No PB&J Allowed? Put Dips Into Lunchboxes

[elleng]

Looking for ideas for what to pack in your child’s lunchbox? Melissa Clark will answer readers’ questions and share lunch tips in a Facebook chat on Thursday, Sept. 4, at 1 p.m. Eastern time on facebook.com/nytimes.

Before I became a mom, I assumed I’d follow the sandwich model when it came to school lunches. I’d pack my daughter inventive variations on the childhood favorites I used to tote to class when I was a kid, and she’d happily gobble them up.

But like many things involving motherhood, I was dead wrong. My 5-year-old, Dahlia, won’t eat any sandwiches except peanut butter and jelly, which are sadly forbidden in her nut-free school.

Enter my new lunchbox plan: Leave out the sandwiches, put in the dips.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/29/dining/no-pbj-allowed-put-dips-into-lunchboxes.html?hpw&rref=dining&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpHedThumbWell&module=well-region&region=bottom-well&WT.nav=bottom-well

[pscot]

1. Peanut butter dip

and jelly dip.

[NYC_SKP]

2. "Nut free school"???

My first response is that there may well be a few nuts in that school.

But, upon reflection, it's always best to respect the needs of the least well represented among us, in this case those with food allergies.

Yet, I'm still struck by what seems to be a new trend: and increase in the incidence of allergies to such substances as nuts, gluten, etc.

Is this phenomenon natural, is this a result of medications or high consumption of processed foods or what?

[elleng]

3. I think I've read something about this, SKP,

but I forget what and where!

[Galileo126]

4. Heck, I love dips!

But I'm the jerk who was born with the peanut allergy.

Thankfully, my grammar school in the early 70's responded... graciously. If you want your kids to have PB&J, pack it as a take-in lunch.

Interesting thing, BTW, since I can't eat the beloved peanut butter (Oh man, does it smell so good!) Mom always gave me a variety of cool things for a kid's lunch. Almost always veggie oriented, even though my parents were (are) the usual meat/starch/veg sort of foodies.

My fave was broccoli (only after the age of 7 - hated it before then. Tastes, go figure.) But always it was was carrots. Sweet, yummy carrots. (Today's carrots are industrial crap, not like the sweetness of yesteryear.)

So, I say, hummus and veggies rule. Even one of my nephew's dig it.

Go dips!

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

6. Can you eat other, non-peanut nuts?

There's some darn fine almond butter out there, especially the 'maple almond butter'. My only complaint is that it's far more expensive, which means it's not in my pantry much at all.

[littlewolf]

5. friends of ours teach and pbj is forbidden

in their school, too many kids are allergic.
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