Make Those Sack Lunches Something Kids Will Savor

If you’re a parent of school-age kids who insist on taking their own lunch to school, you can count on making those lunches about 180 times in the coming school year.

And sometimes, if you’re lucky, they’ll actually eat what you pack.

So why not just toss in yet another peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich and hope for the best? Because that gets boring - both for you and for the kid facing that limp, sticky mess.

Hey, if you deserve a power lunch, so do your kids.

What you need are some ideas for packing a lunch that will win points with your kids, especially once they get the reputation for having the best lunches to swap with.

For starters, get acquainted with some general guidelines about nutrition. Then consider these basic needs for your child’s every meal:

Two or more servings of bread or grains. Good choices are crackers, bagels, pita bread, pasta or whole-wheat bread.

A little protein. Two to three ounces of meat, chicken, fish, cheese or peanut butter will do the trick.

At least one serving (but preferably two) of a fruit or vegetable, such as carrots, broccoli, strawberries, melon or bananas.

One or more servings of a dairy product, such as milk, yogurt or cheese.

And think about food safety - packing a lunch that won’t make your child sick. (All bets are off, however, if you try pushing last night’s surprise meatloaf on him.)

Buy a lunch box or insulated bag that is designed to keep food either hot or cold. Many lunch boxes intended for younger kids come equipped with small thermoses. Older kids are often big soup fans, so don’t forget thermoses for them, too.

Use an ice pack in your kid’s lunch to keep food cool. Buy the commercial ones, or try freezing a juice box or carton of yogurt and packing it in your child’s lunch. It will thaw by the time lunch rolls around.

Chill foods until it is time to pack them. Sandwiches can be frozen overnight and allowed to thaw gradually until lunch.

Whatever you do, stay calm and flexible. You can pack all the creative, nutritious lunches you want, but you can’t force your child to eat them. What your child loves one day, he or she may detest the next.

Here are some menu suggestions for your child’s lunch:

For a peanut butter sandwich with interest, spread two whole-grain slices of bread with peanut butter. Sprinkle one slice with raisins and spread the other with orange marmalade. Put together. Variation: Sprinkle finely chopped celery on one slice and spread apple butter on the other.

Tie a string around a low-fat hot dog and dangle in a thermos of hot tomato soup. (Cook hot dog in same container used to heat soup.) It will stay warm in the thermos. At lunch, remove it and place in a bun. Drink the soup.

Core an apple and fill the middle with peanut butter. Wrap well.

Make a batch of homemade cookies (spread the dough in the pan to save time) and add good things like sunflower seeds, oatmeal and raisins. Decrease the fat, if you like, by substituting applesauce for part of the oil in any recipe.

Buy a small plastic drink container with a screw-top lid and attached straw and fill it with real fruit juices instead of the packaged fruit-flavored drinks from the store.

Consider packing leftovers, such as casseroles and homemade pizza, for lunch entrees. Include an ice pack to keep it cool.

Mix cream cheese with items such as orange marmalade, chopped peanuts, carrots, raisins, deviled ham or crumbled cooked bacon. Spread on a bagel.

Grate cheddar cheese. Add mayonnaise to moisten, along with chopped onion, green pepper or pickle relish, depending on your child’s tastes.