Best Lunch Box Ever (21 page)

MAKE-AHEAD NOTES:
can be made up to 5 days ahead and stored in the refrigerator.

THIS GUACAMOLE IS STRIPPED DOWN
to its best parts—avocado, lime, onion, and salt—yet it's every bit as appetizing as the fancied-up versions with cilantro, chiles, sour cream, and so forth. The “healthful” fats in avocado fill up your kids as well as aiding the absorption of nutrients in the vegetables that go along with it. Now that's a superfood!

MAKES ABOUT
²
/
₃
CUP; 3
¹
/
₂
TABLESPOONS PER SERVING

1 medium ripe Hass avocado, peeled, halved, and pitted

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion

Pinch of salt, plus more if needed

Chopped or sliced raw vegetables for dipping (such as jicama, cucumbers, carrots)

In a medium bowl, add the avocado, lime juice, red onion, and salt and mash with a fork until smooth enough for your liking. Taste and add more salt if needed.

Keep the guacamole in a small bowl. Lay plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole to minimize browning. When ready to use, pack the dip and vegetables in separate containers.

MAKE-AHEAD NOTES:
can be made a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator.

HUMMUS IS A NOURISHING SPREAD
that's now as common as cream cheese in school lunches. In this version, I've added a roasted sweet potato, which makes it a touch sweet, super-creamy, and packs an antioxidant punch, all changes that will likely go under the radar with most kids. If you don't have tahini—Middle Eastern sesame paste—you can leave it out and still end up with a tasty result. Just drizzle in a little more olive oil.

MAKES ABOUT 2 CUPS;
¹
/
₄
CUP PER SERVING

1 small sweet potato

1
¹
/
₂
cups cooked chickpeas, drained

2 tablespoons tahini

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

1 small garlic clove

¹
/
₄
cup water plus more if needed

¹
/
₂
teaspoon ground cumin

¹
/
₂
teaspoon salt

Chopped or sliced raw vegetables for dipping (such as bell peppers, fennel, and carrots)

Preheat the oven or toaster oven to 400°F.

With the tip of a knife, pierce the sweet potato a few times and put on a baking sheet. Bake until tender enough to mash with a fork, 40 to 45 minutes.

When cool enough to handle, peel the skin off the sweet potato with your hands.

Put the flesh of the sweet potato in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, water, cumin, and salt, and process until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Add more water if the hummus seems too thick. Process for a few seconds until blended.

Keep the hummus in the fridge in a covered bowl or storage container. When ready to use, pack the dip and vegetables in separate containers.

MAKE-AHEAD NOTES:
can be made up to 1 week ahead and stored in the refrigerator or freezer. Taste and add lemon juice and/or olive oil to defrosted hummus if needed.

Getting In Those Greens

There's nothing wrong with the abundance of baby carrots in school lunches these days, but there is a wide world of vegetables out there beyond bags of bite-size bunny food. Here are ten ideas to get your kids asking for seconds:

1
.
   Douse sliced cucumbers or another crunchy vegetable with seasoned rice vinegar.

2
.
   Add a squeeze of lime and a dash of chili powder to jicama sticks.

3
.
   Pack roasted or blanched broccoli, Brussels sprouts, or cauliflower with a wedge of lemon or a sprinkle of grated cheese, or both.

4
.
   Tuck a pat of butter in the center of a warm, cooked sweet potato and pack in a thermos.

5
.
   Grate a carrot, add a spoonful of raisins, a pinch each of salt and sugar, and toss with a splash of white wine vinegar.

6
.
   Skewer bite-size vegetables and pack with a container of salad dressing for dipping.

7
.
   Combine vegetables and fruits in the same container: apple slices with carrot coins, cucumber slices with halved grapes, Asian pear chunks with fennel slices.

8
.
   Save those little packets of takeout soy sauce and tuck them alongside leftover cooked veggies.

9
.
   Toss a small handful of any of the following into soups, stews, and pastas: leftover chopped vegetables, spinach, arugula, corn, or peas.

10
.
Include your child's favorite dip or sauce when you pack vegetable crudités: salad dressing, hummus, teriyaki sauce, peanut sauce, or barbecue sauce. The four veggie dips in this chapter are a great place to start.

Lunch Box–Friendly Fruits and Vegetables by Season

It's easy to fall into a school-lunch rut, packing the same rotation of apple and celery sticks day in, day out. Mix it up by incorporating something new from the produce aisle, whether as part of a salad, sliced as a side, or worked into a thermos of soup.

Here are some fresh ideas for fruits and vegetables, listed by season. Keep in mind that many cross over from one season into the next and seasonal produce may vary depending on where you live.

• WINTER
  
  • Mandarins
    
  • Tangelos
    
  • Grapefruits
    
  • Navel oranges
    
  • Blood oranges
    
  • Fennel
    
  • Sweet potatoes
    
  • Cabbage
    
  • Kale
    
  • Brussels sprouts
    

• SPRING
  
  • Kumquats
    
  • Strawberries
    
  • Cherries
    
  • Cherry tomatoes
    
  • Asparagus
    
  • Peas
    
  • Carrots
    
  • Snap peas
    
  • Beets
    
  • Radishes
    

• SUMMER
  
  • Peaches
    
  • Apricots
    
  • Plums
    
  • Melons
    
  • Nectarines
    
  • Green beans
    
  • Cucumbers
    
  • Corn
    
  • Tomatoes
    
  • Figs
    

• FALL
  
  • Kiwis
    
  • Asian Pears
    
  • Apples
    
  • Pomegranates
    
  • Persimmons
    
  • Grapes
    
  • Bell peppers
    
  • Hass avocados
    
  • Eggplants
    
  • Blackberries
    

Comparing Fresh, Frozen, and Canned

Fruit comes in many forms, ranging from bare naked off-the-vine to heavily processed, and thus varies considerably in flavor, texture, and nutritional value. Here's my take on what matters most when it comes to choosing fruit.