Best Lunch Box Ever (8 page)

Pack the skewers in a container or wrap them gently in aluminum foil.

MAKE-AHEAD NOTES:
can be made a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator.

PB&J Gone Nuts

With supermarket shelves teeming with nut and seed butter options, it's easy to get creative beyond the PB&J. Here are five fresh takes on the classic:

Cashew Butter Banana Roll:
Spread cashew nut butter on a whole-wheat tortilla. Top with thin slices of ripe banana. Drizzle with honey, roll up, and cut into rounds.

Peanut Butter Pancakes:
Next time you cook pancakes, make two extra ones that are each about 3 inches wide. Spread peanut butter and raspberry jam between them for a supersatisfying pancake sandwich.

Nutty Sushi:
Cut the crusts off two slices of whole-wheat bread. Cut the slices in half (lengthwise if the bread is rectangular). Soften the bread by microwaving on high for 10 seconds. Spread a thin layer of almond butter and jam on all four strips of bread. Roll up like sushi and eat with chopsticks.

Apple and Sunflower Butter Dunk:
Cut an apple into eight wedges, douse with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and store in a container. Spoon 1 to 2 tablespoons of sunflower seed butter in a separate container and scatter 1 teaspoon of roasted sunflower seeds over the top. Send the two items together for dunking.

Carrot Raisin Sammie:
Smear peanut or pumpkin seed butter on two slices of whole-grain bread. Scatter one tablespoon of raisins over one bread slice followed by one small grated carrot. Top with the second bread slice. Cut into quarters.

Cold Cuts Crib Sheet

Buying sliced lunch meats can be tricky since so many are processed with loads of salt, sugar, preservatives, monosodium glutamate, coloring, and other additives. Here are a few how-to's on choosing the best cold cuts in the deli case:

Read the label:
Look for natural ingredients, and few of them; less is usually more when it comes to food. Choose meat and poultry from animals raised without antibiotics or hormones, something that's a guarantee when you buy organic.

Opt for leaner cuts with less sodium:
Fat and salt are often sky-high in packaged cold cuts. Compare labels and go for lower fat and lower sodium options.

Watch the water:
Clever manufacturers sometimes boost profit margins by pumping water into lunch meats, thereby increasing the weight. You'll know if a product has added water or moisture because the label is required to say so.

Go small:
Buy smaller quantities and use them up with relative speed. Meats bought from a deli should be eaten within a couple of days; prepackaged cold cuts within three to five days of opening.

Know about nitrates:
Nitrates are preservatives that lend a distinctively smoky, cured flavor and appealing color to the likes of ham and salami. It's best to watch your intake, which is tricky since labeling can be confusing. Even when marked “uncured” or “no nitrites or nitrates added,” meat may indeed have them (albeit from a natural source, such as celery juice). So read the fine print, keep to a moderate portion, and load up on other healthful sandwich fixings.

Cook it yourself:
When cooking meat or poultry for dinner, make a little extra for the lunch box. Alternatively, buy cold cuts from a reputable deli. Some even roast and slice their own.

SALADS AREN'T JUST FOR GROWN-UPS.
If done right, children can be crazy about them. Yet a lot of folks overlook leafy greens for school lunches, thinking they're too complicated or won't get a thumbs-up from the kids. A few elements do have to be in place for successful salads.
1.
They should be crunchy—the fresh bright flavors of chilled cucumber and heart of romaine lettuce will be gobbled with much more enthusiasm than a container of limp greens and baby carrots fished out from the back of the fridge.
2.
They should include kid-pleasing add-ins such as croutons, crumbled cheese, raisins, tortilla chips, and so on.
3.
They should feature a protein-rich food that will provide a bit of heft to the meal—greens and veggies alone won't likely cut it.
4.
They should be packed with care so that salad fixings don't get soggy by the time lunch rolls around.

These six salads fill the bill on all counts, and then some!

4
SALADS KIDS WILL LOVE

Lunch Box Formula for a Salad Kids Will Love

1. Start with 1 cup of
greens
.

2. Add
¹
/
₄
to
¹
/
₂
cup chopped or sliced
protein-rich food
.

3. Mix in
¹
/
₄
to
¹
/
₃
cup chopped or sliced
vegetables and/or fruits
.

4. Sprinkle 1 to 2 tablespoons
little extras
on top.

5. Fill a small container with 1 to 2 tablespoons of a favorite
dressing
.

Greens:
lettuces such as romaine, red leaf, butter, spring mix, Little Gem, iceberg; other greens such as frisée, endive, escarole, radicchio, watercress, arugula, spinach, chard, kale, cabbage

Protein-rich foods:
beans, chickpeas, lentils, tofu, tempeh, hard-boiled egg, cheese, tuna, shrimp, salmon, chicken, turkey, steak, pork, ham, lamb

Vegetables and fruits:
carrot, cucumber, broccoli, bell pepper, sprouts, fennel, tomato, edamame, celery, cauliflower, zucchini, corn, radish, cooked potato, cooked sweet potato, jicama, apple, grapes, tangerine, pear, papaya, berries, pineapple, orange, peach, mango

Little extras:
pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, tortilla chips, peanuts, olives, raisins, croutons, dried apricots, crumbled bacon, pita chips, dried cranberries, soft cheeses such as goat cheese and feta, firm cheeses such as Cheddar and Swiss, hard cheeses such as Parmesan

Dressings:
Italian, honey mustard, Caesar, balsamic vinaigrette, raspberry, Russian, green goddess, chipotle lime, ranch, oil and vinegar

THERE'S NO SHAME
in relying on bottled dressing for lunch-box salads. If you do, be sure to have a peek at the label and look for dressings with less preservatives, sugars, and artificial flavors. That said, a homemade vinaigrette is hard to beat and easy to make. With the exception of the Asian Lunch-Box Slaw
(page 56)
, you can use this vinaigrette for any of the salads in this chapter. If the dressing solidifies when refrigerated, let it sit on the counter for a few minutes and then give it a good shake. Feel free to double or triple the recipe to make a generous jar. It will last indefinitely in the fridge.

MAKES ABOUT
¹
/
₂
CUP

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon water

¹
/
₃
cup extra-virgin olive oil

Put the red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, mustard, soy sauce, water, and olive oil into a small jar. Screw on the lid and shake vigorously until the dressing forms a smooth emulsion, about 20 seconds.

Store in the refrigerator.

THE COBB IS A PROTEIN-PACKED SALAD
that will stick with your kids through the school day. This version relies on smoked turkey for the signature flavor that typically comes from bacon. Blue cheese is an optional add-in since its flavor is too strong for a lot of little ones. The assembly is more composed than chopped, which makes it as pretty as it is tasty.

MAKES 2 SALADS

2 cups chopped butter, red leaf, or romaine lettuce

¹
/
₂
cup chopped tomato or 10 cherry tomatoes, halved

¹
/
₂
large ripe avocado, cubed

2 or 3 slices smoked turkey, coarsely chopped

2 hard-boiled eggs
(see page 138)
, peeled and chopped

2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese (optional)

Dressing

1 teaspoon soy sauce