2 words: School Lunch

Here we go again; The scene always seems to be the same, the old lunch lady in a har net scooping a pile of what seems to be a concoction of mud on to your tray. Then when you sit down the lunch picks it self up and walks off your plate (gross, right?). Well it’s really not that way but what is true is that school lunches often seem less then appetizing. A lot of the times it seems the food has been frozen and thawed out for your eating enjoyment. Candy bars, chips loaded with salt, and soda, it’s not healthy and its definitely not considered food to me. Being a food snob I can’t even look at my friends when they eat this stuff. It doesn't even look good but then again some people eat to live but I live to eat. My mom often packs me a PB & J, pretzels, and and orange. Well, even though the classic PB & J will always be dear to my heart, it doesn't have to be that way. Until congress passes a law about the quality of school lunches here are some tasty alternatives.

Turkey Waldorf:
Take a whole wheat wrap and place turkey, provolone, sliced red onion, watercress, dried cranberries and a celery stalk (sliced thin) in the center. Fold one end of the circle up on to the mixture and then starting with one end roll the wrap away from you. Once done tuck in each end.

OM & N: a new twist on the classic PB & J
Take 2 slices of wheat or multigrain bread . Spread Nutella on one slice and orange marmalade on the other. Close the sandwich and viola!

Roast Beef on Ciabatta
Cut a piece of Ciabatta to an appropriate length. Spread basil aioli ( in the recipe section of the website) on either side. Place your roast beef on, then sliced red onion and a small bunch of spring mix. Enjoy!

Grilled vegetable: allow extra preparation time
Prepare the pesto ( in recipe section). Slice a whole wheat baguette in half lengthwise and lightly toast. Heat a grill pan on medium heat (if you don’t have a either you can just saute). Thinly slice 1 small zucchini, 1 small yellow squash and 1 portabella mushroom. Brush each slice with olive oil and season with salt and pepper and place on your grill until even burn marks form on each side. Spread some pesto on the inside of your baguette, then place however many vegetables as you like on your sandwich. Crumble goat cheese or tear your mozzarella onto the sandwich. Finish with some cracked pepper and wrap in parchment paper ( to catch the juices) and store in fridge.


With lunches try to pack different fruits with your lunch. Although apples and oranges are good, be a little ambitious. Nectarine, mango, avocado or whatever your wild side desires. Create your own trail mix using different kinds of nuts, raisins, dried fruits, honey wheat pretzels or whatever you would like.

Some storing tips: to keep your lunch moderately cold, freeze a small water bottle overnight and stick it in next to your lunch. To find out more information on how to get REAL FOOD in schools check out the link below.
http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/campaign/time_for_lunch/