Breakout Attempt #1

As promised, the girls and I took our first shot at reinventing our lunchbox options. Our first experiment was turkey wraps with cream cheese and apple cole slaw with a fresh corn and black bean salad/salsa. I served it with fat-free milk and a few baked tortilla chips. We decided that it made sense to try everything out at home where we had the chance to try a Plan B if the recipes didn't appeal to one or both of the kids. Here's how we rated our efforts on a scale of 1 (disgusting, don't try this at home, yuck) to 5 (awesome, definitely try this, yay!)

Prep work: There was a LOT of chopping to do between the cole slaw and the corn salad. I don't mind chopping that much, but I am not quick. I don't trust the kids with sharp knives (although they often ask if they can wield them). So, I did most of the prep work myself. It took probably half an hour, but nothing was difficult. The girls helped me to assemble the wraps, which was fun for all of us. Rating: 3 out of 5

Appearance: There were so many colors! It looked really good, and if I can get the kids to "eat a rainbow," I know they're getting some good food nutritionally. It looked fresh, and the kids thought the corn salad was especially pretty. Rating: 5 out of 5

Packability: Overall, the food would transport well in a lunchbox. The only exception would be the apple cole slaw. If it was put into the wrap in the morning, it would be a soggy mess by lunchtime. If I were to send the wrap to school with the kids, I would pack the cole slaw separately and have them put it in the wrap just before eating it. Also, the apple cole slaw tended to fall out of the wrap, causing some unfortunate dripping on Maggie's pajamas. At school, it would have gone right down the front of her shirt. Rating: 3 out of 5

Nutrition: We were hoping to approximate 1/3 of the daily recommendation for the nutrient recommendations from My Pyramid Tracker, and this meal fit the equation really well! Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Based on the numbers from last week's post, this meal had:

• 29.8% of the recommended kcal/day
• 46.5% of the recommended daily Vitamin A
• 132.8% of the recommended daily Vitamin C
• 46.6% of the recommended daily calcium
• 32% of the recommended daily iron
• 48% of the recommended daily fat (next time, I would use less mayonnaise in the cole slaw)
• 39% of the recommended daily saturated fat
• Although not among the nutrients discussed last week, I was curious about the sodium content of this meal. It had 32% of the daily recommended sodium.
  

Maggie's Rating: The wrap was delicious! I liked the turkey and the cream cheese together. I liked the salsa, but only with chips. The apple cole slaw was kind of good, but it was too sweet (gasp!). I would have liked it better just with apples sliced on the wrap with the turkey and cream cheese. I would definitely eat this if you put it in my lunch. Rating: 4 out of 5

Ellie's rating: I just want a plain tortilla, some chips, and an apple. Rating: 2 out of 5 (Ellie is going to be the tough kid to please with these lunchbox experiments, but this is development is no surprise to those of us who know and love her!)


Recipes:

• Apple Cole Slaw - Here's the link to the recipe at Allrecipes.com. As mentioned in the lunchbox learning below, next time, I would add half the brown sugar and cut back a bit on the mayonnaise to tone down the sweetness and cut a little fat.
  
• Corn Salad/Salsa - You can link to Two Peas and Their Pod for the corn salad recipe. I did not add the feta cheese that they recommend. Usually when I make a salad like this, I add some avocado, too. I missed its creaminess in this salad, and I would add some next time. I also substituted green onion for the red onion because the red onion that I bought was not good on the inside when I cut it open.
  
• Turkey and Cream Cheese Wrap with Apple Cole Slaw - I just threw this together without a recipe. I used a high fiber, low-carb tortilla. I spread half of the tortilla with 1 1/2 tablespoons of whipped light cream cheese. I topped the cream cheese with 2 ounces of roasted turkey breast. I topped the turkey with 2 tablespoons of apple cole slaw. Then, I rolled everything up and let the cream cheese act as glue to hold the wrap together.
  

Lunchbox Learning of the Week: I just about fell to the floor unconscious when Maggie told me that she thought the apple cole slaw was too sweet. I am nearly certain that she has never complained that anything has been too sweet in her seven years on earth. Often when I cook, I cut the amount of sugar in half or use some Splenda. This time, I stuck with the recipe, which called for 1/3 cup of brown sugar. Next time I try the recipe, I will cut the sugar in half and see how it goes. Here is a link to the American Heart Association's website with a list of ways to reduce sugar in your diet (and your kids' diets).