Healthy, easy, peanut-free lunches for your preschooler

From time to time, I will write about my passion for cooking, using fresh, healthy, seasonal ingredients. Some of you have expressed an interest in seeing recipes on my blog, and your wish is my command! I hope you will find some of these food-related posts inspirational in your day to day cooking.

As the mother of two school-age kids, I am constantly trying to make lunch a meal that the children enjoy and that I can feel good about giving them. By spending just a few more minutes each week, planning, grocery shopping and preparing meals in advance, kids can have a healthy meal everyday. All of my meals are peanut-free since one of us has a life-threatening allergy to all peanut products. We make it a rule to not stock items in the house that have peanuts outright or may be cross-contaminated. My older son attends a peanut free elementary school so these menus which were originally created for my three-year old daughter have come in handy on days when my son opts to bring a lunch rather than eat cafeteria food.

Here are some of my kids' favorites which can be easily mixed and matched, and swapped for seasonal ingredients. I always pack either milk or 100% fruit juice slightly diluted with water. They love apple, white grape, cranberry and pomegranate sweetened with a little stevia, acai, and strawberry-banana. Be sure to keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold in appropriately insulated containers.

In future posts, I will share my recipes for several of the items listed below. I often cook with gluten-free products so you will see these indicated accordingly.

1. -soy nut butter sandwich, (jam or thin banana slices optional)
-fresh fruit cup using your child's favorites e.g., grapes, oranges,nectarines,
strawberries, peaches, blueberries
-string cheese

2. -ham and spinach pinwheel with onion and chive cream cheese spread, cut into thirds
-small container of barley soup
-a couple of strawberries with chocolate chips

3. -broiled salmon teriyaki atop brown rice
-steamed broccoli florettes
-dried fruit such as craisins, pineapple, prunes

4. -grilled cheese sandwich, (thin slice turkey or ham optional)
-baked sweet potato chips
-apple slices, (caramel sauce optional)

5. -turkey and Swiss slices with crackers
-boiled egg
-applesauce

6. -Chinese chicken pasta salad
-trail mix using peanut-free items such as almonds or walnuts, cereal (Rice Chex
and Cheerios work well),raisins, dried mango, banana chips,chocolate covered
sunflower seeds, flax seeds

7. -fried rice loaded with your kid's favorite vegetables
-cherries
-yogurt

8. -homemade macaroni and cheese with cauliflower florettes
-zucchini and blueberry bread

9. -baked pasta with turkey meatballs
-small container of black olives and Gherkin pickles
-blueberries

10.-bagel with your child's favorite cream cheese flavor
-apricot

11.-sliced ham and pineapple lightly tossed with your favorite BBQ sauce and broiled for 5 minutes, atop rice - carrot and jicama sticks, (Ranch dressing or hummus
optional

12.-sliced, roasted chicken (my kids love rosemary-garlic-lemon) with orzo pasta or
better yet, quinoa (add vegetables such as corn, diced red bell pepper)
-cottage cheese with fresh fruit

13.-homemade chicken noodle soup with crackers
-banana
-popcorn

14.-veggie sushi rolls - try cucumber, takuwan, avocado
-small slice carrot-raisin bread
-nectarine