Fast forward 30 years to the elementary school lunch room of 2010. There are allergy tables and nut-free zones, and kids stow their own anti-bacterial hand gel or wipes. Trading is outlawed due to allergy concerns, lunches are packed in coolers with ice, and almost no one eats a sandwich. It is a constant topic of conversation at my “mommy coffees” and playgroups. Countless email chains have passed through my inbox, subject line: “what do you pack for lunch?” My soon-to-be second grader is a peanut butter and jelly lover, and he’d prefer to eat a PB & J on whole wheat three meals a day (if I would allow it). How easy my life would be if his entire school was not a peanut-free zone. And I don’t know any Mom that buys Twinkies or Ding Dongs on a more than occasional basis.

We all have our various strategies: half a bagel with cream cheese. A slice of oatmeal bread and a cheese stick. Frozen pizza cooked in the toaster oven (in the morning while the coffee is still perking, probably) and then wrapped in foil. Cereal with milk on the side. All of these are fine ideas, and when products are thoughtfully chosen, prepared, and supplemented with fruit or a veggie side, they’re perfectly nutritious.

Ever been tempted to buy Lunchables? Don’t be. I stopped by that area of the market recently and read the labels. Yikes! Save that kind of indulgence of fat and salt for a stop at the McDonald’s play place when the situation warrants it. You can definitely make a Lunchables-style meal at home that you can feel better about.

Try out this cute idea for Snack Stackers–add slices of cucumber and a homemade cookie and you might never be tempted to buy a Lunchables ever again. You can do double duty at dinner by cooking extra chicken strips so that the leftovers can be transformed into this super-cute Chicken Dippers Lunch. If your child will eat turkey but doesn’t love sandwiches, Pinwheel Bites might work for you.

Mix and match whatever cut veggies your kids like with individual cups of low fat ranch dip or hummus and add some fresh pita wedges. You can make your own dips and hummus, fill your own small containers with store-bought versions, or purchase six-packs of hummus and dip at your local market or wholesale club.

Try putting finger foods on sticks–mini skewers or toothpicks. Cut mozzarella cheese sticks into bite-sized pieces, fold salami into a triangle and add a cucumber wedge or a grape tomato. It’s a cute, tasty finger food; pair this idea with a fruit skewer to balance it all.

My son’s favorite thing to do is take something hot in his Speed Racer thermos. Meatballs in sauce with a roll on the side, Alphabet Soup, and Pepperoni Pizza Soup are all perfect for the thermos. My nieces take rice or pasta with butter in their thermoses. They key to a successful thermos lunch? Pour the hottest tap water into the thermos, cover it, and allow it to stand while you prepare the food. Pour out the water (but don’t wipe out the thermos), and then load it up and cover it tightly. Filling a warmed thermos with hot food ensures it will still be warm by lunchtime, and the moisture left from the water will keep pasta and rice from drying out inside.

If you need to make lunches for an anti-sandwich crowd, then you will need some hard working gear. Green-minded lunch monitors will give you the stinkeye if you send in too many plastic bags and disposable drink containers over the course of a week. Check www.reuseablebags.com for some clever earth-friendly lunch supplies. Target and Whole Foods Market also have a lot of products available for packing a healthful lunch.

Read more by Robin Horrigan

Robin Horrigan writes the column Cooking from the Carpool Lane. She lives on Boston’s south shore and is a stay at home Mom to Ryan, seven, and Maegan, three. Her fascination with cooking sprouted from watching Julia Child cook on a little black and white TV; Robin helped her Mom in the kitchen until she was old enough to ask Santa for her very own copy of The Joy of Cooking. She experiments with all kinds of cooking and baking, from quick weeknight dinners and easy cookies to long simmering weekend stews and complicated, fancy desserts. Ryan thinks if his Mom will ever be famous, it will be “for her awesome cookies.” Her friends say it will be for the cocktails. Either way, if she’s not doing volunteer work or shopping for shoes, you’ll probably find her in the kitchen.

Photo by Whole Foods

It was indeed the quintessential lemonade day yesterday when I set out to conduct a taste test with one of my favorite just-turned-8-year-olds. She is a girl with a refined and discerning palate, and so I knew I’d be in for a challenge when serving up three varieties of lemonade in a blind taste test. She was accompanied by her enthusiastic 5-year-old brother and a fellow 8-year-old cohort who happens to be equally sophisticated when discussing culinary endeavors. These are girls who will carry on a high-level conversation about the Food Network. Really?

They were eager to begin. And they wanted this to be official. Of course, they had seen similar tasting procedures on the Food Network, so I didn’t want to disappoint. This was no professional tasting lab, but I aimed for order: I set up three columns of lemonade in clear unmarked glasses from three different sources. I gave each of them a reporter’s notepad–because they asked for it. I just wanted to know which lemonade they liked… but they wanted to record their taste buds’ reactions. I acquiesced. Let’s make it official!

The kids methodically began with Lemonade #1 and worked their way through, as if sitting for a college entrance exam. They cleansed their palates with Walkers shortbread cookies (double the sugar equals double the fun!). They were careful to not rush through the sample-size portions, but I sensed they were excited to finish their swishing and swirling, puckering and swallowing, and share with me their findings:

Test #1: Santa Cruz Organic Lemonade (from Whole Foods)

• Taster 1: “Okay, sweet, a bit tangy. Pretty good.”
• Taster 2: “It’s sweet and a little sour. It’s kind of tangy. I would have it at the pool.”
• Taster 3: “I like it. It’s sweet and not sour to me. It doesn’t taste like real lemons.”

Test #2: Homemade Lemonade (Food Network / Paula Deen)

• Taster 1: “Sour, looks pulpy. Okay, not sweet.”
• Taster 2: “Kind of sour. The first one was better. A little pulpy. Good but not perfect.”
• Taster 3: “It’s too sweet. I like the pulp. I would choose it for a picnic.”

Test #3: Country Time Lemonade (Powder mix)

• Taster 1: “Bland, sour, tangy. Clear tasting.”
• Taster 2: “Not very tasty. Kind of sour. It’s cool.”
• Taster 3: “I don’t really taste the lemon. I wouldn’t choose it.”

The results? Santa Cruz was the unanimous winner among the kids. But the adults, who participated as an afterthought, hands-down preferred the homemade, recipe #2. Here’s to hot days and summer lemonade.

I am truly grateful for a couple of friends that like the same kind of getaway I do: a little shopping, a little napping, a little sunning, a lot of eating. And so we hit the road together every spring for a much-needed break from Mommy Life. As much of a Type A personality and planner as I am, for my annual girls’ weekend I want no more of an agenda than a set place to lay my head. I don’t want reservations, I don’t want stilettos, and I definitely don’t want an alarm clock. Once we are all together and the good tunes are cranking, the stress of daily life just melts away. But a life lesson learned long ago still applies to my laid back weekend: hungry people are usually grouchy; it’s better to be prepared and keep everyone smiling. Stellar snacks tame savage beasts of all ages.

Mine is a group of native south shore Bostonians, and we seem to prefer Maine for annual getaway. This year we based our stay in Kennebunkport. On our way north we stopped at the Stonewall Kitchen headquarters in York, which is a must-see place for any foodie. In addition to a viewing spot of the production lines, they have a terrific affordable and approachable learn-to-cook program in which you can watch a professional demonstration while you enjoy the meal being prepared in front of you. The atmosphere is lovely.

Along with coolers of fizzy water and Diet Coke, this year I climbed into the car armed with Fruity Pebbles Treats. They keep well for a few days and we became addicted to this sweet and crunchy snack. Homemade Granola Bars are healthier and stay with me a little longer. Once you master the recipe, they make an excellent hostess gift wrapped up in pretty cellophane.

But on to the really good stuff: a thermos of ice cold California Tea is great for a little pick-me-up in the afternoon, especially when you add an ounce or two of Absolut Boston (tea flavored vodka) and a splash of club soda: “Boston Tea Party” cocktails. We got the party rolling with these when we reached our resting place, which this year was the Maine Stay Inn. We booked a cottage with a little kitchen, and we came prepared with an easy dinner that helped us all stay on budget for the weekend. Plopped in front of a marathon of girly movies, we supped on calzones, a green salad, and heavenly Salted Caramel Brownies. Eating in for one night enabled us to stay on budget and still splurge on a fabulous meal at Grissini on the second night of our stay.

This road trip menu would be perfect for any crowd. Try some of these treats when you hit the highway this summer!

Robin Horrigan lives on Boston’s south shore and is a stay at home Mom to Ryan, seven, and Maegan, three. Her fascination with cooking sprouted from watching Julia Child cook on a little black and white TV; Robin helped her Mom in the kitchen until she was old enough to ask Santa for her very own copy of The Joy of Cooking. She experiments with all kinds of cooking and baking, from quick weeknight dinners and easy cookies to long simmering weekend stews and complicated, fancy desserts. Ryan thinks if his Mom will ever be famous, it will be “for her awesome cookies.” Her friends say it will be for the cocktails. Either way, if she’s not doing volunteer work or shopping for shoes, you’ll probably find her in the kitchen.

But even then, I try to wrangle my way out of it by coming up with something apple pie-esque, such as a crisp, that might do the trick instead. My pie-avoidance tactics are elaborate and creative. (Just ask the 12 couples who entered my autumn apple dessert contest a few years ago, for which I made caramel apple martinis, apple-rum punch, and nothing more. My dear husband got to taste a whole range of his favorites, and my rolling pin stayed safely tucked away.)

Despite my hatred of rolling out my own crusts, I have a few fabulous pie plates that get lonely when they are unemployed. They used to live in a cabinet, dark and dusty, season after season. A few summers ago, a timely spread in a magazine about ice cream pies gave my pie plates and me some renewed hope for a more productive future. And so I have taken to matching them up with a delicious alternative to pastry: crumb crusts. Once I mastered the technique of a crumb-crusted pie, such as a perfectly tart Frozen Key Lime Pie, I discovered many recipes that rely on this much more forgiving base.

The Frozen Key Lime Pie starts with a crust made of crushed graham crackers, butter, sugar, and salt. Most of the time I buy whole graham crackers and crush them in the food processor before I proceed with the next steps, and this is the most budget friendly way to go. But then making Lemon Cheesecake Squares is a time-consuming process, and occasionally to save a step I will buy a box of graham cracker crumbs. Leftover graham crackers in a house with children are not much of a problem, but half a package of crumbs is a challenge to make disappear. Seven Layer Bars to the rescue! This is a great recipe for a beginning baker. Need a solution that requires no additional baking whatsoever? Try Cheesecake Parfaits and swap your leftover graham cracker crumbs for the crushed vanilla wafers in the recipe. And speaking of vanilla wafers, experiment with crushing those to alter the flavor of your favorite crumb-crusted summer treats, as well as chocolate wafers and even gingersnaps. Much easier than pie.

Robin Horrigan is a stay at home mom to a 6-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter. She is the cruise director for her busy family, keeping the calendar full of the stuff that makes life worth living, but leaves plenty of time to shop for shoes. When they’re all at home, you’ll find the Horrigans knee-deep in chocolate chips and cookie racks, baking treats together that celebrate the four seasons and even the silliest of holidays.

My kids watch TV. Educational TV, of course, in limited quantities at appropriate times. But many experts say they shouldn’t be watching any television whatsoever, and the Smart Mom inside my head knows there is some truth to this. But early on a Sunday when my daughter wakes up, the coffee is not yet perked, it’s too early for the newspaper to arrive, and I don’t want her to wake everyone else in the house… I don’t much care what the experts say. I’m not ready to start coloring, play-dohing, reading, and puzzling my way through the 6 o’clock hour of our Sunday morning. So she watches some Elmo, and I try not to fret too much.

It’s the same with my weekly grocery run. I stroll through the produce section, working from my list, and note that I have written “fruit for snacks.” A bag of clementines, check. A bunch of green bananas, check. A half-pint of million-dollar blueberries, check. And then, I furtively glance around to see who is watching before tossing a plastic box of sliced, bagged organic apples into my cart. As I make my way to the cashier, the evil box grins up at me like an early 1980s styrofoam hamburger holder. I quickly cover it with the radishes. The Green Mom on my right shoulder gives a dirty stare to the Busy Mom on the left side. Miser Mom hides behind my shirt collar, whispering to me about how I could have just picked a bushel of apples for the same cost as that little box.

If I were my most amazing self, I would only buy organic, locally grown apples at the farmers’ market and slice them on demand for the kids’ snacks. But no matter how much lemon juice I squeeze or how cold I keep them packed in the lunch cooler, they still turn brown. No one wins in this situation, because I have wasted money and time, they don’t eat the brown apples, and they’re still hungry.

We’re working hard to “eat the rainbow,” and for a family on the go, sometimes shortcuts and convenience packaging make the choice between apple slices or animal crackers much easier. I toss a bag into my purse at 2:00 p.m. when I’m dashing out the door to pick up my son from school, with a toddler in my arms who is still half asleep from her nap. The apples will sit in my bag for almost two hours before she’ll ask me for them in the waiting room of the karate studio, and tah dah! They’re still crunchy, crisp, and white. I’m not sure what kind of magic fairy dust gets sprinkled on the slices before the bags are closed, but there is nothing suspicious on the label, so I don’t much care.

It is not always possible to make selfless choices. I’m buying convenience for a few extra dollars and I feel good about what the kids are eating. It’s not Jim Henson’s furry monsters that the experts have a problem with–it is their delivery method, their packaging, that is controversial. Choosing good health and convenience at the expense of six mini plastic bags in the trash and a plastic carton in my recycling bin every week does weigh on my conscience a little bit. Mother Nature is the only one in the equation who really loses out. I hope she’ll forgive me. Little bags of pre-sliced organic apples (the conventional ones do get mushy and slimy) are like precious jewels in my fruit drawer.

What are your supermarket confessions?

Read about Robin Horrigan

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kubina/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

Part 1: Giving Something of Value

Every morning at 5:30, my 93-year-old grandpa would get up to do his exercises. We would have breakfast together, and his appetite was more robust than mine. I need coffee, while he needed nothing. It’s a little embarrassing.

I head off to work, and he headed out to the backyard garden. He somehow coaxed life out of arid, sandy California soil, and from what was once a plot of dirt now sprung a variety of vegetables. Yeah, the kind you eat. And they were tasty.

So why did he do it? Was it out of boredom? Was he a career farmer? Neither. For him, this was his way of giving something of value to me. As an immigrant, he had nothing but steely resolve to endure. He cherished our family and wished he could do more to contribute. His carefully grown vegetables were the manifestations of his love. Corny, but true.

Part 2: My Kid Hates Vegetables

Unless there is a dollop of ranch dressing, the veggies get no love. So, when my 7-year-old daughter, Libby, decided that she was going to plant a garden with her “BFF,” I snickered.

But there it was–a surprisingly neat row of sown seeds in a neat row of planter boxes. I’m proud of her.

Her mother and I have brown thumbs, so anyone with the ability to sustain plant life–even a cactus–is special to us. So, when our own 7-year-old DNA mash-up made the plant thing happen, you can imagine our surprise and joy.

One great thing about Libby’s latest interest is that she’s learning that food doesn’t magically appear in our grocery stores, and that it takes effort and resources to produce something to put into our bodies. This personal experience is opening up her interest in eating more veggies. Yay.

But the greatest thing is that Libby is learning to give something of value. She’s always been a giver and delights in the act. Part of her plan is to share a portion of her bounty with a local food bank. Three generations removed from a great-grandpa she never knew, she somehow knows that the earth and the garden hold treasures valuable enough to give–and eat.

I have discovered a great recipe for keeping the little ones busy and productive, while creating an easy and healthy lunch at the same time: make-your-own-pizza!

I got this idea from those highly desired prepackaged bento-box-style lunches.

Just throw some whole wheat pizza dough (homemade or store-bought) on each child’s plate, and them them poke and prod to make the dough somewhat flat (clean hands are a plus). Let them sauce up the dough using regular marinara or pizza sauce from a jar–or better yet, make your own. Then let them shower their creation with oodles of mozzarella (or whatever cheese the kids like), pepperoni, and–most importantly–veggies! I chopped up steamed broccoli, peas, and colorful strips of peppers ahead of time.

The easiest part? Pop it in a preheated 425 degree oven for only 5-7 minutes and the mini works of art are ready for consumption. A quick, easy, and healthy lunch that they got to make on their own… what else can you ask for in a meal?

Our kids had an awesome time making and eating them. They made a smiley face and other designs their imagination inspired. It was fun not only for the kids, but also for the mommies because of the easy prep. All of the ingredients were found at my local Trader Joe’s: my go-to place for quick and healthy ingredients. Try this activity the next time you host a play date for your kids. You will enjoy your little chefs’ creativity, really love that they are actually having fun and eating their veggies, and share quality time as their sous chef in the kitchen.

On the rare morning that I find myself home (preferably alone while the kids are at school) with a little peace and quiet, I find nothing more relaxing than slowly sipping a cup of hot tea. My guilty pleasure is making muffins to accompany my tea. There is something about this combination, best enjoyed around 10 am, that warms me on these cold winter days.

Tea has become almost as fashionable as coffee. While there are more varieties of tea available today than I could possibly count, let alone name, I am a tea traditionalist. I prefer caffeinated black teas, such as earl grey – and especially love the taste of vanilla or almond. Chai spice also passes my test, tasty with a splash of soy milk.

I am generally a healthy eater, and at my strictest I try to reduce or eliminate snacks, especially snacks that are just carbs (but oh, how I love carbs!). So if I am going to make muffins, they have to be reasonably healthy (read: nothing with buttermilk or sour cream, though it helps that I am lactose intolerant).

Fruit-based muffins are a good choice: blueberry, banana, or lemon poppyseed are my personal favorites. They also pack in a serving of well-disguised vitamins.

On a recent below-zero-windchill morning, I made Healthy Blueberry and Banana Muffins to enjoy with my tea. Not only were they simple to make, but they were delicious. The muffin satisfied my desire for that little taste of something sweet with my tea without being overly indulgent. Not only did they pass my test, but my picky five-year-old ate not one but two of them in one sitting, asking while chewing “are these healthy?” I was happy to tell her they are.

Like many of you, one of my New Year’s resolutions includes a renewed commitment to healthy eating. One of my other resolutions is to be more organized about meal planning. If I would just take a few minutes to think more than a day ahead, I would save time in the form at least one trip to the store each week.

This same cold winter morning just after the first of the new year, I sat down with my tea and my warm-from-the-oven banana-blueberry muffin and mapped out the next four days of meals. Now off to the store… much more prepared than usual. What a way to enjoy a cold morning and feel good about my New Year’s resolutions.

Photo by Julie Hallinan

Recently, after playing in the snow with the kids, I realized that I didn’t have any marshmallows for their hot chocolate. I went to Whole Foods in hopes that I could walk out quickly with a bag of regular marshmallows. No such luck. The ever helpful staff directed me toward the bakery. Turns out that they have freshly made marshmallows–the peppermint kind. I bought them but was a bit annoyed at how everything was so gourmet. That’s where my luck changed.

I also bought some chocolate bars (gourmet, because that’s the only kind they have!) hoping to salvage the weird marshmallows by making s’mores. That’s where serendipity produced the most amazing s’mores.

I started by placing Keebler graham crackers on a cookie tray lined with aluminum foil. I just broke the graham cracker in half along the dotted line so that I had two squares. I placed one pepermint marshmallow cube on one cracker and a chunk of the Ghirardelli milk chocolate on the other cracker.

I preheated the oven at low broil, then placed the cooking tray in the middle rack of the oven. I cooked it about 3 minutes, until the marshmallows started to caramelize and turned light brown. Took the tray out of the oven and served immediately. AMAZING!

A hot cup of French Roast (hot cocoa for the kids) and plenty of napkins, and you are good to go.

Photo by Paul Jin

The recipe calls for 3/4 cup of chopped pecans. Instead, I use crushed candy canes. In the past I’ve experimented with different colors and the best bet is the classic white and red striped candy canes, but other colors are fun too. Kids also love helping with this treat by sprinkling the crushed candy cane all over the toffee.

I used an 11X17 baking sheet. I don’t suggest a cookie sheet since you need a bit of a lip on all four sides of the sheet. I lined the sheet with parchment paper, but you can use aluminum foil with some non-stick spray, or better yet, use a non-stick aluminum foil.

Now the fun part, or at least the first fun part. Crushing the candy canes. I placed broken pieces of candy cane in a Ziploc bag and went at it with a rolling pin. Didn’t work so well. I was wishing for a kitchen rubber mallet just when the husband walked over to see what all the banging was about. He suggested using a plain old hammer, but covering the head with some paper towel. Genius!

Here’s where you have to keep your inner OCD in check. At least I did. I lined the baking sheet with parchment paper, and it helps (but not a requirement) if you fold/score the paper so that it sits nicely in the baking sheet. Then, use one whole sleeve of Saltine crackers and line them up. I could’ve spent hours lining them up just so, but it doesn’t matter so much if one or maybe three are out of line — as long as they look somewhat lined up.

As the recipe instructs, you want to boil the butter and brown sugar for three minutes. Lesson learned by reading through the reviews. Let the mixture boil, and once it does, DO NOT TOUCH and start your three minutes. If you stir or try to mix, you’ll end up with unsightly and separated watery butter and unmelted brown sugar. Definitely a culinary Don’t.

When the timer rings after the three golden UNTOUCHED minutes (have I made it clear that you should barely even look at the pot?), you’ll want to pour the mixture with the help of a silicone spatula, as evenly as possible over the rows of Saltines. Once you spread it evenly with an offset spatula, pop in in the preheated oven as directed.

After you spread you semi-sweet chocolate morsels, ready your crushed candy canes (or chopped pecans, or even Christmas-appropriate sprinkles) and get ready to spread the love. This is a great project to do with kids where you can arm them with the candy or sprinkles and let them go at it. It’s supposed to be messy, so don’t worry and have fun with it.

Once you break them up into pieces, you can put them in cellophane gift bags, or a cookie tin. Tie a pretty ribbon around it and you have the perfect gift for your fellow playdate families, neighbors, or friends. I love that it looks so cheerful and lucky recipients of this will thank you for the delicious, melt-in-your-mouth Christmas Toffee treat.

Photos by Sarah Kim