Pack a Better Lunch Box For Happier School Days

19 January 2018

by Giada De Laurentiis

New ideas for nutritious lunches they'll actually eat!

When my family moved to the U.S. when I was a kid, the grab-and-go culture of the American lunchbox was totally foreign to my mom. Instead, she used to send me off to school with an insulated lunch box filled with leftovers from the night before or a simple pasta - exactly the same kinds of food we ate at home. There were no PB&Js on Wonder bread for me! My classmates thought it was weird, and I'll admit there were days when I wished I could just have the quickie sandwich like everyone else. But most of the time, I was too busy enjoying my lunch to care!
Now, I appreciate that care and attention even more. Packing a healthy, tasty lunch every day for Jade can be a major challenge, especially when I'm busy with work or our schedules are packed tight. That's why there's such a big industry of processed foods marketed to busy parents under the guise of convenience. But it's not worth it, either for your wallet or your kids' health! Between leftovers like my Italian chicken and rice and super-quick pastas like my wagon wheels with pancetta and peas, sending them off to school with a hearty hot lunch takes no more time than putting together a PB&J.
To keep it fun and keep Jade full all day long, I always add in a few delicious snacks, like my fresh fruit rolls (a homemade Fruit Roll-Up alternative that skips the nasty processed sugar), some olives, cheese, fresh veggies, or nuts. Now, instead of having classmates who think a homemade lunch is weird, the other kids can't wait to see what Jade has in her lunch box every day.