets from the stems, cutting them into small pieces. Halve the tomatoes and dice the red onion.
In a bowl, combine the mayo, vinegar, sugar and onion and stir thoroughly.
In a separate large bowl, combine the cooked, drained pasta with the broccoli and tomatoes, then pour the mayonnaise mixture over all of it and toss to combine. Chill overnight (this allows the flavors to really settle in). Add the chopped bacon and the pecans shortly before serving.
You can add chicken chunks and other vegetables to this, and even the most ardent broccoli haters have been converted after eating this salad. Shredded cheese is another option for added flavor.