Kindergarten corner: Home lunches beyond PB&J?
Last night, I read my daughters Bread and Jam for Frances. My favorite part is the end, when Frances relishes every bite of her sophisticated boxed lunch (Lobster salad! Cream of tomato soup!) and “makes it all come out even.” Alas, in my house, a steady diet of peanut butter and jelly has done nothing to make picky Night Owl beg for something new. Cafeteria lunch? Forget it! We’ve tried. Each time, she eschews the healthier options in favor of a white hamburger bun dipped in ketchup. I figure we’re better off packing lunch.
Volunteering in the lunchroom, I’ve seen an impressive variety of homemade offerings on display. There are Caribbean stews and colorful Chinese stir-fries. My friend Min, who is from Korea, makes her son freshly steamed rice, on which she arranges black beans into a letter of the day. All of these lunches look healthy and hearty, and the children devour them.
A recent New York Times article detailed the art of the bento box; some of their examples dazzlingly intricate. If I had hours to spend sculpting bunnies out of food and thought it would coax Night Owl to eat more, perhaps I would perfect this craft. And I do get the idea of the bento box: to juxtapose as many colors, textures and food groups as possible, for nutritional value and visual appeal. A friend of mine packs Laptop Lunches, westernized bento boxes she says force her to create a varied and balanced meal — and leftovers work just fine for filling the compartments.
In perusing web sites and blogs on the subject, I’ve seen some great ideas. Epicurious showcases recipes from the book Real Food For Healthy Kids. A recent blog in New York Family offers tips on how to make school lunches more nutritious. A friend likes the Family Fun site. Surely, mixing it up works for some kids-but not mine.
Erin Patterson, founder of Small Bites, has a reassuring take on the subject: “School lunch is not the time to introduce kids to something new. It’s O.K. to pack PB&J every day if that’s what you know they will eat” (or a nut-free equivalent, of course). She says that if you choose healthy ingredients — whole wheat instead of white, natural rather than processed sandwich fillings — and add fresh fruit and vegetables, plus a healthy “extra” or two, they’re getting a wholesome lunch. Family dinners are better times to introduce kids to novel foods, which they’ll be more likely to try without the distractions and time constraints of the cafeteria.
I realize what all the most successful lunches, no matter how exotic or simple, have in common: when the children open their lunch boxes, they feel like they’re getting a taste of home.
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Most kids love choice, and grazing. In pre-school, for lunches, and for kindergarten snacks, I always sent my child with little bits of things, nicely presented, and with spices and sauces to dip into (soy, mustard, ground pepper, low fat salad dressing, etc.). A big favorite was hummus, carrot and celery sticks, or cherry tomatoes, and mixed Japanese crackers, with peanuts (I mixed up various bags of good crackers and nuts myself), or mini pita bread, as well as some berries or grapes. For years I heard from the teacher and other kids how everyone else always wanted to have my child share with them!
By the way, there is very good, fairly healthy, and inexpensive frozen Chinese good, such as dumplings, steamed buns, etc. that are easy to prepare and if made in the morning, before sending a child to school, will keep nicely in an insulated container. My son’s friends were nuts for dumplings such as pork with celery. And they loved soy beans in the shell (fun to eat!).
So you can be creative cheaply and easily in NYC, with all of the great ethnic food and stores. Cheers!
Comment by Queens Parent — October 12, 2009 @ 9:12 pm
Thanks for the links and the ideas. My oldest child went to a preschool where we had to send lunch daily. He was content, in fact insistent upon, having the same meal of spaghetti-o’s or mac and cheese virtually every day. My daughter, now in K began questioning why I always send a sandwich whenever she needed a bag lunch for camp or school. Having also read Bread and Jam for Frances, she has been demanding some variety! I guess I’ll be buying a bento box of some kind.
Comment by dr — October 14, 2009 @ 3:00 pm
Thanks for the great article. I put together the lunches daily for my Pre-K girl, and finding something I can make in the hour between waking and running out the door is always a challenge. I write about the food I cook for my family at http://www.stayatstovedad.com.
Comment by john — October 21, 2009 @ 10:21 am
I have a picky eater, with a repertoire of about 5 foods that he will eat despite my families ethnic and diverse foods.
Seriously, a Bento box for kindergarten! My child barely has time to open his lunch box, let alone, dip and graze. What schools do are you talking about? He has a half and hour and much of that is spent trying to open a juice box straw wrapper while being screamed at by lunch aides to eat faster!!!
Comment by Lulu Bee — October 21, 2009 @ 11:14 am