Nut-Free School Lunches that Won't Drive you Nuts - Kid Friendly - Cooking

Nut-Free School Lunches that Won’t Drive you Nuts

No Comments | Written on September 11, 2012 at 11:00 am, by Amy Keyishian

Confound those school lunches! It’s hard enough to find something a kid will actually eat — especially when there are so many distractions from giggling friends and fun things to do — but if your school has a mandatory no-nut policy, it can make you tear your hair out. Believe me, I speak as a mom with several lunch-induced bald spots.

I try to see the ban on nuts as a blessing, though, keeping me from falling into the easy PB&J trap; instead, I must get creative — or else! Of course, there’s always sunflower butter (click here for a recipe for sunflower bread), which is very tasty (at least my kids like it). A container of yogurt with a baggie of cereal (click here for a recipe for peach-cereal bars with yogurt) is always a success at my house, too. (Don’t use granola, though, where nuts often hide!)

And start to think beyond the standard lunch sandwich: “Thermos lunches” are all the rage, you know, especially if your kid is a fan of things like chili and mac and cheese.

Here are some more ideas for school lunches to keep things interesting. And here is one more tip: Freeze the juice box or water bottle to keep your kid’s food cold — and safe — throughout the morning. Genius, right?