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Well, we're getting to that time of year where food and socializing are abundant, holiday celebrations at your kid's school and at home abound, and everyone starts the downward spiral that is the source of many resolutions for the coming year.

This applies most of all to your children (if you have any). Since our child entered public school this fall, I've been made aware of what many parents consider a proper snack for their child (mainly because my child relays this to me in a "why-can't-I-have-

red-hot-cheetos-and-

Chips-Ahoy!-cookies for snack" diatribe). Let me just say that I'm not entirely against such foods on occasion, but they are not snacks; they are indulgences and should be treated that way.

The average child usually consumes between 1,000-1,400 calories a day (to find out what your child should be consuming, head on over to MyPyramid.gov and on the left, click the "For preschoolers" or "For Kids" link.  If you download MyPyramid plan for your kids and can't read it, try opening it in Word.  Anyway, my point is that if you're giving a kid a 200 calorie snack and it's devoid of any meaningful nutrition, it wastes anywhere from 10-20% of their day's calories.

So it's good to find snacks that are healthy, fast and well accepted by your kids.  The ones we've been able to agree on: applesauce, carrots with dressing, celery with peanut butter, yogurt, grapes, nuts, bananas, cheese (not cheez whiz stuff, but real cheese) and whole grain crackers.  Buying a fancy little spoon for their lunchbox and a $1.79 refreezable ice (see the butterfly in the pic?) keeps everything cool and makes everything look more acceptable to both your child and their inquisitive friends.  I once made our child a pasta salad with chopped vegetables and a tiny bit of salad dressing.  She loved it, but her friends made fun of her ("what is that?" and that was the end of that). 

Since we run out the door like lightning every morning, it helps if snacks are packaged and ready to go.  And cheap.  I know that.  For many people, that seems limited to 10-packs of chips or 100-calorie cookie packs.  These are not great snacks -- they contain little if any vitamins and minerals, and they also disregard one very important point: children are a captive audience during snack time at school.  This means that they're hungry, and whatever is packed (unless positively shameful) will be quickly consumed because it's available.  Thus, it's a great opportunity to get some veggies, fruits or other healthy snacks down the hatch.  A  4-pack of applesauce is about $2.00-$2.50, 3 packs of carrots and ranch, or celery with peanut butter are $2 at Trader Joe's, little packs of Stoneyfield yogurt are about $3.50 for 6.  Theoretically you can do healthy snacks for kids at well under $1 a day.  And that's for high-end organic good stuff, folks.

As a rule, read the label for sodium and fat and avoid the product if either of those ingredients is listed as 20% or more of the Daily Value (that's those percentages on the right). 

All of this, of course, is good advice for you, too.  If you want to start the year healthier and wealthier, bypass that snack machine at work, bring your own snacks and eat just those (squirrel the money you would have spent at the vending machine or the coffeehouse -- those frappucino dealies with whipped cream can kill anyone's diet -- into a jar and you'll have some money for nice clothes during the holiday sales).  Bring a container to work to take home any especially fabulous goodies, but unless it's the Christmas party, you really need to just say NO.  Save the snacking and grazing and enjoying for the social occasions when you'll want to let go a little, and for the rest of the time, polish that halo!

I really do. And yet, I told you I don't really pack lunch anymore. But I like it when I do. When I worked in an office I looked forward to my lunch and my book more than anything in the day (and the job wasn't torture or anything. Mostly). And in the heat I never, ever leave the house with out a LARGE cooler bag filled with refreezable ice to keep our water cool and in case the small child has leftovers or I need to bring a snack (it's always one or the other).

I love lunchboxes. They make lunch a lot of fun by giving you little spaces in which you can imagine what it is you'll be dying for come the afternoon and what you'll have waiting for yourself as a treat.  This company makes little plastic boxes (the safe sort) that seal easily and can be opened by a 3 year old that are perfect for snacks (nuts, raisins, a chocolate, crackers -- or grapes, carrots, etc.  Pack wet OR dry but not both because the wet ingredients sog up the dry, but it's like a tiny, inexpensive bento box. 

And then there's bento boxes.   The ingenious Jennifer McCann's terrific web site Veganlunchbox often mentions the coolest new lunchboxes -- check it out (and for ideas, her book is really great even if you aren't vegan but especially if you are)!  Most of these I learned about from her.  I Love Obento is really adorable lunch for the Hello Kitty crowd.  I dig Laptop Lunches, the only downside that some of the lunch containers have no lids so I don't know how they hold up with travel.  I like the idea of the To Go Ware, but there's no way to keep things cold without putting it...in a cooler bag.  But if you're going to work with a refrigerator, they're awfully cool for things like salad and fruits and/or vegetables.  You can also pack frozen fruits and/or vegetables and let them come to temperature in the To-Go Ware.  By the afternoon when they're singing happy birthday in the office over a giant chocolate cake you'll be happy to have it (even if it's just so you can eat the veggies, wipe it out and take some cake home. This is how my mind works).



Here is one I really love:  Lunchsense.  It's a washable, purselike container that snaps together (or apart for a picnic lunch!) and contains lunches like a perfectly formed puzzle.  All of this appeals to my sickening sense of organization and cleanliness and fun.  And comes with an ice pack.   I want one.

A lunchtime proviso: you can't microwave plastic (it migrates into food) so it's best to get a thermos to keep things hot if you need that, or pack a heavy glass container, or keep one at work for the microwave.  And you shouldn't keep it all at room temp either because it's usually more than 2 hours from commute to lunch.   And 2 hours is the time limit on room temperature foods that are normally kept hot or cold.  Any longer and you could get sick.  So consider that stuff and remember that you can always take the stuff out a half hour before you eat it and let it come to room temperature.



All these cute containers give me another reason to love my dishwasher (it's the kind you roll over to the kitchen sink, but it gets the job done and saves me from cleaning 17 little pieces left from lunch.  If you don't have one, stick with bigger containers (like the To-Go Ware pictured at right) that are easy to wash up.

Get yourself a Klean Kanteen (can no one spell?) and you'll be all set.

What to pack?  Here are some Trader Joe's lists that might zero you in a bit, but nothing beats hanging around the store for a bit for ideas.

All of these might seem expensive at around $30 a crack, but consider this: if you're eating lunch at a restaurant 5 days a week, even if you spend just $5, it will only take a couple of weeks for the thing to pay for itself, because bringing your own food is cheaper.  And you'll probably lose weight and be healthier because of what you packed.  And you'll have time for that magazine or book you've been wanting to read.  You'll read it at the park where you'll find a mate because you're looking so good now and you're obviously very intelligent because you're sitting there reading.  In other words, pack a lunch and all will be right in your world.  You don't believe me but just try it and see if I'm wrong.