THE OREGONIAN
Copyright (c) 2004, The Oregonian Publishing Company
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
TAG: 0409100050
EDITION: SUNRISE
SECTION: FOODDAY
PAGE: FD01
LENGTH: 248 lines
TYPE: Recipe
HEADLINE: LUNCHBOX 101
BYLINE: JEANNE FAULKNER - Special to The Oregonian
TEXT:
Summary: Parents well-versed in the noontime swap meet (school
lunch)
offer family-friendly tips for newcomers
It's that time of year again -- time to fill the kids' lunchboxes.
Although
it's a challenge to face tuna fish at dawn, making a nutritious,
delicious and
cost-effective lunch is part of a parent's job description. What you
need is a
basic structure for getting the job done.
Several Portland-area moms shared how they solve the lunch crunch.
It comes
down to one of four choices: You Pack, They Pack, Buy Lunch on Campus
or Buy
Lunch off Campus. Of course, there's the option of trading lunch for a
friend's, but that's strictly off the record.
YOU PACK
Packer is mom, dad, nanny or anyone other than the child, hereafter
known
as the Luncher. Items in the lunchbox are the sole discretion of the
Packer
with minimal input from the Luncher. Success rate for total lunch
consumption
is in direct correlation to the knowledge Packer has of Luncher's food
preferences. Luncher's deft ability to inform Packer of said
preferences and
decent skill at trading are beneficial.
Kelly Witty's boys, Nathan and Jake, are second- and fifth-graders
at
Laurelhurst Elementary School. "We're an 80 percent 'you pack'
family," Witty
says, with an added challenge of two very different palates. "Jake
will
eat
anything, but Nathan's pickier, so I end up packing two different
lunches." Jake gets a cheddar or peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but Nathan
won't
touch them. He takes crackers with cheese or tofu pate and "easy
fruit" such
as grapes or apple slices.
Nathan says, "I want fast lunch. Eating takes time away from
playing." Witty adds something crunchy such as tortilla chips, and a "dairy" (yogurt or
string cheese), which stays fresh in insulated lunch bags.
Witty's rules include no processed foods such as fruit roll-ups,
and
no
Lunchables, which she calls "expensive and unhealthy." She also packs
foods
that are easy to digest before recess and are unlikely to stain.
THEY PACK
Packer and Luncher are one and the same. Packer informs
grocery-buying
parent (Shopper) of desired items and puts lunch together himself.
Shopper
maintains some control by editing Packer's grocery list but
relinquishes
control as to what actually goes in the lunchbox. Eating success rate
is
higher than with You Pack method as Packer presumably packs preferred
lunch
items. Trading may influence lunchbox items. Shopper beware: If Packer
asks
for items never before seen in your pantry, assume ulterior trading
motives.
My daughters, Camille and Lauren Faulkner (a sophomore and a junior
at
Grant High School), pack their own lunches; usually a bagel, fruit,
cookies,
chips or pretzels and a water bottle. Sometimes they add a handful of
nuts or
make a sandwich.
Cheese and yogurt are rare because, despite gel ice packs and
insulated
bags, apparently "the cheese gets gross, and the yogurt gets warm." Individual bags of carrots are a hit, as are Luna nutrition bars.
Apples
are popular because they don't "squish" like bananas. Cinnamon pita
chips and
soy chips are current addictions, so we buy plenty. Soup cups and
microwaveable entrees are infrequent requests, even though boiling
water and
microwaves are available on campus.
Laura Foster offers leftover pesto noodles or hummus and pita bread
to
daughter Anna Carlsmith, a sophomore at Lincoln High School.
Other favorite main courses of They Pack Lunchers are bagels and
cream
cheese or turkey sandwiches. Turkey slices from the deli counter are
favored
over prepackaged, along with strong Packer preference for white bread
and
iceberg lettuce.
Insulated lunch bags are popular, but many resort to the plain old
paper
sack for sheer convenience and disposability.
LUNCH ON CAMPUS
This option is hassle-free for Packer/Shopper and is probably the
best
value for your lunch dollar, although the nutrition and taste may be
debatable.
Lunchers use debit cards in the cafeteria, with a la carte
selections
available at extra cost.
This method keeps the Packer/Shopper out of the loop, which can be
both
good and bad. Luncher learns valuable skills of choosing from what's
in
front
of him, lunch-line behavior and debit card management. But the parent
loses
control over which foods Luncher picks, such as chocolate or regular
milk.
Jamar Johnson, a freshman at Benson High School, eats on campus.
His
mother, Trena Johnson, gives him $10 to $15 to cover two weeks of
lunches but
slips him a little extra occasionally for a la carte items. "Cafeteria
food is
nasty," he says. "But I can usually find something a la carte. There's
Pizza
Hut and Cup Noodles. I don't get up early enough to make lunch." Gracie Starr, a third-grader at Buckman Elementary School, likes
most hot
lunches. "I get to the front of the line, scan for stuff I like, and
if
nothing's good, there's always PB&J." With a new baby at home,
Gracie's
mother, Molly Starr, says, "It's the easiest solution for our family." Lily Lowell, a sophomore at Grant High School, occasionally eats on
campus."The hot-lunch line takes forever and reminds me of elementary school,
but
I'll go a la carte and get pizza for $2 or bento for $3."Faith Carlsmith, a seventh-grader at West Sylvan Middle School is
another
on-campus Luncher. She's had trouble with kids "borrowing" her debit
card
without permission. Faith's mother, Laura Foster, says, "It's
challenging to
keep track of how much money is left on the card. And that was before
we
realized other kids were using hers, too."
LUNCH OFF CAMPUS
This is an option for high schoolers at open campuses with
restaurants and
markets nearby. Lunchers are given a lunch allowance by parents
(hereafter
known as the ATM) to buy whatever they want with the tacit
understanding that
it will only be nutritious, delicious and cost-effective.
Packer/ATM is out of the loop except as source of sound advice and,
of
course, cash. Luncher has total control of menu except as price, time
constraints and friends' plans dictate. Success rates on consumption
vary
widely, ranging from those who eat everything they can for $3 at
McDonald's to
those who eat a 50-cent cookie and save the rest of their money for
movies.
The lunch allowance averages $3 to $5 per day and is doled out
daily
or
weekly. Lunchers deluge local delis, hot dog and burrito carts,
bakeries and
markets in search of a fast and filling lunch. Once they find their "spot," Lunchers don't seem to mind repetition.
Elizabeth Lima has an interesting twist on the off-campus
allowance.
She
gives her son, Mason Vanderford, a sophomore at Lincoln, a generous
weekly
allowance of $30 to cover lunch and after-school munchies. She yanks
it,
however, for behavior infractions and reverts to You Pack as"discipline." The
problem is that while her son resents losing the cash, he prefers the
homemade
meals. He can pack a lot more food than he can buy, including two
sandwiches,
an appetizer, fruit, chips and cookies.
A couple of years ago, my kids started dumping out their lunchbox
remains
at school and bringing them home empty. I love that. Few things are
more
frustrating than opening up a day-old box and finding most of the
sandwich,
half a piece of fruit and a slimy Gogurt wrapper. Of course, the
cookies are
long gone and there's a stray Snickers wrapper you didn't pack.
Nowadays, we carry the don't ask/don't tell policy a step further.
I
have
no idea what they actually eat, and that's just fine. They seem to be
healthy
and thriving, and that is, after all, the ultimate lunchtime goal.
Jeanne Faulkner is a Portland freelance writer.
Best Back-to-School Brownies
20 brownies
These are a bit fragile and will be eaten first, so pack them at
the
top of
the lunchbox.
-
3/4 cup butter (11/2 sticks)
-
4 1-ounce squares unsweetened chocolate
-
2 cups granulated sugar
-
3 eggs
-
1 teaspoon vanilla
-
1 cup all-purpose flour
-
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
-
1/2 cup chopped dried cherries
-
3/4 cup milk chocolate chunks
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter and chocolate in a large bowl in the microwave oven
for 2
minutes. Stir together until smooth and well-blended.
Add sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, walnuts, cherries and chocolate
chunks;
stir until well-blended.
Grease and line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with wax paper. Spread
brownie
mixture evenly and bake for 30 minutes. Don't overbake.
Cool brownies in the pan and cut into 20 pieces, each 21/4 inches
by
about
21/2 inches.
-- From Kelly Witty, Portland
Ultimate Turkey Sandwich
Makes 1 sandwich
-
Mayonnaise and/or mustard
-
2 slices como or other artisan-style bread
-
3 slices deli turkey
-
Lettuce, and tomato and pickle slices
Slather condiments on 1 slice bread. Add the turkey and top with
remaining
slice of bread. Pack in a self-sealing plastic bag or plastic
container. Pack
lettuce, tomato and pickle in separate bag to keep sandwich from
getting
soggy, add to sandwich just before eating. Pack in an insulated bag or
include
a frozen juice container to keep the sandwich cold.
Variations: Substitute cream cheese for mayonnaise and mustard;
cranberry
sauce for lettuce, tomato and pickle. Substitute bagel for como bread
and add
cheddar or swiss cheese.
-- From Elizabeth Lima, Portland
Cheesy Pinwheels
Makes 4 servings, 4 pinwheels each
-
2 8-inch flour tortillas
-
2 tablespoons whipped cream cheese (or reduced-fat or light cream cheese), plus more for edges
-
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
-
2 tablespoons sliced black olives
Spread each tortilla with 1 tablespoon cream cheese. Sprinkle each
with
half of the cheese and olives. Roll up, using an additional smear of
cream
cheese to stick edges together. Slice across width of roll into 1-inch
pinwheels (about 8 pinwheels per tortilla). Pack in a plastic
container
or
self-sealing plastic bag.
-- From Kelly Witty, Portland
Hummus
Makes five 1/2-cup servings
Substituting water for some of the olive oil makes this hummus
lower
in fat
and creamier than the traditional recipe. Serve with pita triangles
and
carrot
sticks.
1 15-1/2-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained
1/4 cup tahini (available in health food section or with peanut
butter at
most markets)
1 clove garlic
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Blend garbanzo beans, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, oil, water and
salt in a
food processor until smooth and creamy.
-- From Laura Foster, Portland
Pesto Noodles
Makes six 1/4-cup servings
This cold dish goes well with carrot sticks and tortilla chips.
1 cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves
1 cup walnuts
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
Cooked pasta of your choice
Blend basil, walnuts, cheese, garlic, oil, water and salt in food
processor
until smooth. Pack pesto in 1/4-cup portions in plastic containers.
Toss
desired amount of pesto with cooked pasta.
-- From Laura Foster, Portland
Salami Cream Cheese Appetizer
Makes 1 to 2 servings
2 tablespoons whipped cream cheese
6 pieces pre-sliced salami
Spread cream cheese on salami slices and roll them up. Secure with
toothpicks.
Variations: Substitute sliced turkey or ham for salami. Substitute
sliced
cheddar or swiss for cream cheese.
-- From Elizabeth Lima, Portland