I spent most of the morning, while Pea and Coco were helping their Daddy hang some shelves in a closet, on the Internet, digging around for lunchbox meals that were healthy, appealing and easy to prepare. What shocked me the most is that there was such an abundance of ‘recipes’ centered around, what else, peanut butter. Are there even any schools left that allow you to send your kid with peanut butter? How about anything remotely related to peanuts? I saw a counselor remove a granola bar from a child’s lunch at summer camp recently, even though the mother was proclaiming that it didn’t have peanuts in it. Apparently, it was made in a plant that handled peanuts, and that was enough. And I’m not going to tell you how I feel about the omission of this staple in a kid’s lunch from virtually every school, public or private, that I’ve come across. Suffice it to say that I was allergic to peanuts as a child, and my girls’ pediatrician told me that the reason I was (probably) no longer allergic was because my mother? She sent me to school, on occasion, with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Reckless? Clueless? Who knows. But I’m still here to talk about it…

But back to lunch-boxes. As much as I love food? I do not love packing take-to-school meals. Perhaps because I’ve not yet found a way to translate my love of fabulous food to a tiny little box that will sit on a shelf – at room temperature – for several hours before being eaten. That, for me, means no hot food and no cold food. What else, really, is there? Beyond snack-type meals?

I’m thinking that I need to retrofit her cute little monogrammed lunch bag with some sort of freezer pack, so that I can get a little gutsier with her meals. (And I’ve actually read that you can freeze a juice box at night, pull it out in the morning and toss it in the lunchbox, and it will work as a de facto freezer pack, thawing out for drinking at lunchtime, and this idea? Will probably work very well for Pea, since her lunch is not refrigerated.) I had actually considered a new bag, perhaps a Bento box or one of those Laptop Lunch deals, but in the end? The purchase just wasn’t going to work with my new ‘simplifying’ plan for our household. You know, why buy something new when you already have a very-slightly-less-than-new item that does the same thing? Now, if I could only get those wasted hours back, spent hunched over the computer keyboard, giving myself a migraine while staring at pictures of lunch boxes on the screen.

However, this photo spread from Biggie (thanks for the link, Tray), from Lunch in A Box? Has completely convinced me that the next time one of my girls is in need of some sort of conveyance for meals? I’m totally going with the Bento.

But I digress…

Food. The actual food. As in recipes. My goodness, the options? Are endless. If you look in the right place. Which? Apparently? I’d not been doing. But… I did find my way to some sites of interest:

Meals Matter. Cool site. Just click on “Nutrition & Healthy Living,” and then click on “Back to School.” I actually, much to my own snooty dismay, found some really solid information here. No joke! I tend to turn my nose up to such ‘basic’ information, and yet, among the best information that I found? Was on this site. Go figure… Anyway, “Feeding Kids” really got me thinking about alternatives to what I’ve been doing, and that’s saying a lot, considering that we’ve always considered ourselves pretty ‘alternative’ when it came to kids and food. Huh.

Moving on… The Visual Guide. Sure, there may be a lot of information on this site that is for sale, but, not all of it comes at a cost. Asian Confetti Rice? Pasta Primavera? Mmm… Definitely on an upcoming menu plan for school.

Fresh for Kids? There’s a printable meal plan, some healthy alternatives to the usual lunchbox fare that I am planning on using.

And Chickpea, Tomato & Feta salad? Well, I know I’ve written about this one before. And I’m not sure where your kid stands on food, but in our home? Chickpeas are just about as good as gold (think hummus and pasta), and they are a terrific alternative to meat, as in protein. I’m not really ready to send meat to school, since I’ve mentioned the storage on the classroom shelf, of all the lunch-boxes. But protein? Brain food. Alternatives? Legumes. My favorite food. Sits well, no matter what form it’s in. Delicious, and endless possibilities. And in the same vein? This pasta, possibly the tastiest, most simple, and most-requested I’ve ever made… Chickpea Pasta with Almonds & Parmesan. This dish is so simple, that if you are used to a lot of ‘fuss and muss,’ I promise you will not enjoy it. But if you love to taste your food, the ingredients, then this dish? It is for you. And if it’s for you? I’m going to take a leap of faith, and assume that it’s also for your kids. This is simple. And pretty healthy. And, I think, it will pack well in a kid’s lunch. (Parmesan in a small dish or baggie on the side, to be added at mealtime; the almonds? Not going to fly at our nut-free school, so they can simply be omitted from the finished dish.)

Just about anything is considered delicious if it’s ensconced in a pita pocket. While you’re at it? Make that pita pocket a whole wheat pita pocket. And pesto? Very popular in our home. In fact, I just whipped up a huge batch from a Barefoot Contessa recipe a couple of weeks ago, and froze the remaining sauce in single servings. Great in a pinch, to thaw out and toss with pasta and a little freshly grated Parmesan. And this pasta dish, also from the Barefoot Contessa, is a crowd pleaser, always. Even the kids love it. Pasta with Sun-dried Tomatoes. The recipe makes a ton, and the left-overs (if they last that long) would be a great ‘entree’ in a kid’s lunchbox. I tend to substitute whole grain pasta in recipes that are based around noodles, just for a little extra health kick. This recipe from chef Todd English for Pesto Pasta Salad sounds delicious, and my girls love peas. I found a recipe for homemade gorp (“good old raisins and peanuts”) in “Cookie” magazine, and although it substitutes pistachios for the peanuts, it’s outstanding. You can tweak it, too, for your kid’s tastes. Pea? Not so into the coconut, it’s a texture thing (she gets that from her mama). I love gorp because it’s healthy but still a treat. Once you have a basic recipe down that everyone likes, you can tweak it until the cows come home. This recipe will make four cups:

1 cup shredded coconut

1/2-cup shelled pistachios

1 cup granola

1 cup dried cherries

1/2-cup dark chocolate chunks

And I’d love to get salad into Pea’s mealtime repertoire. Thus far, it’s the one thing that I just can’t get her to touch. What she will do is steal out of mine or my husband’s salad plate the pine nuts or the Gorgonzola, but lettuce? Nope. But this recipe for Chinese Chicken Salad? I’m fairly confident that I can get her to eat it. When broken down into it’s components, it’s full of everything she loves: mandarin orange slices, chow mein noodles and rotisserie chicken. I’m putting it on her meal plan for the coming week. I will, however, be substituting Olde Cape Cod Toasted Sesame, Soy & Ginger salad dressing for the homemade version in the recipe, since it calls for peanut butter, and that’s a no-no. This dressing is under $3, I get it at my local grocery store, and when it’s in stock? I buy it all. Every last bottle. In fact, I’ve been accused of hoarding it for my own selfish needs. It is true. I am hoarding it. It is the best dressing / marinade / condiment I’ve ever had. And believe me, when you taste it, you will do a double-take with the bottle, just to make sure that yes, it’s true… it is completely and totally fat-free. It is that good.

So while I don’t necessarily think that I’ve been in a rut with planning and packing Pea’s lunches, I do know that I need to step it up a notch. So the last thing that I did was order a book by kid’s culinary genius Annabel Karmel, dedicated to packing school lunchbox meals. I can’t wait to read it. And I’ll be sure to post about it after I’ve sufficiently put it to the test. But her recipes have always been a hit with both of my girls. Fingers crossed…