A Cook's Library

I have a dilemma of the worst sort. One that makes me feel like an unkind mother. You all know how I feel about processed food, junk food, the importance of feeding children fresh, local produce and shopping outside of the supermarket as much as you can, (if you have missed my periodic rants on these subjects read my posts on Shopping Beyond the Barcode and How to Get Kids to Eat Well) well, it’s not always easy to practice what I preach. And one of the hardest times is when it comes to packing my six-year-old son Ollie’s lunchbox, particularly in the face of pleading for the processed delicacies (not) his friends bring out every day.

When Ollie was younger I didn’t have any of the problems. At aged three and four he, as most children do, ate what was put in his lunch because it was what he ate it at home. So a summer lunch might be cold sausages and borlotti bean salad a couple of English tomatoes, an apple and a plain tub of yoghurt (usually decanted from the farmers’ market bottle – try the exquisite buffalo milk version from Alham Wood Organics who do many markets). And if he was lucky there might be a square of dark chocolate, though I try to avoid the ‘treat’ mentality of lunchbox packing.

No matter that his friends were eating processed ham on white bread, a bag of Hula Hoops and a sugary yoghurt with Thomas the Tank Engine on it. At that age he didn’t notice, though some of the mothers did and I took a little gentle ribbing about my rare-breed sausages and freshly-podded beans.

By the time children start school however, peer pressure is starting to kick in and Ollie’s most-requested items (actually he doesn’t pester much because he knows the answer is a flat ‘no’) are chocolate spread sandwiches on white bread, cheese strings (aaaaaagh!) and those Muller Corner yoghurts with the chocolate balls.

So, if you are like me and believe in avoiding processed foods, paying for branding, food engineering and food marketing, and perhaps know a little about nutrition and how important it is for school-children in particular to get quality and sustaining food, from wholegrains, protein, fruit and vegetables, to last through the day, what DO you pack in their lunchbox?

Oh, and this is the bit that makes me feel like a bad mother – often his lunch comes back almost un-eaten although to be fair I think that is as much about wanting to get out to play as anything else and he often polishes it off in the playground after school. But I WORRY. Of course I do. The boy has to eat!!

Planning a lunchbox requires creativity. Each child is different, so you have to play around a bit but I have found that Ollie often leaves his bread though might eat his filling. So if I make a sandwich (maybe it’s the home-made sourdough that’s letting me down?!) I fill it thickly with cheese and salad – he is a rare child who loves lettuce. Or I pack oatmeal biscuits instead. Or even a piece of my home-made Pizza.

Leftovers from supper the night before are often successful – leftover farro pasta (or any wholegrain pasta) with a protein-based sauce (this Bolognese Sauce is extremely nutritious) or cold grain salads, like barley or risotto (this Chicken and Barley Broth will cool down in the fridge into a risotto-like mass, fork it through a bit and voila!)

Today he is taking a cold version of last night’s Borlotti Bean Minestrone – all the broth got eaten as it’s everyone’s favourite bit so the leftover beans and vegetables with a splash of oil make a fine cold salad. (I’ve just unpacked his bag and this was all eaten . . .result!)

Talking of salads, or rather of dressing I have yet to meet a child that doesn’t like vinaigrette or some kind of balsamic dressing. Make a small portion of this in a pot for dipping raw carrots, tomatoes and cucumber in. Hummus or any other dip also goes down well. Cold boiled eggs are a staple in Ollie’s lunch, as he actually loves them and this is one of the best lunchbox additions as eggs are SO nutritious and will keep your child going all afternoon.

Once you start thinking outside the box (or rather inside it, excuse the pun) the possibilities are endless. Cold chicken with Mayonnaise, cold sausages, slices of good-quality ham or chunks of farmhouse cheese; try and get some protein in if you can.

For the ‘treat’ element, which I dislike the concept of, although in practice it’s nice to have a pudding, fresh fruit is obviously the best choice – seasonal if you can which is easy in summer with a tub of berries. Most children like apples and pears, although bananas, if squashed make the worst mess. Failing that, good quality plain yoghurt with a spoon of honey or some home-made fruit compote stirred in, some dark chocolate or if you want a true sweet at least make it yourself. This semi-sweet Oat Biscuit recipe is good as is this Polenta Cake which if you make in a rectangular tray can be cut into handy small pieces. For special treats and cooler days try a small piece of Chocolate Brownie.

We have been taking lunches to school and work for hundreds of years – picture the tin pot with stew of the mine-worker, the thick slabs of bread with an equally thick slab of cheese of the field-worker and of course the traditional Cornish Pasty with its pastry case covering meat and vegetables one end, sweet fruit the other! And we managed all these without the help of the food- manufacturing industry and the marketing department of the supermarkets.

So, really it’s not that hard to pack a lunch that is full of real food rather than ‘foodlike substances’. All you have to do now is persuade your child to eat it, not the easiest thing I know but if you persevere and start them young they will get used to it. It’s worth it – they might even thank you when they are grown up and healthy, even if it does make you feel a little like a heartless mother for a moment.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 at 6:41 pm and is filed under For Children, What to Eat and Why. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.