Balanced Meals Unbalanced

One of the hallmarks of maturity is the capacity to consider future consequences of present actions. Children, by definition, lack maturity. What does this have to do with bento? We all have days when there is not that much in the fridge to pack for lunch. We want every meal to be balanced, but the average school cafeteria is a minefield of bad food choices. If you send food your child doesn't like, there are lots of sympathetic friends who will offer alternatives. Can they resist? The fact that your child ate a thing for dinner last night and it's the only "balanced" food in the house is irrelevant if it ends up in the trash.

My philosophy about "what to pack when there's nothing to pack" is, stick to nutritious food you know they'll eat, and balance it over the course of the day. It's just one meal. Imagine this scenario: "Gee, my mom thoughtfully packed me a nutritious lunch, but Lilly says it looks like vomit. She keeps making retching noises. Lilly has kindly offered me half her peanut butter sandwich. However, the jelly may be manufactured using corn syrup, which will give me a tantrum later in the day, so I'll just thank her politely and stoically eat this vomit." If your child is like mine, she will take the proffered sandwich and you will be dealing with a miserable kid all afternoon.

It may seem like the only "real" food in the house is the bean soup from last night, but apples and peanut butter do make a wonderful meal. Seriously. Sometimes I have sent lunches made up mostly of fruit, or cut up vegetables with fake ranch dressing (see recipe below). Sure, I'll try to get some kind of protein and fat in there to help them feel full, but it can be nuts, or cheese, or a couple homemade cookies--even potato chips! Remember the secret weapon for balancing everything up: The after-school snack.

Most kids come home from school ravenous; it's a great time to have something ready that makes up for whatever was missing in their lunch (and if you're really lucky, you'll have time to shop before they get home). You can put cut up vegetables on the table. You can now heat up that bean soup from last night. The hummus that looks like vomit in the lunchroom becomes ambrosia after school. By packing food that is fun to eat and not getting too tied to the food pyramid, you help your child resist temptation at school and come home in a good mood for the rest of the day.

Fake Ranch Dressing

One blob of mayo
One blob of plain yogurt or kefir
a shake of garlic powder
a shake of Italian seasoning or poultry seasoning
a drip of light-colored vinegar or a squeeze of lemon
salt and pepper to taste

This is a great "emergency" dip. Be sure to put it in a container with a tight-fitting lid, or put it in a small lidded container inside a larger lidded container that holds the veggies. You can make a passable main course with a carrot and a stalk of celery, or a little broccoli, or a piece of cucumber, and that last pickle from the jar. If you have some potato chips or tortilla chips, those can be fun to dip, too. Tomorrow, go shopping!

How to Get Started Packing Delicious Lunches for Special People

Potato salad, cucumber, apple, meatballs, catsup (in bear), edamame beans

BENTO really does put the "special" back in "special diet"--in a good way. Instead of feeling like they have second-rate lunches because of their dietary restrictions, my kids are often the envy of the table. That is what we are after!

Some people think you need special tools or containers to make bento-style lunch boxes. In fact, any shallow container with a tight lid can be used. The trick is to pack the food tightly so it doesn't shift around. Keep a "stash" handy to fill spaces--small vegetables, hard fruits, boiled eggs, olives, pickles or wrapped cheeses all make good fillers. These can also make good dividers.

This lunch is in a SnapWare sandwich box. The lid is tight, but does not have a water-tight seal, so I did not pack anything runny or juicy. To keep the edamame contained, I used a silicone baking cup. These come in a variety of colors and sizes, and can be reused a long time. The cup also creates a barrier on one side of the potato salad--on the other side I needed a filler, so I made a wall of cucumber slices. Easy! I have cute little bears to put dressing in, but baby food jars or 1-oz lidded containers also work. Once you begin packing lunches this way, you will start to save take-out containers and buy little containers you see at the store.

Some people are hard on their lunches. Daughter number two, La Segunda, tends to have her lunch pretty well mixed up by the time she is sitting in the elementary cafeteria--of course, she is the one who likes her food separate. For these people, silicone muffin cups are not going to hold anything. Purchase containers that have plastic dividers in them. These do not have as much flexibility when it comes time to pack the lunch. At home, La Segunda's lunch is never as pretty as La Primera's, but by lunchtime it remains pretty enough for her to eat it, and that's what counts.

Simple, Colorful Potato Salad*

Potatoes, plus other colorful roots: Yellow beet, Carrots, Parsnip, Rutabaga
Green vegetables such as celery, peas or parsley
Mayonnaise, salt, pepper, vinegar to taste

Use organic roots if you can; they're usually sweeter and more flavorful. Cut the vegetables into chunks and steam them. Meanwhile, dice up the green vegetables you are using. When the roots are cooked, turn them into a bowl and dress them with mayo, salt, pepper, and a drip of vinegar, if you like. Stir in the greens and portion into containers.

*This keeps well and can be prepared the night before to save time in the morning.