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Summer vacation time is vanishing, and with loosened COVID restrictions, more and more of us are returning to the office, even if it’s only part time. While it means the joys of reconnecting, in-person, with co-workers, it also means a return to packed lunches and the seemingly inevitable doldrum of the same sandwich day after day, for both you and the kids.
One person that gets inspired by lunch time is culinarian Aviva Wittenberg. According to Wittenberg “lunch is genuinely my favourite meal of the day! I have toyed with the idea of writing a book for several years to consolidate what I have learned and shared in my lunch packing chronicle on social media. Lunch packing can be a grind and while I have some gorgeous books with recipes geared to little kids, I haven’t been able to find a great guide geared to everyone else (but also with some great options for kids!).”
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Her recently released Lunch Box (Random House, Penguin) has been designed to provide ideas for those struggling to be creative with the packed lunch routine. Even as an avid cook, I find it difficult to produce creative food ideas to keep my kids’ lunches interesting and ensure they are eaten. On keeping the packed lunch routine from becoming mundane, Wittenberg says “so many parents – including me – can relate to this. I think what unites all parents is that we want to set our kids up for success and a productive afternoon of learning and socializing and a good lunch is a critical part of that equation. What also unites us is the realization that some aspects of parenthood are not ever going to be glamourous, and lunch packing is one of them! What I can promise you is that Lunchbox will introduce you to a wide variety of delicious recipes and ideas to shake up your usual lunch box rotation."
A key strategy she employs is to sit her kids down and get them to look at lunch packing cookbooks. They use Post-it notes to tag the pictures – and eventually recipes when they become proficient readers – that seem delicious to them. That’s her lunch packing playbook.
While the notion of keeping lunch items fresh, interesting, and healthy appeals to most us, we are also dealing with the rising cost of food. It means packed lunches are no longer just for the kids, as more and more adults are reducing the number of times they eat at restaurants. Wittenberg has witnessed the trend firsthand: She says “we have a cooking Slack channel where people share all the wonderful things, they have cooked, including their lunches. Overwhelmingly, people who are back in the office have been sharing pictures of gorgeous salads and other lovely and healthy-looking food.”
Lunchbox has a great mix of healthy but satisfying soups, salads, sandwiches, and bowls that feature a rainbow of vegetables. Each recipe is photographed with accompanying components to highlight building a full and balanced lunch. For example, Wittenberg’s goat cheese, peach and basil panini is packed with a quick and easy bonus slaw recipe.
Directions: Preheat your panini pan on medium-high heat. While the pan is warming up, thinly slice the peaches. Spread the goat cheese on two slices of the bread and top with the peach slices.
If using fresh basil, give it a rough chop and divide it between the two sandwiches. If using pesto, spread it on the other two slices of bread and place atop the peaches and goat cheese.
Transfer the sandwiches to the panini pan and grill for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until the cheese has softened and there are nice caramel-brown grill marks on the bread. Remove from the pan and allow to cool before slicing and packing. The sandwiches can be popped into a toaster oven to be revived when needed or served at room temperature.
Wittenberg recommends packing this with a kohlrabi slaw. To make kohlrabi slaw, peel and grate 1 or 2 bulbs of kohlrabi using the coarsest side of a box grater until you have 2 cups. Toss with the juice of ½ lime, 1 thinly sliced green onion (green parts only), 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, and a big pinch of salt. Add a sprinkle of roasted sesame seeds on top for added flavours.
Directions: Make the tortillas one at a time. In a medium non-stick pan set over medium heat, melt half of the butter. Add half of the beaten eggs and immediately top with a tortilla, pressing it down gently so that some of the egg flows up and over the top side of the tortillas. Cook for 1 minute and then to with half of the spinach and cheese. Cover the pan and cook for 2 more minutes, until the greens have wilted and the cheese has melted. Next, either fold the eggy tortilla up in pan, the way you would an omelet, and pack for lunch as is, or slide it out onto the cutting board and allow it to cool for a few minutes. Repeat the process for the second tortillas. Once cool, roll up the tortillas, and slice into pieces as needed to fit in your lunchbox.
Wittenberg recommends packing the tortilla with your favourite condiments such as salsa, hot sauce, or ketchup and adding a side of roasted potato
Make a weekly lunch plan so that you aren’t scrambling in the morning to figure out what to pack
I was very mindful of the morning rush when putting together Lunchbox and have included “get ahead” tips for virtually every recipe to allow you to either make something like a soup or stew in its entirety and freeze it in advance or to make components of a recipe so that you can just quickly assemble a salad or sandwich as you are stepping out the door.
Packing lunch in the morning may not be realistic if you have an early start so pack lunch the night ahead and even better, pack lunch while you make dinner so that you only have to clean up once!
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