7 brown-bag lunches for families on the go

One of my biggest frustrations as a parent who makes lunches for the kids is coming up with new and interesting ideas that can keep for several hours and satisfy my picky eaters.

Right before Christmas, I’d given up and the kids pretty much got the same noontime meal every day - a half sandwich of lean meat and cheese on whole wheat bread, apple sauce and chips or pretzels.

My oldest didn’t seem to mind too much because she can’t eat peanut butter. But my 7-year-old told me in no uncertain terms, “Daddy, I’m really getting tired of sandwiches.” Of course, she’s always the hardest to please unless it’s grilled cheese sandwiches or Chick-fil-A meals for her three squares every day.

Most Web sites I came across offered “healthy” lunches that even I would have had problems eating. Plus, most required reheating, which isn’t possible at our kids’ elementary school.

Then I came across WebMD’s 15 Fresh Brown Bag Lunch Ideas. I found most of the offerings doable, too. And nearly all of them would past muster with both my kids.

Here are seven ideas from that list that I’ve done variations on already that even I would pack for myself sometimes (My thoughts in parentheses):

Pasta Lover’s Lunch Salad. Pack a cold pasta salad and a plastic fork, and your pasta lover will love you, too! Make your salad with lean meat or low-fat cheese (so it has some protein), lots of vegetables to boost fiber and nutrition, and use a whole-grain blend pasta, like Barilla Plus. Then just drizzle some light vinaigrette over the top and toss. (Adding some nuts like sunflower seeds adds some crunch for a different texture).

Bagel With Cream Cheese, Please. Bagels are a wonderful foundation for hardy sandwiches that stand up to being in a backpack or locker all morning. You can toast a bagel in the morning and simply spread some light cream cheese in the middle. Or make a bagel sandwich with, say, a little light cream cheese, some turkey, and cranberry sauce, then top it off with alfalfa sprouts or Romaine lettuce. (I don’t know many kids who are sprout fans, though.)

It’s a Wrap! Wraps are a nice change of pace from the usual sandwich. Use one of the new higher-fiber tortillas, like the multigrain flour tortillas available in most supermarkets. Then fill ‘er up with chicken Caesar salad or assorted lean meats, cheese, tomato, sliced onion, shredded Romaine lettuce, and light dressing. Just roll it up and wrap in foil. (Our whole family loves wraps. You can fill these with just about anything from plain meat and cheese to an all veggie filling. Using lettuce to wrap the filling is a very nice variation we picked up from Jimmy John’s Unwich wraps.)

Toss Some Taco Salad. If taco salad is a favorite, you can pack the meat mixture tossed with the shredded cheese, tomatoes, and chopped Romaine lettuce in a plastic container. At lunchtime, your child can add crunchy, reduced-fat tortilla chips and a little light dressing. (A veggie variations could be a Black Bean and Corn Salsa with tortilla chips which our girls love.)

Fried Rice Can Be Fun. When made with eggs or chopped lean ham and lots of veggies, cold fried rice can be a satisfying noontime treat. Make your own, or plan on leftovers the night before if you’re ordering from a restaurant. (I recently used Chinese white rice left over and stir fried it with corn, peas, carrots and egg white with low-sodium soy and parsley flakes that had my wife making happy noises.)

BBQ Chicken Sandwich. Your child can assemble a yummy BBQ grilled chicken sandwich fresh at lunchtime. Just pack a grilled, boneless, skinless chicken breast (you can make it in your indoor grill the night before) with some lettuce and sliced tomato in one baggie, and a whole-wheat bun in another. Add a packet of BBQ sauce to the lunch bag, and it’s good to go. (My kids go crazy over this. Any leftover chicken with the skin removed is great to make this recipe. Shred it, toss it with BBQ sauce and roll it up in a tortilla with some shredded cheese and you’ve got a winner for the kids and for you!)

Meal Muffins. Certain types of muffins work as a lunch entrée. If you bake them over the weekend and keep them in the freezer, you just have to pull one or two out in the morning. By lunch, they are nicely chilled and ready to eat. Try ham and cheese muffins, Mexican Cornbread muffins, or quiche muffins - quiche filling, baked with or without crust in a muffin pan. (I haven’t tried these yet, but muffins are an all-time fave in our house. I like the portability, too. Sunrise muffins modified with some low-cal, cholesterol free ingredients would be a great treat, too.)