Jazz Up Your Kids' Lunches

by Linda Piette

Jazz up your bread!! Why settle for a plain old loaf when you can find so many varieties at your local supermarket? Have you ever tried knackenbrod from Sweden, or kimchdun from Pakistan? Bringing home something different for your breadbasket is fun and nutritious for the whole family.

If your child is picky about new foods, breads are a natural starting point for exploration. Compared with other foods, bread flavors are mild.

Teach your child about other cultures through food
Learn about the amazing variety of breads from around the world. We all know about tortillas from Mexico, because burritos have become a food staple in many households. Here are some other international breads. See if you can find others.

The most common flatbread in China, shaobing (roasted cake), can be sweet, salty, or savory. Search for it in your nearby Chinatown.
Chapati, an unleavened flatbread found in India, is a useful wrapper to hold other foods.
Lavash, a paper-thin, lightweight, cracker-like bread, was popular for centuries with nomadic people. It is made in Armenia, the mountains of Lebanon, and parts of Iran.
In Africa, injera, a thin, spongy flatbread cooked like a pancake, is used like a dish or wrapper to hold other foods. Like other soft flatbreads, it makes a great finger food.

Try your hand at baking
The aroma of fresh baked bread is hard to resist. Try making your own bread and include your kids in the project. Bread-making is even more fun than bread-eating! Watching dough rise is magical for a young child. For the older child, it's an introduction to the biology of yeast.

Roll-up sandwiches – easy to make and fun to eat
Even if your child wants peanut butter and jelly every day, you might want to try something a little different. Here are some fun sandwich ideas. To make them, you will need pita bread or another flatbread that you can roll up.

Tips for flatbread roll-ups:

With pita bread, first cut around the edges to separate the two layers and use each separately. Place fillings on the inside surface.
Spread fillings over the bread, leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edge. This keeps the filling inside the bread as it gets rolled up.
Place the rolled-up sandwich on a sheet of plastic wrap or wax paper.
Wrap around the sandwich tightly, twisting the ends and turning them down.
To eat, untwist one end of the wrapper and peel it down. The wrapper helps to hold the sandwich together.

Filling ideas

Turkey, cheese, and veggies

Lay out the sliced turkey and cheese over the bread.
Drizzle dressing over the meat. (Regular dressing is less likely to be soggy than the fat-free types.)
A sprinkle of veggies (sprouts, lettuce, grated carrots, diced cucumber, watercress or parsley) adds pizzazz and nutrition.
Roll up.

Hummus blend

You can probably find ready-made hummus in the dairy case of your local supermarket. If you have the time you can make your own. You will need:

1 cup cooked or canned chick peas
Juice from 1-1/2 lemons
1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons finely minced parsley
2 tablespoons chopped scallions

In a blender or food processor, mix together the chick peas, lemon juice, tahini, salt and garlic. Spread mixture on bread. Sprinkle with parsley and scallions. Add grated carrots, sprouts, and chopped cucumber or peppers. Roll up.

Tropical peanut butter mash

Try this updated peanut butter classic. You need:

1/2 cup peanut butter
1 large banana
1 tablespoons shredded coconut
2 tablespoons raisins or dates

Mash together the banana and peanut butter. Spread on bread. Sprinkle with coconut and raisins. Roll up.