Simple school lunch – pinwheels

I’ve had some requests to share some simple lunch box ideas. I get that, it’s tough sometimes to find new lunch ideas that are nutritious, nut-free (many schools ban any nut products), tasty, and interesting enough for your kids to actually eat them. Last year my daughter took a hard boiled egg most days just because that’s all she usually wanted. I’m glad that this year she’s more willing to try other things.

A simple lunch idea that is essentially still a sandwich but more fun for kids to eat is a container full of pinwheels.

For ours, I use a slice of whole wheat bread (you can use two if your kid has a good appetite but my daughter is too chatty to eat a big lunch in the allotted time!), roll it out thin with a rolling pin, and spread on a layer of softened cream cheese. Then I place a piece of some sort of meat on top. I used to use cold cuts but up here in Canada we had a massive listeria outbreak in a very popular meat brand and several people even died, so we’ve been reluctant to buy any cold cuts at all. These days I’ll use a thin slice of a ham I’ve baked myself or even some thinly sliced roast chicken.

Then I top it with a cheese slice. At that point I roll it up tightly. If it won’t stay shut, you can use some extra cream cheese as a “glue” on the edge, or just moisten the bread with a bit of water and press.

I usually leave it for a few minutes to make sure it maintains its shape and then I slice it into little round pieces, tuck them into a plastic sandwich container, and pack it up in her lunch bag.

It’s just a sandwich, but it seems to be much better received when it’s in pinwheel format.

If your school allows peanut butter, or if you serve it at home, you can make great peanut butter and jelly pinwheels too.

(Photo by me)