Sustainable Table: Building a Better Bagged Lunch for Back-To-School
For parents looking to help their children avoid the processed foods and potential dietary deficiencies often found in school cafeterias, the bagged lunch is a time-tested option to keep kids fed and energized when they’re away from home, but it’s also all too easy to fill a lunchbox with packaged and easy-to-grab options when you’re in a rush yourself. After a year of mostly-remote learning, here’s a few tips to keep the lunches you pack as fresh and healthy as possible:
- Don’t overlook fresh, whole fruit – Fresh fruit is easy to pack, relatively inexpensive to purchase, and keeps well at room temperature in most cases. A small bunch of grapes, an apple, oranges cut into slices or even a Clementine – all of these present quick and easy options that provide a boost to kids looking for something a little sweet.
- Mix and match favorites – Apple slices and nut butter, bananas and granola, carrots and hummus, bell peppers and salsa, the combinations are practically endless! By pairing ingredients meant to be eaten together, you can also get your child more involved in their lunchtime since they’ll be making the decisions at the table.
- Salads, salads, salads – Of course, a bed of greens can be a vehicle for all sorts of interesting ideas, but you can also add veggie “filler” to chicken, tuna, egg or pasta salads. Grating up carrots, zucchini, celery or any combination thereof can add a much-needed punch of vegetables to a lot of dishes. You can even get creative by finely chopping some spinach, or another leafy green!
- Put those baking skills to use – A lot of us suddenly became bread-baking experts in the past year. Don’t let those skills go to waste! Homemade bread not only often provides higher fiber and less sugar than storebought, but is also easily customizable to feature grains and seeds of your choosing!
When packing a lunch, it’s important to keep in mind that you’re planning and preparing a complete meal – and there are the same opportunities when packing a lunch to reduce food waste as there are when you’re making a meal to share at home. For tips on how to let as little go to waste as possible, check out this article on Hungry Harvest’s website, and check back here soon for another Sustainable Table.
