sandwich fillings

[Christa]

Does anyone have any ideas for kid friendly sandwich fillings. I am feeling like my older daughter's lunches are getting a bit boring. When she has sandwiches in her lunchbox they mostly consist of peanut butter (& jelly, apple butter, etc.) She does eat dairy, but I don't want to give her cheese every day b/c I just don't think that it is a good idea health wise.

I do have a book called The Vegetarian Lunchbasket that has some suggestions, but many of them are truly strange, and I don't think that she would eat them - such as tofu mayo mixed with nut butters, celery, peppers, etc.

[Bette]

Does she like Hummus? It's really nice with sliced grapes, or grated carrot, or sliced & sauteed mushrooms. I don't know if that's a 'kid friendly' suggestion, but I really like it!

[Erin Pavlina]

You can make mock chicken salad sandwiches. We have a recipe for that in the recipe section of the site.

Also, try hummus with tomatoes, cucumber and lettuce.

[ArwenA]

My daughter (almost 5) loves hummus. We buy large, whole grain tortillas, and roll them up with hummus inside. You can add lots of different veggies, like shredded carrots and celery. Here's a yummy twist on the old p.b. & j standby: almond butter and bananas! It's absolutely delicious, and packed with nutrients. You could also play around with the bread, and put the nut butter and jelly on a good whole grain bagel instead.

I also love mock egg salad. Here's a good recipe from "20 Minutes to Dinner" by Bryanna Clark Grogan:

eggless "egg salad"

2 (10.5 oz.) boxes extra-firm, reduced fat SILKEN tofu, drained
1/2 c. vegan mayonnaise of choice (she has two recipes, which I don't include here; if you want them, I'll be glad to send them to you!)
2 green onions, chopped
1 stalk celery, minced
2 T. nutritional yeast flakes
2 tsp. dry dillweed
2 tsp. turmeric
1 1/2 tsp. prepared mustard
1 clove garlic, crushed, or 1/4 tsp. garlic granules
paprika, salt, and pepper, to taste
OPTIONAL: 2 T minced dill pickle
1/2 small green or red pepper, seeded and chopped

Crumble the tofu into a bowl, and mash coarsely with a fork. Mix in the remaining ingredients; cover and refrigerate.

Makes 6 (1/2) cup servings
per serving: calories: 136, protein: 12 gm., fat: 7 gm., carbohydrates: 7 gm.

Mock egg salad is great in a pita pocket with a nice crunchy bunch of lettuce. And here's one last idea: falafel! Not sure how it'd work in school lunch, but it sure is tasty.

[Christa]

Thanks.

I may give the mock egg & chicken salads a try & the falafel. Unfortunely, my 4 yr old is going though a picky stage & will not eat hummus, most raw vegis, bananas, or a lot of other things. She was a much more experimental and healthier eater until age 2 1/2. Her father, who eats way too much candy, and a bunch of other stuff was living & working in California for the first 2 1/2 yrs of her life while I was out here with the 2 kids going to graduate school. Once he moved out & introduced Kraft macaroni & cheese & candy onto the menu, the children's diets have taken a turn for the worse.

I am trying to get them back to eating more healthy foods. Fortunately, they both still love tofu, fruit, broccoli, and some other things that are good for them. The sugar thing has become a problem, though, b/c they always want everything sweetened, or ask if they can have some candy if they eat X, Y, & Z of their dinner. I probably need to just get rid of all of the candy, etc in the house - if I could get people to stop giving it to them for Valentines day, Easter, and every other concievable holiday!:)

None the less, Angelina's lunch looks a lot healthier than the Lunchables and left overs from McDonald's that many of the other kids in her preschool are eating at lunchtime - yuck!