The Book of Lunchbox Fails

The first day of school is only 2.5 weeks away, and my inboxes are overflowing with back to school tips. The best of these are the lunchbox recipes. With three picky eaters, I’ll take all the help I can get.

Now every year there is at least one recipe in each bunch that includes peanut butter. This surprises me. Is there a school on the planet that still allows peanut butter? I thought the stuff was only to be handled by hazmat teams.

No matter, I skip the peanut butter crunchies and peanut brittle and focus on the other suggestions. But this year I got a booklet with 5 lunch box ideas your kids will love. Each one of them contained an ingredient guaranteed to send my kids to the principal’s office by way of the decontamination area.

Here are the offending suggestions:

Tuna and Veggie Sammies

Pro: Tuna is fish, and fish is brain food
Fail: Tuna is fish and fish is forbidden

Sesame Seed Chicken Strips

Pro: Healthier than the cafeteria strips, and easy to make ahead

Fail: Did you say sesame seeds. Yep, they’re on the list.

Egg Salad on whole grain crackers

Pro: Again, easy to make ahead and have ready for lunch the next day

Fail: Eggs are high on the list, a big no-no at this school.

Peanut Butter Banana Rolls

Pro: Peanut butter and a banana rolled into a tortilla. What’s not to love?

Fail: Peanut butter and bananas are both on the forbidden list, so this one is a double whammy.

Fresh Fruit Skewers

Pro: Fun, healthy, and easy to make.
Fail: The recipe contains watermelon and kiwi. Another double whammy, but at least this one can be replaced with less fatal foods, like grapes or other kinds of melon.

In all, these lunch box tips were a bust, but I might tinker with them to create versions that don't come with a side of anaphylaxis for some poor child.

How about you? Do you have any lunchbox favourites for your kids? Are your schools strict when it comes to appropriate lunches?