Oh Nuts! Tips for Peanut-Free Lunches

Packing nutritious lunches their kids will actually eat presents a challenge to all moms. Throw in accommodating nut allergies, and that challenge turns into an uphill battle. Thankfully, Jodie Fitz, creator of the Price Choppers Kids Cooking Club, shares a few ideas to help solve this problem. And the best part? They only take a few minutes to put together.

Kids love pizza, so fill their lunchboxes with this fun favorite. Fitz recommended packing a whole wheat, 100-calorie round or whole wheat bagel, along with 2 or 3 tablespoons of pizza sauce and shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese. Include a plastic spoon to spread the sauce, and the kids can “create” their own pizza. “It’s great because we can control our favorite ingredients and can add in veggies and fruit for the lunch box packing fun,” Fitz said.

Kids love to dip food into sauces, so indulge that love with an easy-to-make dip. Fitz suggested blending chopped cherries into low-fat vanilla yogurt and fat-free whipped topping or vanilla Greek yogurt. “Send it to school in a small container with a banana,” she added.

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Kids love eating food in new, unique ways. Create a fruit wrap using wraps and thin fruit slices, Fitz said. Blend together cream cheese, low-fat vanilla yogurt and vanilla extract then spread mixture onto wrap. Add fruit slices and fold wrap burrito-style by folding in the top and the bottom about an inch and then folding over the sides. Cover with waxed paper and a layer of foil before placing in lunchbox.

To take fruit and dip up a notch, go a step further. Mix together low-fat vanilla yogurt with a small amount of frozen orange juice concentrate and fat-free whipped topping. Put in small container. Next, wash, core and slice a Golden Delicious apple. Place slices into a bag and add cinnamon. Shake until slices are coated. The cinnamon has an added effect beyond enhanced flavor. “The cinnamon masks the browning apples in the lunch box,” Fitz said.

Kids are used to dipping fruit or veggies in dip, but sandwiches? That’s right. Build your child’s favorite sandwich, and then cut out fun shapes using mini cookie cutters, Fitz suggested. Pack them with mini pretzel sticks so kids can use them as an edible skewer on the sandwich to dip into a sauce of mayonnaise, spicy brown mustard and honey.

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Who says nutritious has to be boring or take forever to make? For this sweet treat, Fitz said to spoon low-fat vanilla yogurt into a travel container then top with frozen berries. “Keep the berries frozen when adding them to the yogurt,” she advised. “They help to keep the yogurt cold as they thaw.”

Make your child feel sophisticated and grown-up with kid-style sushi in her lunchbox. “Wrapping up some lunchbox sushi is easy and quick to prepare, plus a fun way to swap out the sandwich,” Fitz said. Make a spread of plain Greek yogurt, Italian seasoning, basil and salt and spread on wrap. Add lunch meat and cheese. Cut in half and lay elongated slices of cucumber, celery or carrot at one end of the wrap and roll it. Slice like sushi and repeat with the other half.

Give your child a tried-and-true favorite for lunch: PB&J. Just trade the “P” for a nut alternative. “Families, with the guidance and approval of their pediatrician, also can explore the use of soy nut and sunflower seed spreads as alternatives to peanut butter,” Fitz says.

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Skip the store-bought ranch dressing and create this unique and tasty dip for your kids' lunchbox instead. Fitz said to combine 1 cup non-fat sour cream, 2 tablespoons of 100-percent carrot juice, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon each of garlic powder and white pepper. Pack in travel-size container and pair with fresh-cut vegetables. Look for 100-percent carrot juice in the produce aisle in the cooler with cut fruit and specialty juices, Fitz said.

Give your kids one of their favorite meals — for lunch. “Cook your favorite whole-wheat pasta as directed,” Fitz said. After you drain the pasta, “in the same pan, add 1 tablespoon of butter, 4 tablespoons of milk, salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese.” Pack everything in a hot lunch thermos made for lunchboxes, and your kids can enjoy a hot, healthy meal.