Thinking INSIDE the BOX Creativity key to healthful meals that kids will eat

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When I was a schoolgirl, my mother packed the kinds of lunches that other kids coveted.

No, they weren’t full of Doritos, Pop Tarts, Pepsi and Snickers bars. My friends wanted to trade precisely because my brown bags weren’t packed with junk food.

Don’t get me wrong. My mother didn’t force me to eat brown rice concoctions and soy yogurt washed down with unsweetened cranberry juice. And I wasn’t all yuppified like Claire in “The Breakfast Club” – no Bento box in my lunchbox. Mom knew how to walk the fine line between healthful and tasty.

My friends weren’t so fortunate.

Every day, my best pal opened her lunchbox to find a can of Vienna sausages. I had to look away as she pulled each glistening, finger-size hot dog out of a pool of murky, salty water. Yuck. And I’ll spare you the details of the egg salad incident. It’s actually not fit to share in a family newspaper, so you’re in luck.

Mom didn’t do egg salad. Thank God. And I didn’t do school lunch. Suffice it to say that my first cafeteria “Italian” – which was really just a slice of limp salami, a piece of Day-Glo orange cheese, three inordinately smelly rings of onion and one pickle chip stacked on a hamburger bun – was my last.

The quality and nutritional value of school lunches varies from district to district, according to Dayna Emerson, a registered and licensed dietitian at Eastern Maine Healthcare’s Diabetes, Endocrine and Nutrition Center. If you’re not satisfied, packing a lunch and making sure your child isn’t trading it with his friends is a way to ensure a healthful alternative.

A la carte menus can be a boon, but not if your child spends his $3 on soda and whoopie pies instead of apples and granola. Emerson urges parents get involved in their children’s food choices.

“We still can have a say in what they choose at school,” Emerson said. “It’s important that parents set some boundaries.”

In my case, I set the boundaries – I chose Mom’s menu, which was far superior to hot lunch: Tuna salad on toast. Salami and provolone rolled up and secured with a toothpick. Homemade Italians. Smoked turkey in a pita. Veggie sticks with dip. Dried fruit and nuts. Yogurt-covered raisins. Custard-style yogurt. Pudding in a little Tupperware container. The occasional small bag of chips. It was simple stuff, but it was always delicious.

When I was old enough to appreciate it, Mom pulled out all the stops and made roast beef and boursin cheese with leaf lettuce and tomato on a croissant. Mmm.

It wasn’t just the food, though; it was her technique. First, she’d place a frozen juice box at the bottom of a brown bag. Then she’d layer the food in order of coldness – sandwich first, then veggies or fruit, then snacks and dessert – usually Vienna Fingers, not the dreaded Vienna sausage. The juice box kept my food cool, and it would be melted by lunchtime. Genius, I tell you.

Mom’s a nurse, so she knows the importance of food safety. The juice-box trick still works wonders, but today there are more options – insulated lunchbox-size coolers, palm-size cold packs make it easy to keep your child’s food cold and safe.

Now, as children anxiously prepare for the first day of school, I implore you, moms and dads of Maine, to take a page from my mother’s (cook)book. Sure, it takes a minute longer to make a sandwich rather than throw a prepackaged lunch into your child’s backpack or give her a buck for a la carte. But with childhood obesity on the rise, the time spent is well worth it – ask any dietitian.

“When you pack a lunch with a little time and thought, it’s very easy to meet the food groups,” Emerson said.

Healthful choices include nuts and yogurt, dried fruit, a pita or traditional sandwich, fresh fruit and vegetables. Go easy on high-fat condiments; with light options, you get more bang for your buck. A tablespoon of light is considered a serving versus a teaspoon of real mayonnaise.

Creativity is key to making nutritious meals more appealing than convenience foods. Parents magazine has an entire column, “Fun Food Fast,” devoted to finding interesting ways to get children to eat healthful food. Call it trickery, but it works.

“If you put healthful foods in front of kids in the traditional way, they aren’t going to be that excited,” said Mary Hickey, articles editor at Parents. “Part of the appeal of food is to make it visually appealing.”

Some of Hickey’s suggestions include turning broccoli upside-down to make “trees” and making parfaits of yogurt layered with fresh fruit. Instead of plain PB&J, Hickey suggests using a cookie cutter to turn a whole-grain bread into a star or a gingerbread-man shape. Cover with peanut butter and use raisins to make a face.

“The idea is to take healthy foods and make them fun,” Hickey said.

The current issue of Parents features a Cone Clown, which tops an unsweetened ice cream cone with a scoop of tuna salad. A cherry tomato becomes the clown’s nose, shredded carrots serve as hair and celery becomes eyebrows.

This may work for first-graders, but by high school, things get a bit trickier.

“These kids are not going to be fooled by tuna fish in an ice cream cone,” Hickey said, laughing. “If kids become accustomed to good, healthy food in their younger years then the real food tastes better. … You can help them develop an appetite for healthy eating.”

That’s what my mother did, and it worked for me. Sure, I like potato chips as much as the next gal – but they’re no substitute for a healthful meal. Besides, I doubt I’d still remember my lunches if they consisted of Pop Tarts and soda.

A homemade lunch isn’t just a nutritious option. It’s a way to show you care. Perhaps your lunches will become the envy of the cafeteria crowd. Even if they don’t, your kids will know you were thinking of them. And that’s even better than a Snickers bar.

Kristen Andresen can be reached at 990-8287 and kandresen@bangordailynews.net.

Pepper Pots

1 small bell pepper

1/4 cup store-bought original hummus

1 carrot

1 small cucumber

Blanched green beans

1/2 pita

Cut carrot into bite-size sticks and cucumber into spears. Cut pita into thin wedges and toast until crisp. Pack and set aside.

Carefully remove the stem from the bell pepper and set aside. Remove seeds, wash pepper and fill with hummus. Replace pepper top. Wrap pepper in foil or plastic so top doesn’t separate from pepper.

Use peppers as dipping “bowls” for veggies and pita pockets.

Wrap Stars

Whole-wheat wraps and lavash (a flatbread that can be found near pitas at the grocery store) are great alternatives to traditional sandwich breads. Here are a few creative filling options.

Nutty buddies

Take 1 lavash and cut it in half widthwise. You’ll have 2 small rectangles in front of you, but you’ll only use 1 of them. Reserve the other for another lunch. Spread 1 teaspoon jam or jelly in a narrow band down the short side of 1 rectangle. Spread a thin layer of peanut butter across the rest of the rectangle. Top with any or all of the following: shredded carrot, sliced banana, dried cranberries or raisins, thinly sliced apple. Roll, starting with the nonjam side. Using the jam as “glue,” seal the wrap, cut in half and roll in foil or plastic.

Gobble-gobbler

If your child is wild about Thanksgiving dinner, this is the wrap for her. Take a whole-wheat wrap and spread 1 teaspoon real mayonnaise or 1 tablespoon light mayonnaise in a strip down the center. Spread a thin layer (about 1 tablespoon) jellied cranberry sauce over the mayo. Layer with thinly sliced reduced-sodium turkey and 1 slice Lorraine Swiss cheese. Wrap, cut in half and secure each half with a toothpick.

Garden party

Take 1 whole-wheat wrap and drizzle with 1 tablespoon light ranch salad dressing. Layer with any or all of the following: baby spinach, alfalfa sprouts, 2 cheese slices, thinly sliced onion, cucumber slices, lettuce, shredded carrot. Wrap, cut in half and secure each half with a toothpick. If your child likes tomatoes, pack slices in a separate container so the wrap won’t get soggy.

Mom’s Fabulous Roast Beef and Boursin Croissants

OK, this isn’t exactly health food, but it beats a bag of chips, soda and something fried for lunch. I suspect it originally came from Gourmet or Bon Appetit.

1 croissant

1 tablespoon boursin cheese; recipe follows, or you can buy premade boursin in the specialty cheese section of your supermarket

2 lettuce leaves

1/2 small tomato, sliced

2 slices lean, rare roast beef

Cut croissant in half. Spread top half with Boursin. On bottom half, layer lettuce leaves and roast beef. Pack tomato slices separately.

Boursin Cheese

This recipe tastes better when made at least 24 hours ahead of time.

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 stick butter, softened

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon each dried chives and parsley or 1 tablespoon each minced fresh chives and parsley

Salt and coarsely ground black pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients in food processor until blended and a bit fluffy. Place in an airtight plastic container and refrigerate at least 24 hours.