Ideal School Lunch

Update [2010 March 08]: This lunch menu won! Check out all five winners at GOOD magazine’s post here.

GOOD magazine asked readers to submit a healthy, delicious school lunch. Having just put together a grown-ups playground lunch for my sister-in-law’s baby shower, I took inspiration from a recipe my mother-in-law found.

My rendition of the ideal school lunch plays on the classic favorite – PB&J.

The sandwich is made of: whole grain bread, crunchy peanut butter, honey, jumbo raisin medley, sunflower seeds, shredded carrots and broccoli sprouts. The raisins and broccoli sprouts could be replaced with dried blueberries or cranberries and alfalfa sprouts or microgreens, respectively.

This is a great way to “hide” vegetables into a school lunch because the sprouts and shredded carrots easily get lost in the flavors of the peanut butter and honey. The honey and raisin medley together give a “jelly” flavor without all of the artificial sugars. I like the sunflower seeds for the bit of extra crunch.

To follow, is a parfait made of Fage greek yogurt, sliced local strawberries, and cranberry maple nut gluten-free granola. I like to think that if a meal looks visually appealing, it tastes that much better… so, I combined the dairy, fruit and grains into the parfait.

I chose an organic 100% grape juice to finish off the lunch. I think it would be nice for kids to have a choice of drinks including various fruit juices and a variety of milks (chocolate, soy, etc.).

Bon appetit!

I’ll be sure to share the contest’s winning lunch menu here.