Spiffing Up the Lunchbox Sandwich

At the beginning of every new school year, I have good intentions. I think of all the fun things I can do in my kids’ lunchboxes to keep them from getting boring, but the morning rush always sets in and making sure they even have a lunch to take with them in the first place becomes the top priority!

We usually end up alternating between peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and bologna and cheese sandwiches. Though the kids like them and I know they’re better for them the pre-packaged processed stuff the schools serve now (when did that start?), I do like to shake things up now and then and throw in something they’re not expecting.

One of my favorite ways to surprise them is to add a layer of Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread to one side of a sandwich before slathering on the peanut butter and jelly. They don’t even know it’s there until they take a bite, and I always get grateful hugs when they get home from school!

It’s also fun to switch what I make the sandwich on. Bagel sandwiches are always a hit (especially with cream cheese in place of mayo), and even hamburger buns are a fun substitution for basic sandwiches. Tortilla wraps are also easy to use in place of bread.

I haven’t buckled just yet and gotten a sandwich cutter, though. There are cute ones available, but I figure I’ll only get another year or so out of them before all my girls decide they’re too old for it, so for now I use cute cookie cutters. They’re already on hand and I know they’re sturdy enough for cookie dough when making cute sandwiches loses its novelty! I do like the ones that waste as little of the sandwich as possible. For those that do cut off more sandwich than I’d like, I cut the bread with the cutters first and use the leftovers for breadcrumbs, and then just pile on or spread the sandwich fixings on the cut bread.

What small things do you do to kick up your kids’ lunches?

[image: sxc]