As classtime approaches for Belmont Shore area campuses in Long Beach Unified, here are five ideas to make school lunch the most exciting time of the day for your young ones. This isn't your normal brown bag lunch.
1. Kid-Friendly Sushi
Make kid-friendly sushi roll-ups, wrapping up julienned carrots, cucumber, hummus and turkey and slicing it like a sushi roll. You could also include a thinly sliced apple to take the place of ginger.
2. Pack a Bento Box
Forget the prepackaged Lunchable-style meals. Purchase a bento box from Pottery Barn Kids, which has several small compartments that you can fill with fruit, carrot sticks, kidney beans, lunchmeat, cheese, raisins, crackers and other less processed options.
3. Pasta Salad
Add frozen peas with a pasta salad. The peas will gradually defrost and keep things cold in the process.
4. Sandwich on a Stick
Make a sandwich skewer. Cut up cubes of bread, cheese and lunch meat. Slide the cubes on a skewer with other foods such as a grape tomato, an olive, a pickle or a piece of lettuce. Add a little container of mustard for dipping.
5. Home-Made Hummus. This Mediterranean dip is made from chickpeas (protein power). Very delicious and easy to make, this dip can accompany cut up veggies, crackers and whole grain breads. Kids love to dip their food. You can get hummus at the health food store or make it yourself.
Here is my favorite homemade hummus recipe:
1 garlic clove, peeled
2 cups of cooked chickpeas (canned if you want)
3 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp of tahini
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. sea salt water
With the food processor running, drop in garlic clove and process until minced. Turn off processor, scrape down sides and add chick peas, olive oil, tahini, cumin, lemon juice and salt. Restart the processor and slowly add water, making hummus slightly thinner than desired. Chill to combine flavors before serving.
-Becky Brindle and Lisa Consiglio
