school lunches Archives - Quirky Cookery

It’s as simple as a Sharpie–Draw on the bag!

art, fun, lunch, sandwiches, school lunches | February 27, 2014 | By Jessi

I know there are people who spend hours on Pinterest, pinning dozens and dozens of ideas that they hope to one day put into action. I would venture a guess that at least 99% of those pins go completely untouched later and definitely uncreated. They’re great ideas! But frankly, most of them are time consuming…and most of us don’t have hours every day to spend in the kitchen, attempting to create masterpieces instead of a 20 minute halfway healthy meal.

But I don’t think it always has to be overly complicated to have some fun. Sometimes, it can be as simple as drawing on a plastic bag or on a brown paper bag. If you have even the tiniest bit of artistic talent (unlike me), then you can doodle something quick and away the lunch goes, creating a smile later in the day with only minimal time involved.

And if you can’t draw, then you can write a funny message instead, showing your child or spouse that you were thinking of them that morning before they rushed off to school or work.

Or if you really, really shouldn’t be wielding a messy permanent marker that is bound to explode all over the kitchen….. then invest in some cute stickers instead. ;)

To see a bunch of other sandwich art sketches, check out this Flickr account. It claims he’s been drawing on his kids’ sandwich bags since 2008! Some of them are simple and others are quite clever and complex!

Quirky Lunch Boxes–Brownbagging shouldn’t be boring either

bento, lunch, products, school lunches | December 27, 2013 | By Jessi

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Even as an adult, taking your lunch to work doesn’t have to be boring. And being quirky, doesn’t mean it should be impractical either.

Of the 18 amazing lunch boxes that Emily (hi Emily! I didn’t forget…I’m just slow!) pointed out to me a couple months ago, I think the above might be my favorite. I’m pretty sure it even trumps the NES box below.

It’s not because it’s that strange…or even that it’s the most practical. Realistically, it’s only good for sandwiches and I have no idea how it’s supposed to be cleaned regularly. I think it’s cool that I wouldn’t have to try to find the right size ziplock bag to squish my sandwich into and then later, try to wiggle it back out of without losing all my fillings. If it actually holds it in place like it appears to, then it’s perfect for tossing a sandwich in your bag and not wondering if it’ll still look like a sandwich by lunchtime, ha!

This one is also a mix of quirky but practical. I’m a little concerned about using those utensils and how that outside would get cleaned easily after using it as a tray every day, but that’s probably because I’m a messy either and others wouldn’t have to worry about it.

I’m not nearly as eco-friendly as I probably should be, but I fully support others who take the time, energy, and money to clean up their footprint. I’ve seen these metal cases a few times already now and the reviews are great. You skip the plastic and the pieces stack nicely without being overly inconvenient. I don’t think any kid is going to get teased for taking these to school either, which is a nice bonus for most school-aged kids. And the different sizes makes them easy to work with for bento boxes, too.

And then of course this one is going to get a few points from me, just because I’m still a bit nostalgic for my old NESes. The only thing it’s missing is the butterknife sticking out of the front to make sure the game (or lunch?) stays in place.

The fine line between enforcing the rules and being ridiculous

canada, Canadian, canadians, crackers, news, school lunches | December 23, 2013 | By Jessi

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The mother, Kristen Bartkiw from Manitoba, sent homemade roast beef, potatoes, milk, carrots, and an orange for her kids’ lunch that day. Because the lunch was missing its second grain, the school gave her kids Ritz crackers to ‘supplement’ the meal and she was subsequently charged $10 ($5 per kid).

Now the price sounds ridiculous for a pack of crackers, but I understand setting it high like that to encourage parents to pay close attention and make sure they’re sending a fully balanced meal. And hey, if they don’t want to go through that effort, I’m sure the school provides a balanced lunch they can choose to buy instead.

The part I find ridiculous is that a pack of crackers doesn’t logically make this meal that much better for the kids. I read in one article that quoted the school worker (or maybe it was a daycare worker?) as saying that she could send microwave Kraft dinner with them every day and it would count as the grain.

I know they’re just enforcing the rules and if they let one bit slide, then it opens it up to a lot of interpretation and conflict….. but come on. Is it really worth their time to go around to every meal and count to make sure each kid has the right number of each type of food? And even if they somehow have nothing better to do, this is no way guarantees the kids will even EAT those foods, so what’s the point?

If I were in this boat, I would probably just toss an extra pack of crackers into the bag every day and be done with it. I don’t think having two grains is nutritionally better for them and would rather add more veggies or fruits if the kids would eat them. I had a hard enough time making sure the bento boxes I used to make had all the right proportions as it was….but to try to make sure I was fitting the school’s guidelines, too, by having separate grains instead of a single, larger portion of one? Ugh.

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