When Sonal announced her lunchbox collective, I could only think of what I go through with my kids. I have a 7-year old and a 4-year old who are picky eaters and therefore lunch is a big issue. While there are several things that could be sent to kids, when it comes to my children these are the issues I face:
1. They are picky
2. They don't eat messy food by themselves.
3. They don't want food that has sauce/ gravy as it may spill.
4. The food has to be in good condition by lunchtime.
I am might have forgotten a few more issues..😉
Anyways, the solution for most of these problems is SANDWICH!! Yes, sandwiches .. The possibilities are endless.. Most people / kids like sandwiches unless you are someone like me, who actually doesn't like them!😌 Don't get me wrong, I will eat them in a pinch, but for be most part I avoid them. Enough about me, coming back to lunch.. Sandwiches work for my kids and my husband too for his lunch!
Like I said earlier, there are endless possibilities for sandwiches! I am going to share with you some of them and ways to make sandwiches appealing to kids. Children don't like CRUST!! That is a big turn-off to them. If you are someone like me who thinks that throwing the crust is wasting food, then you better reconcile with it. Save the crust to make bread crumbs/ croutons or feed it to the birds/ducks.
So once you have taken off the crust, try to make it appealing by cutting the sandwich into different shapes. I use shape cutters to do them. They are inexpensive and easily available. If you don't have them, just use a regular knife to shape the sandwiches. Much as kids like hearts and trains, they also like little triangles and squares and circles. For little kids, keep the sandwiches simple. I like to make my kids' meals as balanced as possible, so I use whole grain or wheat bread, some protein in the sandwich and fruit on the side. The protein could be nut butter like Nutella, almond butter, peanut butter or cheese. You could pair the nut butter with sliced apple or banana. You could pair the cream cheese with sliced cucumbers tomatoes or just plain. You could also make an olive oil and tomato sandwich . For the slightly older kids you could use a layer of coriander-mint chutney with tahini or hummus.
Now let us look at some of the very basic options!
Servings : makes one sandwich of each kind
Ingredients:
Whole grain wheat/ white bread slices: 2 slices -per sandwich
For butter and jelly sandwich:
Butter/ nut butter: 1 tablespoon per sandwich. ( can adjust as per individual preferance)
Fruit preserve/jam: 1 tbsp
For the cucumber/ tomato sandwich:
Cream cheese: 1 tablespoon per sandwich. ( can adjust as per individual preferance)
Butter: 1 tsp
Cucumber slices: 3-4, depending on the size of the cucumber.
Tomato slices: 2-4, depending on the size of the tomato.
Coriander/mint chutney: 1 tbsp
Method:
For butter and jelly sandwich:
Apply butter/nut butter on one bread slice.
Apply fruit preserve on the other slice.
Place it on top of each other.
Place the desired shape sandwich cutter on the bread and cut into desired shape. I used a train-shaped cutter and a heart-shaped cutter.
Pack it in your child's favorite lunch-box.
For the cucumber/tomato sandwich:
Using a serrated knife cut off the crust from the bread slices.
Apply butter on one bread slice.
Apply coriander-mint chutney on top of the butter.
Place the cucumber and tomato slice on each other in layers .
Drizzle with some more coriander-mint chutney.
Apply cream cheese to the other slice. Place on top.
Slice it into two rectangles in the middle and then each rectangle into tow triangles.
You can use toothpicks to secure the sandwich.
Pack in lunch boxes with a side of desired fruit, cut into bite size pieces!
I am bringing these lunchbox ideas to Throwback Thursday #50, Fiesta Friday #132 and Saucy Saturday#57! Angie's co-hosts this week are Sandhya @ Indfused and Nancy @ Feasting With Friends
Cooking made easy:
The above sandwiches can be altered in many different ways depending on what you have on hand.
You could make only cheese sandwich, or stack with more veggies like sweet bell peppers, grilled tofu or paneer. You could also add ketchup or serve it on the side. Use your imagination!
Tip for healthy living:
It is recommended that every meal be a balanced meal to meet the daily requirements of nutrients. The best way to attain this is by making your meals colorful. You can read more in the references below.
References:
https://www.choosemyplate.gov/MyPlate
https://www.choosemyplate.gov/fruit
http://www.dartmouth.edu/wellness/docs/fruitvegservingsizes.pdf
Food for thought:
It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. Frederick Douglass
