After a long summer, the start of a new school year is often a welcome return to routine, normalcy and a schedule that creates the rhythm for our daily family life.   For many, “back to school” also means “back to packing lunch boxes,” or at the very least thinking about what will be snacked upon when the kids return from school.   What one would think to be just a daily chore has become an increasingly challenging task in our ever-complicated world. 

Once upon a time, “cookies and milk” was the after-school snack of choice and a wholesome one at that.  Peanut butter and jelly was the number one sandwich found in a lunchbox, tuna fish being a distant second.  If you fed your kid that way today, you’d have an obese child with mercury poisoning and be arrested for sending his little friend Shloimy into anaphylactic shock.  The world in which we are raising our children today is a drastically different place with many more complex issues of nutrition than any previous generation has encountered.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over the past three decades the childhood obesity rate has more than doubled for preschool children aged 2-5 years and adolescents aged 12-19 years, and it has more than tripled for children aged 6-11 years ("Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Children and Adolescents: United States, 1999-2002"; Oct. 6, 2004).  As a result, the rates of associated illnesses, such as Type 2 diabetes have also skyrocketed.  Good fitness and exercise is essential for our children’s health, but that goes hand-in-hand with reducing the amounts of high-sugar, high-fat content snacks they consume.

And so as a mother (and cook), I asked myself what are simple things we can send our kids with or greet them with that fit the bill?  Now, just to recap, that includes: moderately low to no saturated fat (it’ll clog your arteries), no trans fat (it’ll kill ya, and yes, that includes margarine!), no peanut butter (dangerous for little Shloimy unless served at home), preferably low in preservatives and additives, should have nutritive value…and still must taste good!   Is that asking too much?   Here is a list of quick and easy suggestions.   You may already be serving these at home, but having a reference list is always helpful:

• Crackers or Flatbreads with Chummus
• Cut-up vegetables – strips of bell peppers, cucumbers, string beans are a terrific way of getting essential nutrients into your kids’ diet.  If your kids don’t enjoy vegetables, make it more fun with dips of their choice, be it a zesty salad dressing or a lowfat sour cream dip.
• Dried Fruits – raisins, craisins, apples, etc.
• Fresh cut fruit – most children love sliced apples, but a sprinkle of cinnamon-sugar makes them more appealing and slows down browning in the lunchbox.
• Yogurt parfaits are a great after-school snack.  Layer diced fruit, yogurt and top with granola.   If your kids are non-granola eaters, try letting them dip pretzel sticks in the yogurt instead. 
• Ants on a log.  This old classic is a celery stick stuffed with peanut butter and topped with raisins.   Still a great snack for after-school, but try stuffing with cream cheese for the lunchbox.
• String cheese, cheese and crackers, etc.

The above are “healthy snacks,” most of which children will happily eat if they are prepared and readily available to them.  A little advanced preparation goes a long way.  When healthy eating becomes part of child’s normal routine and habit, there is more room to allow for those more desired, yet less healthy treats when given in moderation.  I still give my kids cookies made with real butter and do so without guilt, because that is the exception to the norm, and makes it a “treat” worth waiting for. 

This week’s recipe goes out to all of you parents in search of a wholesome lunchbox snack that pleases your children, and supplies them with the energy they need to get through their busy day!

Mom’s Choc-Full-of-Energy Bars

Yield: 16 bars 

2 cups rolled Oats (quick-cooking ok)

1 cup Rice Crispies

¼ cup wheat germ

½ cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup shredded coconut

½ cup chocolate chips

1/3 cup chopped pecans (optional)

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/3 cup honey

2 tbsp. molasses

½ cup canola oil

1 tsp. vanilla

¼ cup dark brown sugar

2 eggs 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 pan and set aside.  In a large mixing bowl, combine oats, rice crispies, wheat germ, craisins, coconut, chocolate chips, pecans and cinnamon.  Mix to blend.  In a separate bowl, mix honey, molasses, oil, vanilla, brown sugar and eggs until well blended.  Add honey mixture to oat mixture and mix until well coated.  Transfer mixture to the prepared pan and spread evenly, pressing down with spatula to form an even layer.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden and firm to the touch.   Remove from oven.  Cut into bars when cool. 

Granola Bar Variation:  Replace oil and eggs with ½ cup melted butter for a crispier granola bar.