Alternatives to PB & J - Coping with a Sandwich Strike

Over the three years of lunch packing we have gone through a series of "sandwich strikes." The oldest of my three Ps goes through weeks of wanting PB & J (actually Sunbutter and J) in every lunch followed by weeks or months (basically all of last school year) of refusing to eat any sandwiches, regardless of content.

Basically, we moms like sandwiches because they are an easy way to deliver whole grains, protein and a fruit or vegetable serving in a handy carrying case, oh and most of us can make a PB & J before we have had our coffee, with our eyes closed, while carrying a baby. Kids like them, when they like them, because they are easy to eat, taste good and look like what everyone else is eating.

So what to do if (a) you get bored making the same three or four different sandwiches every week or (b) if your Little Luncher goes on a sandwich strike?

Trader Joe's onigiri, cheese flowers and grapes

Think in terms of creating a simple lunch entree that has the same key components as the sandwich:

1. protein - hard boiled egg, sandwich meats, meatballs, meatloaf, hummus, cheese, nutbutter
2. whole grains - pasta, whole grain crackers, pita, bagels
3. fruit and/or vegetable - self explanatory category 
4. some sort of sauce, condiment or garnish - nutella, ranch dressing (check the ingredients), organic ketchup, pizza sauce

Some of my daughter's favorite sandwich replacements are: 

• pita cut into triangles, shredded mozzarella & pizza sauce for dipping (each in a separate container so she is fully in charge of the mixing)
• a bagel cut into quarters, nutella and raisins
• muffin (made with vegetable puree and added cheese) with cream cheese
• an assortment of crackers (we love the butterfly shaped ones), cheeses (also cut into shapes with cookie cutters) and shredded carrots 
• pasta (spirals or penne hold up best for a day in the lunch box) sprinkled with parmesan ("snow cheese") with a few olives in a little silicon cupcake holder (Wilton Square Silicone Baking Cups, 12 Count)

We came across this article called "School Lunch Box Cheat Sheet" last week that has a fantastic list of ideas that might work for your Little Luncher in the place of the usual sandwich. She alludes to next week's topic...Make Ahead Lunch Items.

What have you packed for your Little Luncher instead of sandwiches?

Instead of a PB & J...stick it to them...

One of my favorite books as a kid was Bread and Jam for Frances, the story of a little badger who was very picky about her food and was forced (when her parents granted her wish...) to eat bread and jam every meal. Frances soon tired of her favorite snack and tucked into a proper meal with her family.

I think I liked it so much because I was a very picky eater and wished that my parents would let me just eat one thing that was something I really enjoyed...like oatmeal raisin cookies. Why am I telling you this? Well, some of us have picky kids who only like a very select group of foods, others have kids who really thrive on routine and don't want any surprises in their lunch and a few of us have grown-up lunchers in our house with special dietary restrictions or just plain favorite meals.

My oldest Little Luncher is on a kick where she (despite my best intentions) wants to have the same lunch over and over and over and over.........so what can I do? For one, I give myself a break and make "that" lunch for her at least two days of the week, makes my morning easier honestly. Secondly, I look for small changes to make - vanilla yogurt with sprinkles instead of strawberry yogurt, Baby Bel cheese instead of cubed cheddar, carrot sticks instead of pretzels. The sticking point has become her PB & J. She flatly refuses to eat any other traditional looking sandwich (I know in another two months this will change) so out come the pita & hummus, the cheese & fruit skewers, quesadillas and even the occasional bagel and cream cheese.

Magically...she will eat any of these things so, I asked people to share on the Little Lunches Facebook Page, their skewer tips here are a few great ones:

Mama Kamola - I use swizzle sticks and mostly skewer fruit. Sometimes I stick a few mini marshmallows in as a treat. I will have to give Turkey meatballs a try though.

Muffin Tin Mama - Fruit is a favorite, sometimes meat and cheese, occasionally veggies, but their faves aren't soft enough to skewer. I usually use regular plastic skewers/picks or drink stirrers.

Another Lunch Mama - I've used pretzel sticks for cheese occasionally - that reminds me, LOL, back when I had only one child (and obviously a LOT more free time!) I used to very gently work Cheerios onto pretzel sticks. It was slow and tedious to get the the Cheerios on there without breaking, but my son loved it. These days I'll skewer just about anything on little food picks and swizzle sticks.