Category Archives: Packed lunches

5 Ways to Reduce Chemicals in Packed Lunches for Grown Ups!

Packed lunches

bread4

 One of my husband’s favorite gluten breads

Lunch is such a pain of a meal to plan. I think it’s actually worse to pack my own lunch than Charlie’s. I do my best to make a good one for myself, but I still slip up. I went through a phase that I bought several gluten free microwave meals because it was so hard to find time to make my lunch in addition to the kids’ in the morning. When my tummy wasn’t happy with those meals, I had to revise my time-saving strategy.

Here are my top tips for rehabing your packed lunch:

1) Stop Eating Canned Soup

One of the principals I worked with would have a large can of soup everyday for lunch. He had bright red, flushed cheeks and I couldn’t help but wonder if he really should have been eating the much sodium and BPA every single day. Especially after reading BPA in Cans and Plastic Linked to Quick Rise in Blood Pressure in the New York Times, it made me  think canned soup should definitely not be part of a daily routine.

2) Stick with a Basic Sandwich

I’ve been packing myself a sandwich for lunch now for a couple months. I usually relied on leftovers from dinner, but I have been trying to lose weight and I’ve realized that I eat fewer calories when I pack a sandwich. I eat gluten free so I have gluten free bread, mayo, ham or turkey with a slice of swiss with a handful of spinach. Couple it with an apple and gluten free pretzels and I’m done.

3) Choose the Right Bread

bread2

My husband is not gluten free, but he has learned about the value of eating whole foods. He no longer eats regular bread like the Roman Meal I grew up eating or the Wonder bread he ate. A paragraph of ingredients including chemicals, fillers, and preservatives are not good for people. My husband likes the bread he gets at a store called Garden Fresh. The ingredients are few and the taste is great (according to him of course!).

bread1

4) Don’t Microwave Plastic Containers

Every day I see coworkers shove random plastic containers in the microwave. Some look kinda old and I wonder if plastics are leaching into their food. I use Pyrex containers when I do come to work with leftovers. Here’s what Harvard has to say about microwaving food in plastic.

5) Ditch the Microwave Meals

While my husband does choose a better bread for himself, I cringe that he still buys microwave meals. I know, just a few months ago I was doing it too, but he gets the really lousy cheap meals sometimes I wish he wouldn’t. I don’t belabor the point — I’ve learned to pick my battles, but I think for optimal health we need to avoid eating food made with chemicals in a factory.

What are your tips for better lunches for adults? Thanks for reading!

How I Stopped Packing Lunches and Started Enjoying the Morning

Packed lunches

Homemade pizza; raspberries; banana chips and crunchy green beans; hard-boiled egg; gf bunny crackers

I really hate packing my son’s lunches. I know you guys enjoyed those posts, and some of you still want to see photos of lunches, but I always felt funny sharing them. Here’s why:

  1. I advocate for school lunch reform — not people packing. Putting up those lunch photos felt like I was “selling out”; the whole reason I created this blog in 2010 was to raise awareness about school lunch. The blog has evolved beyond straight school lunch posts now, but I still didn’t think it fit.
  2. I felt like I was bragging. Even though my son has food allergies going on, it did feel a bit showy to put photos of my son’s lunches out there. Where some sought and found inspiration for lunch packing, I saw exactly what one reviewer pointed out on her review of my book on Amazon. Yep, she called me “elitist.” You know, you open yourself and share something personal (my son’s lunches are personal — food is personal). You know what? I didn’t sign on to deal with that.
  3. I despised the experience of lunch packing. I don’t think you understand the depth of my hatred of lunch packing. It took over my morning every single day. I spent more than 30 minutes running around like crazy trying to get everything “just so.” I was losing my mind. Yeah, I could have packed, or at least prepped, the night before — and sometimes I did — but normally at night after my son went down the last thing I wanted to do was think about lunch packing. So I procrastinated until the very last minute. I often paid by not having time to pack my own lunch. Sometimes the price was my own sanity.

So there’s that.

Gf pita bread; pear slices; salmon; blueberry goat yogurt; package of gf crackers

And then last spring my son started struggling at school. My heart broke when I got a bad report virtually every single day. I knew he needed a new setting and our move made it a natural transition to something else…but what?

When half-day camp was such a big hit this summer, I decided to look for half-day preschool and a half-day nanny. When you are three and having trouble “listening,” I think it’s a sign that eight hours at child care is just too long. I had to find something that better suited his needs. I found a perfect three hour preschool program (they don’t offer food at lunch), but locating a nanny who was willing to do just half days was harder.

I started really worrying about finding someone in August, but luckily we found someone who has turned out to be just what Charlie needs. Our child care costs doubled, but Charlie’s behavior has improved dramatically, both at school and at home. He’s still having occasional “trouble listening” at school, but it’s less frequent. Most noticeably, his afternoons at home have been great (my schedule is flexible so I’m in and out and get to see him). Charlie’s overall behavior at home has been pretty much as good as it gets for someone who is turning four. He’s not perfect (hello, he’s little), but he’s a happier kid at home. It’s worth every dime.

Gf turkey bagel sandwiches; apple slices; avocado and baby carrots; homemade gf brownie; snack bar

The biggest side benefit with the change in Charlie’s schedule is that I DON’T PACK LUNCH FOR HIM ANYMORE. He comes home from preschool and the nanny makes him a lunch (or me if I’m around). Mornings are far less stressful and the extra time we have together means that I can do things with him that I wasn’t able to do before (sometimes we get to play or read a book before school — virtually unheard of in the past).

With Charlie’s fall birthday, he won’t be starting kindergarten for another two years and when he does, it will be half-day in our new district. While that means three years of some kind of nanny or home-based support allocated space in our budget, it does mean that I WON’T HAVE TO PACK FOR ANOTHER THREE YEARS! Of course this is more about supporting Charlie than my selfish need to stop lunch packing, but for me it has been so nice. Maybe I can advocate for awesome school lunch and this can go on INDEFINITELY!

Considering how things are going this fall, I’m feeling confident and optimistic about Charlie this year. He started going to full-time, out-of-our-home child care at nine weeks of age and then continued with day care. With four years of day care under his belt, I consider him a veteran. There have been a lot of pluses (he’s independent, out-going, and self-reliant), but it feels right to scale back at the moment, especially with a new baby on the way. Fingers crossed.

“The Asparagus Incident”

Packed lunches

Getting his face painted at the very first Farmer’s Market

Last weekend the town next to ours held their first Farmer’s Market of the summer. I was giddy with excitement. I planned an outing with some friends and off we went. I purchased strawberries and raspberries first. Charlie was insistent that he eat some right away. Then I went to one vendor and bought green onions and peas that needed to be shelled. They also had asparagus, which I gazed at longingly. I love asparagus, but my husband does not. Finally, as Charlie was trying to run away from me, I decided to buy some. I figured that I could cook the asparagus and my husband could choose not to eat it.

That night I steamed it for dinner and set it out on the table. I had low expectations for its consumption. Of course my son went wild for it. In fact, he probably ate ten spears. But keep in mind that they were thin and not the thick kind you  see at the grocery store. We had to bait him to eat his other food with the reward of asparagus. Then he handed the bowl to my husband and said, “Daddy, eat some asparagus.” My husband ate some without complaint. I’m finding that having Charlie around is pushing both Mike and me into eating foods we don’t normally like (tomatoes for me and now asparagus for Mike).

Fast forward to the next morning when I was preparing lunch. I asked Charlie, “Can I put asparagus in your lunch?” Immediately he said, “No, the other kids laugh, ha, ha ha.” My heart fell. He continued, “They say, ‘that green corn?'”

Oh, no. He’s three and he’s already getting teased about his lunches. He’s smart enough to even infer their criticism.

I have been partially aware of this over the past couple months by a couple comments Charlie makes at home. It’s hard to get information from him because he confabulates. For example, “Joe was bad and the teacher took him outside and made him climb a tree.” But this time it was clear. The kids laugh at his food and say mean things about it because they don’t understand what’s in there. I’ve realized that packing “kid friendly” lunches is not the answer either. Against my own best judgment I even sent him with gluten free chicken nuggets a couple times. At first he was into it, but then they ended up coming home uneaten. Chicken nuggets are not his thing even if they are popular with his peers. I don’t even know what to send anymore.

Butterfly boy

So I wrote a note to the teachers that I needed them to watch out for comments from the other kids about Charlie’s food. But I know they miss comments all the time. Once when I was picking Charlie up a little early the kids were coming back from the bathroom and one child said to another child wearing a Mickey Mouse shirt, “Mickey Mouse is for babies.” The other kid didn’t know what to say so I stepped in because the classroom teacher and aide completely missed the interaction. “Mickey Mouse is for children, not for babies.” The kid immediately backed down. But I’ve heard comments along those same lines coming from Charlie’s mouth. I know where he’s getting it.

Thankfully the school year ends June 15th. That will also be Charlie’s last day at his school. I literally cannot wait to pick him up that last day and enjoy the summer together. We will be moving so he’ll attend another school in the fall. There will be a lot of transitions this summer, but at least he will get some well-deserved “Mom time.” I’ve got some fun outings planned for us including more Farmer’s Market trips. I think he really needs the extra time with me. I know I do.

“Just pack!” and other ridiculous notions

Packed lunches, School Lunches

Turkey burger with daiya cheese; bread and ketchup; brownie; pears; carrots and broccoli; fruit smoothie

When people oppose school lunch reform, one of the comments I hear is “Parents should just pack a lunch for their kids.” If I hear that in the next week, I will have to hold myself back from laughing maniacally in their face.

I started packing my son’s lunch for day care in September 2010 — it was after I watched Food, Inc. All my excuses for letting him eat regular food were kaput. I also took him off of all dairy products that month. And that October he went gluten free.  So I’ve been packing his lunch for 18 months. I have come to loathe lunch packing.

I think about it the night before and I obsess about it every morning. One recent day I even thought, “Maybe he could eat lunch today at school. I just can’t do this.” I almost had to slap myself in the face. “Snap out of it, Sarah!”

Brown rice couscous with butternut squash and pine nuts; chopped up apple sausage; apple slices and avocado; pretzels; snack bar

Recently it dawned on me that conservatively I have many years of lunch packing ahead of me. I started when he was about two and, well, I have at least seven years until he can do some of this himself, right? He helps me now, but he’s so unreliable. Charlie will say he wants something in his lunch and then he won’t eat it (I know because it comes back untouched). Worse yet I’ll pack something he loves at home and he won’t eat the same food at school. I don’t get it and I can’t predict what he’s willing to eat at school. Thankfully, I still have a reliable dinner eater…for now.

Sometimes I think about keeping him home from school just so I don’t have to pack his lunch. Crazy, right? Lunch packing is making me nuts.

Egg salad sandwiches; apple slices; veggie booty; carrots; snack bar

Packing a kid a lunch is not the answer to school lunch reform. Although it can be cheaper and healthier depending on the foods parents choose, it’s not sustainable over time for many families. I might just run screaming from my home and throw our son’s adorable laptop lunch bag into the path of an oncoming car. I’m so over it.

*I’m still taking daily pictures of my son’s lunches, intending to put them on a new site for lunch photos. I’m still developing that concept. Thanks for your immense patience.

Lunch Wrap Up: Week of Dec 12th

Packed lunches

Charlie missed a day this past week due to illness and I took the day off to be home with him. Actually my husband even took the day off, too. So the three of us were home, which is the ideal way to take care of a sick child. No one parent was stressed and everyone got a nap!

I’m going to blog about my packed lunches in a new way next year. Stay tuned. But in the meantime…

Charlie’s lunches

Gluten-free pita, hummus; Spanish rice; turkey bologna (Applegate brand); salad; apple

This lunch was a hit. But I don’t think he ate too much spinach. Child care menu: Chicken Alfredo, elbow pasta, mixed veggies, pineapple chunks.

Homemade slow cooker chili; corn; crackers; packaged fruit puree; homemade acorn cookies; bar

Chili in the crockpot is divine. My son helped me make the cookies and we just had a blast. Child care menu: Cheesy chicken, parsley potatoes, broccoli, pear, wheat roll

Catfish; “party” rice; green peppers, apple slices; pretzels

The catfish was a hit at home the night before, but my son told me, “don’t put catfish in my lunch.” I can only imagine what happened at school. Child care menu: BBQ turkey, rice, mixed veggies, banana, rye bread.

Buttered bread; fruit puree; dressing; bacon; raw veggies; apple slices; bar

Charlie fought me on the raw veggies when he saw me putting them in his lunch, but later he told me he ate them and none came home with him. So I guess I gotta believe it. Child care menu: BBQ meatballs, au gratin potatoes, peas, tropical fruit, rye bread.

My lunches

Pita; spinach and carrots; turkey bologna; sliced orange; Larabar

Here’s a tip: when packing for multiple people, pack a similar lunch to save time.

Slow cooker chili (beans, turkey, little potatoes, sweet potato chunks); veggie salad; orange, Larabar

I want to make chili once a week during the winter months. It’s easy, cheap, and filling.

Bologna sandwich, apple slices; green peppers; pretzels; bar

This sandwich was terrible. I couldn’t finish it. When I was a kid, I loved bologna sandwiches. Guess those days are over.

Tuna sandwich, apple slices; broccoli; dressing, Larabar

The tuna sandwich was infinitely better than the bologna one.

Lunch Wrap Up: Week of Dec 5th

Packed lunches

So this week I found out that my son isn’t eating the cut oranges or any of his applesauce at school. These are foods he likes at home (more oranges than applesauce, but still). His caregiver told me, “Please don’t give Charlie any more applesauce. He’s not eating it.” I was floored. Just this week I asked him, “Do you want apples or applesauce in your lunch?” He told me applesauce. I’m not losing sleep over this, but I’m puzzled why he said that when he’s not eating the applesauce.

Charlie’s lunches

Lamb with peas and rice; yogurt; oranges; gluten free pita (bought from a local bakery)

My son loves rice, meat, and pita bread, but yogurt is iffy. The bombshell this week was that he’s not eating those oranges, even though he loves them at home. Child care menu: Lasagna, veggie blend, sliced pears, wheat bread.

Corn muffin; pepitas; chicken; grape tomatoes; avocado; applesauce; crackers

I picked my son up and his shirt had little red splotches all over. Well, he ate his tomatoes. The second bombshell of the week was that he ate none of his applesauce. I’m still reeling from this new revelation. What to do now? Child care menu: Turkey taco, cheese, lettuce, veggie blend, tropical fruit, tortilla

Turkey burger; apple slices; “buttered” raisin bread (soy free spread); carrots; ketchup; crackers

When I have a late night, my husband will often cook turkey burgers as a “default” easy meal. It’s nice that then there are leftovers. I made that gluten free raisin bread myself in the bread machine. Big hit with Charlie. Child care menu: Chicken tenders, salad with dressing, cinnamon apples slices

“Buttered” bread; chicken; kiwi; applesauce; rice

It was after that meal that I found out he’s not eating his applesauce. I wonder if it’s the change in packaging… Child care menu: Turkey hot dog, rice, baby carrots with dip, banana, wheat roll.

Spiced lamb with cooked apples; rice; peas; sliced pears

My husband prepared this dish as well. I’m sure you have figured out by now that my husband loves lamb. The previous night he decided to make lamb three different ways. Child care menu: Mashed potato bowl, green beans, applesauce, wheat bread

My lunches

Lamb with peas and rice; oranges; yogurt; pita

I thought this was a particularly excellent lunch. My husband even chopped figs and put them in with the rice. I’m proud of him for learning to be creative in the kitchen.

Pita ham sandwich; tomatoes and avocados; yogurt; apple

That sandwich? It sucked. It wasn’t the bread. I guess I’m really not into ham.

Turkey burger on raisin bread, apples, carrots; figs; pear sauce; ketchup; BumbleBar

I’m still working my way through the pear sauce stash, after my son refused to eat it (at home). I’m wondering if that was the beginning of the end of the fruit sauces.

Chicken with pasta and sauce; orange; nut-free trail mix

I’ve decided that I like eating cut oranges. Peeling them is such a pain and then you have weird white residue on your hands and you smell like citrus. It’s much easier just to take a bite.

Lamb with peas and rice; oranges; BumbleBar

I’m so lucky. My husband cooked three out of five weeknights because he’s had a light couple weeks at work.

Lunch Wrap Up: Week of Nov 28th

Packed lunches

What a week. It wasn’t that unusual, but I really felt like I barely got through. Then I was sick this weekend so I am really behind in everything, especially housework.

Charlie’s lunches

Turkey wrap, blueberries, peas, apple slices, bar

Charlie told me he wanted a wrap when I had asked him in the morning. He was so over leftover turkey that I decided to go with lunch meat (anti-biotic free, no nitrates). After I picked him up from child care I mentioned the wrap and he said he wished I had cut it. Duh. Child care menu: Meatballs in tomato gravy, steamed rice; veggie blend, apple

Potatoes, gravy; apple slices; turkey; avocado; bread

I made that bread in the bread machine and my son was crazy for it. Yes, it’s gluten free. You can find gluten free bread machine mixes. I haven’t felt strong enough in the kitchen to try to make my own gluten free bread. Also there’s the whole lack of time thing. Child care menu: BBQ chicken, cheesy mashed potatoes, green beans, orange, Italian bread

Turkey carbonara with sun-dried tomatoes; frozen chickpeas; oranges and pears; corn muffin; bar

We were looking for creative ways to use up the turkey and we had started pasta before we realized we didn’t have a drop of red pasta sauce in the house. We dug up my cousin’s partner’s carbonara pasta recipe and it was phenomenal. I will be sharing the recipe after I secure permission. We ate through a ton of the pasta and only had enough leftovers for the little guy (and not us). The chickpeas were not a hit, but everything else was. I purchased bagged frozen chickpeas to avoid cans. Why? BPA levels soar after eating canned soup. Yuck. Child care menu: Pizza noodle bake, salad with dressing, pineapple chunks, wheat roll.

 Mac and cheese; pretzels; pea pods, egg; sliced oranges

The oranges came back, which was slightly surprising. I have agreed that he can eat some fruits and veggies provided by the child care so I’m wondering if he ate their fruit. Child care menu: Mac and cheese, veggie blend, banana, roll

Bacon; applesauce; crackers and apple butter; green beans

This is one of those skimpy kind of lunches. Friday lunches are usually bad. He ate everything accept for the apple butter. Child care menu: Turkey and cheese wrap, lettuce, applesauce.

My lunches

Turkey sandwich, avocado; yogurt; blueberries and an apple slice

Turkey, bread; avocado; grapes and yogurt; popcorn

I was so pressed for time that I couldn’t even fix myself a proper sandwich.You should know that grapes and yogurt is not the best combination. And the popcorn I made on the stove. I used “Tiny but mighty” popcorn in coconut oil with a dash of salt. Amazing.

Turkey sandwich; carrots; pears and oranges; Bumble Bar

Nothing green at all since I ran out of spinach. Boo.

Mac and cheese with peas; hard-boiled egg; sliced orange

Larabar; chicken stew/soup; apple; crackers

I made a crockpot meal the previous day for dinner. When I packed it up for leftovers, I heated it up that morning and then put it in the thermos hot. I’m happy to report that the thermos held heat. It was warm, not piping hot but not cold. Next time I might pack it in some kind of sleeve. If I knew how to knit well, I’d knit a little thermos cozy.

Lunch Wrap Up: Two week recap

Packed lunches

The past two weeks have been weird. There have been odd days at work including report card pick-up day and a professional development day (that I took off). To keep things simple, I’m going to put two weeks worth of lunches up at once.

Also I’m posting my biggest lunch packing failure thus far. I have been packing my son’s lunch since September 2010 (after I saw Food, Inc) and I never struggled like I did almost two weeks ago. Why? It was a dreaded FIELD TRIP.

I had gotten myself all worked up about the fact that my three-year-old was going to be going on a bus for the first time and of course it would be the first time he has ever traveled by vehicle without one of us. My husband was totally not worried, but I kept thinking that something terrible would happen during the bus ride. Of course nothing did — thank god. I mean, many children who are age three take the bus to school so why was I so concerned? Because I’m like that.

Charlie’s lunches

BBQ sauce, chicken; boiled potatoes; applesauce; grapes; broccoli; crackers

Definitely a hit with Charlie. Child care menu: Cheesy chicken, diced parsley potatoes, broccoli, pear, wheat roll.

Pasta with sauce; roll; chicken; apple slices; carrots and pea pods

The roll came from Katz Gluten Free, a company my husband found online. Child care menu: BBQ turkey, rice, veggie blend, banana, rye bread.

 Mac and “cheese”; peas; hard-boiled eggs; sliced pear; crackers

Charlie’s teacher told me that I should not send two eggs because he only eats one. Note to self. Child care menu: Pasta and sauce, bean salad, cinnamon sliced pears, wheat bread.

Fragrant Basmati rice with cilantro; applesauce; antibiotic-free hot dog, ketchup; spinach and carrots; kiwi

I caved and gave him a hot dog like the other kids. Child care menu: Turkey hot dog, pasta, carrots with ranch dip, cinnamon applesauce, Italian bread.

Turkey wrap with daiya cheese over spinach; broccoli; apple slices; bar

Trying to match the other kids’ food again. Child care menu: Turkey and cheese wrap, mashed potatoes, corn, orange, rye bread.

“Party” rice with ground turkey, peas, red pepper, broccoli ; sliced grapes; carrots; pretzels; applesauce

I didn’t really do much matching that day. Child care menu: Turkey with gravy, stuffing, cucumber slices with dip, cranberry applesauce.

Field trip lunch: carrots; apple slices; chex; sunbutter sandwiches; muffin

The morning of the trip, I suddenly realized that due to the event they would be getting back to the facility after lunch. I thought that everything would have to be disposable so I started thinking about portable food that could be eaten quickly. The muffin came from Katz Gluten Free, a company that my husband recently discovered and ordered from. When I was just finishing up the sandwich, I decided that I should call my son’s child care and find out for sure when and where they were eating lunch. They told me that the kids would be having a late lunch back at school so no one to worry. I had already bagged most of the lunch so I left it as is. The sandwich is “sunbutter” — butter made from sunflower seeds (allergen free)! Child care menu: Chicken Alfredo, elbow pasta, veggie blend, pineapple chunks, wheat bun.

***

 My lunches

Turkey chili (with pinto beans and sweet potato); bread; mandarin orange

Chili is a perfect wintery lunch.

Chex cereal (leftover from Charlie’s lunches); Trader Joe’s gluten free French roll, roasted chicken, sweet potato, regular potato, broccoli; grapes

Simple roasted chicken is now a staple ’round here.

Mac and “cheese” with peas, two hard boiled eggs; apple slices

Generic, but satisfying.

Lamb and potato curry, fragrant Basmati rice with cilantro; apple; Larabar

My husband made that for dinner and I took some of the leftovers into work. Amazing.

Chicken sandwich with spinach, apple slices; Larabar

Simple, easy, delicious. (I’m getting into Larabars now)

“Party” rice with ground turkey, peas, raisins, broccoli, peppers; apple; Larabar

I tried to get my son to eat it by calling it “party” rice. It sort of worked. My husband and I thought it was great. No convincing necessary.