Sans Gluten

PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICH, BABY CARROTS W/ RANCH, CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES, & FRUIT

Wow! Can you believe it? Summer break came and went. Some kids are already back to school, while others are trying to squeeze in the last bit of summer fun before they hit the books.

Parents, on the other hand, like me, may be a little glad that their kids are going back to school and not eating them out of house and home. Speaking of food, most schools offer gluten free lunch options, which I didn’t know at first when TiTi changed school systems. So I would pack her lunch. More specifically, I would prepare gluten free bento box lunches for her. Not only are they aesthetically pleasing to the eye, but they also keep food fresh, help with portion control, and it’s easy to put together (no foil or plastic wrappers needed).

I always tried to incorporate a protein, a carb, fruits and vegetables in TiTi’s bento lunch box. Here are a couple of examples of gluten free bento lunch boxes I created for TiTi when she was younger.

This was one of TiTi’s favorites. She absolutely loved peanut butter and who doesn’t love gluten free bread? I will say if you have a peanut allergy, use sunflower butter or just omit it altogether. TiTi was also in a carrot and ranch phase at the time. So I always made sure to throw that in the mix. Although she doesn’t like most sweets, one thing she could never resist is chocolate chip cookies. Of course I always made sure I added fruit. TiTi prefers fresh fruit like grapes, blueberries, strawberries, etc, but every once in a while I would throw in a fruit cup like the mango one shown in the picture.

Here’s how to construct this gluten free lunch idea.

• Gluten Free Bread

• Peanut Butter (or sunflower butter for peanut allergy)

• Baby carrots

• Ranch Dressing

• Gluten free chocolate chip cookies

• Fresh fruit or fruit cup

HAM & CHEESE ROLL-UPS, TORTILLA CHIPS, SALSA & GREEN GRAPES This bento box lunch idea was actually something I threw together real quick that morning. Usually I prepped her lunch the night before, but there were some nights I worked late and just went straight to bed as soon as I got home. But TiTi didn’t mind because all of her favorite things were all in one box.

Here’s how to construct this gluten free lunch idea.

• Low sodium deli honey ham

• Organic colby jack cheese slices

• Certified gluten free corn chips

• Organic black bean and corn salsa

• Green grapes

Honestly, you can’t go wrong with gluten free bento boxes. Just use gluten free ingredients of course, make sure it’s something your child likes, and keep it healthy with a special treat.