Packing school lunches

Can you believe it? Is it really already that time again? School lunches are just around the corner, and the task of trying to figure out what to have on hand to put into them. Just packing a lunch for a kids with no food issues can be a challenge, but when you factor in a food allergy or intolerance you are on a whole different playing field.

Perhaps this is your first school year having to deal with this, or perhaps your child’s preferences have changed a bit. Are you feeling at a bit of a loss? Like everything else on this journey of food issues, a bit of planning removes much of the head ache that comes along with it all.

What does your child want in his or her lunch? Perhaps a sandwich just isn’t going to cut it. How about soup? How about some lunch meat, cheese and a few gluten-free crackers? How does your child eat at home? That is a good place to start.

If sandwiches are top of their list, there are several really good bread recipes here on Gling for both a conventional oven and a bread machine. Most are very portable and make great sandwiches.

Fruit and chips are very common components to a packed lunch. Easy to find tasty options for your child with a food intolerance or allergy. How about string cheese, if your child can have dairy products. Hard boiled eggs? How about a trail mix made from dried fruit?

Most kids look for the sweet treat that they know will be there for them to enjoy, hopefully after they have eaten the rest of their lunch. Just a little something sweet and tasty to finish off their amazing lunch. Who doesn’t love a cookie or brownie after they’ve eaten their main dish?

Top of the list for my kids are cookies. Cup cakes are always a hit too, any cake can generally be made into a portable cup cake. How about a brownie? Maybe your kids would flip over a muffin? Most of these options are easy to bake yourself and freeze for lunches. Take an afternoon before school starts and make up a few tasty treats and freeze them in portions for school lunches. What a time saver that would be!

If baking is not something you enjoy or choose to do, there are many great gluten-free options available that are quite tasty at your local specialty food store. The options these days are almost limitless. Many areas even have gluten-free bakeries close by. Several years ago, that was only a dream for many of us!

Whatever your kids want to find in their lunch boxes, a bit of planning ahead will save you some of the “drama” that back to school often brings. Try a couple of bread recipes now, before you have to pack their lunch. Find one that you know that they love and go with that. Bake up a couple of loaves and freeze them. Make a trip to your specialty food store now and stock up on their favorites.

Do what you can now to make your return to the school routine an easy one! If your life is like mine, you can use all the help you can get and planning ahead is a huge helper.