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Family Kitchen
5 Tree-Nut and Peanut-Free Lunches for School
A new year at school was on the horizon, and as I stood behind the dad with the two twin boys at kindergarten orientation, I couldn’t help but overhear him telling the nurse as he checked in, “One of them has a peanut allergy, and the other has a tree nut allergy.” Used to the avoidance of these already (my 5th grader has both allergies in her class as well), I made a mental note so that I’d be sure to send only safe foods to school with my son, knowing that eventually we’d be asked not to send either soon enough.
If you find out your child’s school is peanut or tree nut free you may panic, especially if your child is an avid peanut butter and jelly sandwich eater. In fact, you may ask yourself, “What could I possibly send for lunch now?” Fear not, however, because there are several lunch options out there that have neither peanuts nor tree nuts. Keep reading for five of my allergy-friendly lunches.
1. Rainbow Lunch | Kids love brightly colored finger foods, and I’m inclined to provide them. Fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables are great starts. Rice, hummus and other dips to dip them in keeps them interested and eating.
2. Pizza Rolls | All you need are: a flour tortilla, deli-style pepperoni, thinly sliced or shredded cheddar. Roll and slice, securing with toothpicks. Pair it with a fruit salad for the perfect lunch.
3. Avocado and Cucumber Sandwich | This unassuming sandwich is fun when cut into small shapes. You can also use cookie cutters for more variety. Just two pieces of wheat bread sprinkled with salt and pepper layered with thin avocado slices that have been squeezed with lime juice and then topped with a layer of cucumbers. Crunchy, creamy, delightful.
4. Leftovers | My insulated containers are my best friends. My kids love unpacking a hot soup or warm fried rice for lunch. Pastas, soups and cold foods like massive green salads and quinoa fruit salads all go in there. They stretch the school lunch possibilities so much farther than I could ever imagine.
5. Lunchables | No, not the packaged variety. I’m talking good old crackers and cheese with tiny cut-up meats. Wheat Thins are a great choice for crackers as they have no nut warnings on them. Kids love to stack and build and munch and crunch on these tasty treats.
What are some of your go-to school lunches?
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11 Comments
[...] we’re just tossing in our peach freezer smoothies that we made earlier. I recently shared 5 tree-nut and peanut-free lunches over on Babble that you can send with your kids to school, and I’ve been showing a sampling [...]
School Lunch Ideas: Peach Freezer Smoothies | Food for My Family commented on Oct 06 10 at 3:06 pm[...] 5 Tree-Nut and Peanut-Free School Lunches [...]
How to Freeze and Reheat Pancakes and Waffles | Good Life Eats commented on Aug 10 11 at 8:31 amLiz@HoosierHomemade commented on Sep 29 10 at 9:32 pmWhat great ideas Shaina! My boys don’t have allergies to food, but I know lots of Moms deal with it all the time.
~Liz
Megan commented on Sep 30 10 at 9:46 amI work in the school cafeteria and see kids with these allergies all the time. These are wonderful lunch ideas!
Kris commented on Sep 30 10 at 8:55 pmJust picked up some Wheat Thins because my girls need variety in their lunches. They love crackers with meat and cheese. Pair that with some fruit and they are happy little girls.
Melissa S. commented on Oct 01 10 at 12:49 pmWhat kind of insulated containers do you use, Shaina? Thanks.
Eloise commented on Oct 02 10 at 8:12 pmAs a mom of a peanut allergy kid, I SO appreciate this post. These are great ideas and I’m going to try every one of them on my supremely picky girl.
Libby commented on Oct 03 10 at 7:39 pmWell, since you were nice enough to ask, here’s the lunch page from my blog :-)
Katie commented on Oct 04 10 at 5:50 pmGreat ideas, here are some more…http://www.azfamily.com/on-tv/your-life/Peanut-free-lunch-box-ideas-102177484.html
Tammy commented on Aug 03 11 at 9:35 amWhere do you get those lunch boxes??
Shannon commented on Apr 22 12 at 11:04 pmI love this post as I am a mom of a peanut/ tree nut allergy kiddo. I just found quinoa, but the warnins include “processed on a machine that processes tree nuts and peanuts.
Which brand did you use and where did you get it?Thanks!
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