Parents can pass the school lunch
test with a bit of ingenuity and
student involvement.

a

ANNABEL COHEN
Special to The Jewish News

usually gets something else
— without the bread."
The real and workable
answer to lunch doldrums
lies in a little creativity,
make-ahead convenience
and some kid-pleasing
packaging.
Some experts recom-

iven the choice of a
school lunch or brown-
bagging, your child will
probably prefer the
school's chicken nuggets, macaroni
and cheese or pizza.
That's question-
able nutritionally,
and can get pretty
expensive if you've
got more than one
hungry student to
feed. Those pre-
made foods and
snacks you buy
packaged in kid-
snaring bright colors
aren't cheap either.
Kathy Davis of
West Bloomfield,
mother of 9-year-old
Stephanie and 6-
year-old Myles,
doesn't like her kids
Kathy, Myles and Stephanie Davis make Chinese
to buy hot lunch.
justsesame
noodles for lunch.
"Forget the price! I
don't think they have
anything good," said
Davis. "Even peanut
butter and jelly is fat-
tening."
Randee Sher of West
Bloomfield has two
daughters — Samantha,
11, and Taylor, 7 —
who actually prefer
bringing a packed lunch
from home to eating the
school's hot lunch. "My
kids don't usually like
school lunches," said
Sher. "It would be easier
if they bought every
once in a while. But I
Stephanie Davis works in the garlic.
do prefer to pack
healthy lunches."
children when their sandwiches are
The choices in lunch
cut into stars or flowers with cook-
foods are staggering.
ie-cutters.
There are hundreds of
Another trick is to write notes
Chinese sesame noodles
foods you can pack in
and riddles on napkins or lunch
your children's lunches.
bags. "Sometimes I write notes like,
mend little tricks to getting your
The problem is that many kids only
`Have a great day,' or 'I love you,'
kids interested in eating lunch.
eat certain foods. "Taylor isn't into
on the girls' napkins," said Sher.
Lunch becomes play for the Davis
bread these days," said Sher. "She

12/4
1998

1.10 Detroit Jewish News

Some mothers even draw easy cross-
word puzzles or word searches on
the bags.
Davis disguises healthy food as
not-so-healthy foods. There are
many low-fat versions of high-salt,
high-fat favorites. Fat-free salad
dressings, baked chips and non-fat