I don’t know about you, but every evening when I come to make my family’s sandwich’s for the following day, I could very easily find something far more exciting to do – like the ironing…. I have calculated that to make my family’s sandwiches for the academic year I would use about 1200 slices of bread and that’s not including the odd picnic and Saturday lunch!
Thankfully I am a hooked "foodie" and life for me isn’t so uninteresting. Another bonus is that all those subscribing to the sandwich club in my household aren’t fussy eaters, with the exception of one. She just likes a very plain sandwich, no salad, no hint of any kind of condiment and prefers to fill her plain sandwich with strong flavoured crisps. I have to say, I too have been spotted putting the odd cooked flavoured potato between the slices of seeded granary bread.
I have memories of my Mum making me really interesting sandwiches, ham, cheese, raisin, apple and mayonnaise being my favourite, much to the amusement of my friends. Looking back, that’s a pretty near perfectly balanced sandwich. A bit of dairy, some protein, fibre from the raisins and a glimmer of fruit, not to mention the small amount of fat from the mayo. Maybe trying to devise this perfect balanced lunchbox is only for those that have plenty of time, money and imagination. However, involving a child in their lunchtime meal has to be a priority in my humble opinion.
Making batches of muffins with the children at the weekend and freezing them doesn’t have to be a painful experience. Muffins are a great starting block for children to experiment with flavours and also to eat fruit and vegetables that otherwise placed on a plate might well be refused. A grated courgette in a savoury muffin doesn’t alter the flavour but makes it really moist and can get easily hidden amongst the small pieces of ham and strong cheddar cheese that you might choose to use.
The carbohydrate element of the average sandwich no longer has to be squishy, paper thin brown or white bread. We are able to buy such a wide range of alternatives like granary, seeded, soya, without crusts, flavoured breads like caramelised onion and sun dried tomato (perhaps for the adventurous child), wraps which can be filled and secured with a blunt cocktail stick and tightly wrapped in foil or cling film. Pitta breads, bagels, ciabattas and numerous other rolls are all now to be found on supermarket shelves.
Including fruit and veg in a lunchbox is another article in itself, however making small pots of dips with sticks of carrot, cucumber or celery is becoming quite acceptable for children. Consider doing the same with fruit. Perhaps make a dip with Greek Style yoghurt, pureed strawberries, a small spoon of honey with fresh fruit to dip in it.
With all this in mind, perhaps I’ll look forward to putting the lunchboxes together tonight and being a little more creative for my brood. I’ll look forward even more to the weekend when I can make some fairy cakes with mashed banana and sultanas with the children. One thing I can be certain of is there won’t be any left by Monday morning!
Many thanks to Louise Bennett who provided us with this article.
CIEH Food Safety Courses and food based workshops for community groups as well as advice for food businesses on Safer Food Better Business.
Contact: loubennett@hotmail.co.uk
Mobile: 07944 037330