European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 01, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Going beyond Peanut butter and Jelly by Karen Walsh a s Veteran lunch packers know in is constant Challenge to make midday meals Lor children exciting live Days a week Bui sandwiches Don t have to be Boring Cul bread in different shapes using cookie cutters in you get tired of Sandwich halves or quarters. Experiment with breads such As whole wheat Raisin Pumpernickel and Rye English muffins bagels pita bread and hot dog and hamburger buns Are also great for variety use your imagination Lor making Sandwich spreads the following combinations will take the Monotony away from eating Peanut butter and Jelly every Day sliced cooked Chicken sliced tomatoes and Swiss cheese fresh spinach Cucumber slices. Cheddar cheese and Tomato slices chopped cooked Chicken chopped apples pineapple chunks Curry powder mixed with equal parts of Mayonnaise and Plain Low fal Yogurt. Peanut butter and banana slices. Cottage cheese and crushed pineapple. If it is easier to make lunches the night before Here Are a Law lips to keep sandwiches from getting soggy or too dry wrap vegetables such As lettuce leaves and Tomato slices separately in plastic bags and put them on the Sandwich just before eating ii the lilting is made with Mayonnaise spread a Small amount of Margarine to the edges of bread slices before adding the filling to prevent the bread from getting soggy. Wrap sandwiches in plastic wrap or put them in Sandwich bags to prevent them from drying store sandwiches in the refrigerator overnight. Children should eat lunches within three to four hours after removing them Iron the refrigerator. Ii the lunch hour is later than this chill packs should be added to lunches to prevent the possibility of Lood poisoning. A Container of Yogurt that has been Frozen will a of keep the entire lunch cold in the morning and will thaw in time for the midday meal. Add a piece of fruit raw vegetable Sticks and a Carton of i milk or Yogurt to the Sandwich to make a Well balanced sandwiches Don t have to be Boring. With a Little imagination you can make children s lunches Tun to a. Lunch Box. Ii your child needs a larger lunch try dry fruit Rolls milkshakes extra fruit Granola or homemade cookies or bars that use Peanut butter or Oatmeal As ingredients children can help prepare their own lunches at a Young age. They can select fruit and Sandwich spreads irom the Lime they Are in preschool and can begin making their own lunches whenever they Are old enough to work in the Kitchen under adult supervision. Children can help plan lunches and make a grocery shopping list. The More they Are involved in the preparation the less they will Trade away their Lood in Iho lunchroom. Champion Sandwich 1 hard cooked egg chopped 1 Tablespoon chopped celery 1 Tablespoon Mayonnaise Pepper to taste 4 slices whole wheat bread 2 slices boiled Ham 2 slices Swiss cheese lettuce Combine eggs and celery in mixing bowl. Add Mayonnaise to moisten. Mix lightly. Add a Little More Mayonnaise if desired add Pepper and mix Well. Top 2 bread slices with half the egg mixture 1 slice Ham 1 slice cheese lettuce and remaining bread slices. Cut in half. Ii made in Advance do not add lettuce until just before eating. Place Sandwich in plastic Sandwich bag and refrigerator overnight. Makes 2 sandwiches. Special Turkey Sandwich 1 hard cooked egg chopped 1 Tablespoon chopped celery 1 Tablespoon Mayonnaise Pepper to taste 2 English muffins Cut in half 2 slices Turkey breast 2 slices Cheddar cheese lettuce 2 Tomato slices Combine eggs and celery in mixing howl. Add Mayonnaise to moisten. Mix lightly add a Little More Mayonnaise in desired add Pepper and mix Well. Top 2 English muffin halves with 1 slice Turkey. I slice cheese lettuce a Tomato slice and remaining English muffin halves. Cut in Hall. If made in Advance do not add lettuce and Tomato until just before eating place Sandwich in plastic Sandwich bag and refrigerator overnight. Oatmeal Peanut butter cookies a cup shortening it cup Brown sugar packed1 i cup water 2 eggs 1 cup Peanut butter 1 Teaspoon Vanilla 1 cup grated Carrot i cup All purpose flour Vij cup whole wheat flour i Teaspoon baking soda i Teaspoon Salt 3 cups rolled Oats preheat oven to 375 degrees c = a in Inland sugar. Blend in water eggs . R Nilla and Carrot. Add hours baking soda ird \ sir until Well blended. Stir in Oats until comp 1 tend. Roll into i Inch diameter balls Anci arc cited baking Sheet. Press balls Hal with n i s for 10 to 12 minutes. Makes 5 dozen cookies Karen Walsh a dwt Lian and nutrition Educ alot to it Fri. Spam. Back to Brown bags and lunch boxes by Randolph e. Schmid new York Timas the Bells Are ringing again Lor the Brown bag lunch  return of millions of american children to classrooms at Home and abroad in department of defense schools Means it s Lime once again Lor parents to Star turning out that seemingly endless series of lunches. While Many children would be satisfied with a daily Peanut butter and Elly Sandwich parents Are Likely to become bored by that repetition. And they want to offer their youngsters a balanced meal with variety. Food safety is also an important consideration. Particularly Lor a meal that s Likely to be Silling around in a lunch Box or bag Lor several hours. The last thing parents want to give children Lor lunch is food poisoning. The simple Rule is to keep hot foods hoi and keep cold foods cold stress experts at the Federal food and drug administration and Iho food safely and inspection service. Vacuum bottles do this quite Well for foods such As soup and Chili which can still be piping hot Al lunch time. Meat poultry and other perishable goods need to be kept cold a Job Lor which Freezer gel packages Are Well suited usually coloured Blue these plastic ice packs Are Frozen ahead of time and then enclosed in the lunch they thaw slowly keeping the lunch cold and can be used repeatedly another possibility is to make the Sandwich the night Beloro and freeze it overnight. A Frozen Sandwich will thaw by noon but remain Cool enough to fend Oil bacteria a word of caution irom Iho department of agriculture though. Don t overdo the butter and Mayonnaise or the bread will get soggy during thawing. The department s food safety and inspection service says it often gets letters from parents asking whether lunch boxes or paper bags Are better. The answer is they re about the same As far As keeping Lood hot or cold. A Box will keep its contents irom being crushed. At any Rale these experts stress cleaning a lunch Box after each use and using a bag Only once to prevent bacteria from gelling on goods. Suggestions Lor children carrying lunches include storing them someplace Cool or Al least not in a hoi place such As in a window or on a Radiator. And caution the kids not to Trade lunches there s no Way of knowing in someone else s Lood was safely prepared and stored. As for ways to prepare balanced school lunches the department oilers a Booklet with recipes and suggestions. Making bag lunches snacks and deserts Sells for $2 50 and is available irom the consumer information Center dept. 173v, Pueblo Colo. 81009. The Booklet contains charts describing the calories at. Cholesterol and sodium in Many snacks Sandwich ingredients and even vending machine goods. Suggestions Are included for a variety of sandwiches and hoi lunches and even goods you can make at Home and microwave Lor lunch. Tember 1,1989 the stars and stripes Page 15