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Waste-free Lunches
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| What I Choose to Buy at the
Co-op. . and Why |
by Andrea Lee
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September brings with it
the stench of red rubber erasers, the embarrassment of squeaky new
shoes, and the squished peanut butter and jelly sandwich, usually
imprinted by an apple. The seepedthrough jelly was usually a guarantee
that the sandwich would end up in the cafeteria trash. Once upon a
time, lunch was encased in a metal box. Eventually the box was replaced
with a paper bag, and thermoses, ubiquitous for decades, were replaced
with individual juice or milk containers. Even sandwiches were replaced
with items more quickly and easily put together. Quick, prepackaged
food is often the food of choice for parents rushing to get out the
door in the morning. But at what cost?
According to the Laptop Lunch authors Amy Hemmert and Tammy Pelstring,
“the average school-age child using a disposable lunch generates 67
pounds of waste per school year, equating to 18,760 pounds of lunch
waste for just one average size elementary school.” In addition,
children are increasingly facing obesity, cavities and other health
issues directly related to the quality of their diet. One way to bring
down these numbers and provide healthy food to our children is to use
reusable lunch boxes, known in Japan as bentos. The Japanese have made
an art of lunch boxes. I bought a metal bento in 1991 for about $5, and
have probably used it 2,000+ times, making its overall cost about
one-fourth of one cent.
Bentos are made from plastic, metal or wood (especially bamboo), and
are divided or layered, or sometimes both, into compartments for
different kinds of food. Bentos are often available in Asian markets,
or in some discount stores. Find boxes that fit your specific needs.
Look for ones that are the right size, as well as being BPA-free if
they are plastic.
In the U.S., Laptop Lunches(2) and Lunchopolis(3) are two companies
(carried by the Co-op) making no-waste lunch box systems. Lunchopolis
plastic boxes used to contain BPA, but their new lineup (I have been
assured by e-mail, June 2008) will not contain BPA. Their color schemes
and lunch boxes are wonderfully designed, especially for older (ages
8–18) children. Laptop Lunches (www.laptoplunches.com) are
available in several colors and do not contain BPA.
The best things to fill the box with are grains, vegetables and fruits
that your children love. Cut, whole or dried fruit makes an easy snack
or addition to lunch, and you can rotate them throughout the week. Look
for seasonal fruits — currently plums, pears and apples — in the
produce aisles at HWFC. They are full of vitamins and fiber, as well as
water, essential to children’s health, and there’s only a stone or core
in the center to throw away (which could be composted by the school or
you).
Raw and cooked vegetables are only as good as what your child will eat.
If your children resist eating cooked vegetables, try adding them to
pasta, rice, bulgur, quinoa or potatoes. Introduce foods to them at
suppertime; then you can gradually add these to their lunch repertoire
as they become more accustomed to them, like quinoa (in the bulk aisle)
with peas (fresh in the produce aisle or frozen) or edamame (in the
frozen foods section), squash and bean soups, and baked tofu in various
flavors (look for these in the refrigerated section next to the
café in the back of the store). Sandwiches fit nicely into
bentos/reusables.
You can easily add healthy dips and snacks, which pair perfectly with
raw veggies, or precooked items like spring rolls or pot stickers
(which you can hand make or buy frozen in the frozen foods aisle at
HWFC) — everyone knows how kids love to dip! Snacks, like home popped
popcorn, pita and hummus, healthful bread with jam, fruit or seed
butter, nuts or the delicious granolas and other delicious snacks in
the bulk aisle at HWFC, will hold them over until afterschool, without
all the smooshed sandwiches that I remember so fondly (and less fondly,
the hunger I had all afternoon after throwing out the sandwich!) or the
garbage that is becoming such a problem!
To make your lunch boxes fully garbage free, pack in a cloth napkin and
pour their drink into a reusable (BPA free) container. Add a spoon,
fork or butter knife from the drawer! Using food in larger containers,
such as yogurt, applesauce and seed or nut butter is often less
expensive overall, and produces a lot less waste.
Reducing the amount of garbage your children make is economical,
practical and proactive — something all parents need to be these days.
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A
series of monthly articles by members of our Nutrition & Education
committee
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| Sources: |
1. Laptop Lunch User’s
Guide, by Amy Hemmert and Tammy Pelstring (Morning Run Press, 2002).
2. www.laptoplunches.com.
3. www.lunchopolis.com.
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