Yesterday was the last day of school for my boys which means we are now officially parents of a 1st grader and 4th grader. The kids are loving their new grade titles, but they are also thrilled that summer has FINALLY arrived. Our goal this summer is to keep things fairly low-key with minimal planned activities. Aside from a few sports camps and a potential weekend trip here and there, we kept the calendar free so we could slow down and not feel the pressure of running from one thing to the next. We are looking forward to spending a lot of time at our cabin up north pontooning, swimming, hiking, biking, kayaking, reading…all things “cabin”.
So with that in mind I made a “summer-themed” lunch for the boys yesterday. The lunch includes: peanut butter sandwich (you might consider using Sunbutter if peanut allergies are a concern), grapes, celery and peanut butter, string cheese, almond flour spice cupcake with cream cheese frosting all packed in a Planet Box Lunch Box
Some of you may be wondering if this is enough “sandwich” for a soon-to-be-fourth grader. I would say it’s more than enough “wheat” for my kids considering the almond flour cupcake has more protein than most kids eat in a day. That’s why I do so much baking with almond flour…it’s filled with calories, healthy fat, and protein so I can slowly wean my kids from consuming nutrient empty sandwich bread.
My kids would be wondering where the rest of their sandwich went! A crust and a quarter? that’s enough for a 4th grader?
Camilla- It’s more than enough “wheat” for my kids considering the almond flour cupcake has more protein than most kids eat in a day.
That’s why I do so much baking with almond flour…it’s filled with calories, healthy fat, and protein so I can slowly wean my kids off needing nutrient empty sandwich bread.
What happens to the rest of the sandwich? Just wondering.
I was able to use the entire sandwich to make both of my boys this lunch with some very careful cutting, but you can see what I do with excess from other lunches here: http://thislunchrox.com/2011/09/waste-not/
I am investing in almond flour right away!!!! I love the changes my family is making…going to keep at it. Thank you for being so amazingly inspiring!
I love how when we pack lunches we can cater to what our kids will eat and what we WANT them to eat. And less waste because we don’t have to stick with individual serving-sized packaged foods. So they aren’t filling up on a 1-to-2-cup package of chips instead of their veggies. And after a while we can gauge how much they’re actually eating and keep uneaten food to a minimum. And if they hit a growth spurt, a nigger after-school snack!
Oh gosh! A BIGGER after-school snack! Yikes!
I almost fell out of my chair. Poor LM and the evil evil autocorrect!
John typically feels that the smaller the sandwich the better. He know I’ll fill him up with other good food and he likes the smaller ones because 1) they’re easier to eat, 2) they’re more fun for him and 3) I seriously think sometimes he’s trying to limit his gluten intake without even realizing it.
My 5th grader – soon to be 6th – would be quite happy with the size of this lunch, in fact, I can could see him not even eating all of it. Quality beats quantity. I would rather he eat that nut butter and celery than a white bread and processed oil & starch “cheese” sandwich. Well done Jamie!
Did you use almond flour for you cupcakes? I see the original recipe calls for coconut flour? If so any other adjustments? Thanks! Love your blog!
Hi Amy-
Oh, dear…I linked to the wrong version of the spice cakes. Maria has one made with almond flour (great if you have nut allergies to deal with), but I really like her almond flour version which you can find here: http://mariahealth.blogspot.com/2010/11/pecan-spice-layer-cake-with-cream.html Sometimes I make these in mini muffin tins because they are VERY, VERY filling so a little goes a long way.
Do you have any ideas to substitute peanut butter? The school has a no nut policy and no dessert policy – which makes it really hard sometimes.
SunButter is a great sunflower seed spread and my son (also in a nut-free classroom) has recently started enjoying soynut butters like WowButter.
Looks delicious! My son just finished 5th grade and that would be plenty of lunch for him. People are always accusing me of starving him on my blog because of his lunch size despite the fact that he’s the tallest kid in his class and built like a linebacker. Yeah, poor kid is starving
love the lunch! and the weaning from sandwich bread. great job!
I’m grain- free, but every once in a while I really crave a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
I make a “one minute muffin” from almond flour in a wide, flat bowl. Cut in half horizontally, these have the taste and texture of bread, and hold up great if toasted. I don’t eat legumes, so I use almond butter and the tiniest bit of all fruit jam. It hits the spot.
The muffins can also be made with flax if you can’t send almond flour products to school. But I did have some issues with the phytoestrogens in the flax meal, so I’m not sure it should be given regularly to kids.
hi can I know if you packed this flat or standing? wouldn’t the sandwich run all over if it is packed standing? thanks! I’m wondering as I am new to doing kids’ lunchbox.
LOVE THIS!! I love seeing more and more lunches with little to no gluten.
We are gluten free by choice and thankfully my son is only 6 months old so he will be growing up eating this way. I love to see this in other families/blogs.
Where did you find the lunch box!? I love it!