Lunch Boxes and Snacks: Over 120 healthy recipes from delicious sandwiches and salads to hot soups and sweet treats

by Annabel Karmel

Packing your child's lunch box doesn't have to mean another peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a bag of chips. Renowned children's cooking and nutrition expert Annabel Karmel shares more than 120 healthy, creative recipe ideas as well as time-saving hints and tips that will help you make a complete and nutritious lunch without increasing the chaos of your morning routine.

Lunch Boxes and Snacks is packed with mouthwatering recipes that can boost your child's brainpower, increase energy, and strengthen the immune system. You'll find a wide range of delicious and easy lunch ideas, from Oriental Turkey Wraps, Individual Focaccia Pizzas, and Chicken Superfood Salad to Trail Mix Bars and Fruit on a Stick, that guarantee that your child will be the envy of the cafeteria.

In Lunch Boxes and Snacks you will

With Annabel's help, even the busiest parents can easily pack a healthy and tasty lunch that their child will look forward to eating.

Genres: Cookbooks, Nonfiction, Food, Cooking

128 pages, Hardcover

First published August 14, 2003

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I borrowed this book from the library because I've been getting bored with my current rotation of lunch recipes. It is fairly similar in content to another kids lunch cookbook I have, so I paged through more than read it.

This is a great cookbook for kids lunches. Based on the quantity of ingredients, I'm guessing that the number of portions is for child size portions. A double portion is probably more than sufficient for an adult. The author focuses on finding a happy medium between foods kids love, and food that is healthy for them. She also tries to keep menus nutritionally balanced for kids, specifically mentioning that her recipes take into account the fact that children need more calcium than adults do.
Keeping this in mind, if I were using these recipes for myself, I would consider swapping out reduced and lower fat dairy ingredients where appropriate.

The Bottom Line:
If I didn't already have similar cookbooks I would be looking to purchase a copy for myself, to use for my own lunches, any children I might happen to be cooking for.

[Lissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book with great lunch ideas - although I thought most of them were more awesome for me (and other adults) rather than kids, or least for my kids.

[Lucinda Cavileer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great for a beginning cook with a large variety of lunch suggestions. These recipes seem to not be as geared to lunchboxes or children to some degree. Some recipes are repetitive and there is an amazing use of canned corn in many of them. The baked goods section seemed to be the most promising, along with some of the ideas for sandwich fillings.

[Janis · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some really good, healthy recipes in this cookbook although some just don’t seem realistic for packing for school lunches. Some do, though, and there are some great cookie and muffin recipes, too.

[The other Sandy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't imagine children being interested in most of these recipes. I mean, I'm sure there's a child somewhere that likes mango chutney, but I have never personally met such a child. Maybe it's a regional thing?

Some of the recipes don't even make any sense, like the grilled sandwich that is instructed to be served hot. Unless you are the lunch lady at your child's school and are grilling it up at lunchtime, it's not going to be hot by the time the child eats it. Also, who would send a child off to school with BBQ anything? The child and pretty much everything within 4 feet of that child will be a sticky mess in minutes.

I'm not so sure about the "healthy" part either. Quite a few of the recipes use soy sauce or high sodium broths, and one of the fruit smoothie recipes calls for cream soda.

(And as a personal aside, ketchup is not the same thing as pizza sauce no matter what the recipe says. Do not use ketchup as a pizza sauce, please I am begging you.)

[raccoon reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh to be able to make lunches. I dream of somehow doing this small domestic task for me and my husband. Instead I cram soups and microwave meals into my work bag and he grabs fast food. But still, I dream.

This book has lots of great variations on the lunch box theme and much of it would definitely be well received by my husband. I think it's one of those books you might want to own though, and not just get from a library as you'd end up copying the whole blasted book. I picked (with great restraint) 4 recipes to copy and try. One day I promise I'll make more lunches!

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got this as more research for my bento box obsession. It didn't have nearly as many pictures as I wanted it to, nor did it need as many recipes for the things it did showcase. I guess a cute quick read overall, but I much preferred the layout/structure of the vegan lunch box book.

[Bookish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many of the recipes in this book require a lot of prep time, plus they require refrigeration for safety. Although the recipes appeal to me and I can see myself prepping and bringing these to work, I doubt they are feasible for most parents and their kids.

[Michele J · Rating 3 out of 5]

It had some interesting twists on old recipes.

[Gemma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some very good ideas in this book.