Packing an allergy free, delicious, and appealing lunch is more of a pain than I anticipated! It’s especially difficult when you only have a few foods to work with. Then narrow that down by things that pack and keep well and can be eaten quickly. Variety pretty much doesn’t really exist at that point.
Salad is the best, most filling lunch item for Maya right now so I’ve been attempting to craft lovely, extremely simple, tasty salads. Um, that’s more difficult that it looks!
Issue One: Packaging the salad dressing.
I have yet to find a good container made for something about that size that won’t leak. We tried a few different things before we got to the point you see today.
- A shot glass double-wrapped in saran wrap sealed with a rubber band. Oddly enough, this worked best but I didn’t really feel comfortable sending my elementary student to school with a shot glass….
- I tried a one cup Ziploc container which worked…sort of. The only real problem that it was ginormous for a tablespoon or two of dressing. It coated the inside of the container and didn’t give up much dressing.
- Cabbage. Yep, that wonderful, fantastic, crunchy, slightly sweet, coleslaw sauce wielding hearty green.
Cabbage is the answer to our current salad dressing problem! It works beautifully because it holds up to having the salad dressing mixed into it all morning and stays lovely and crunchy. It also tastes good which is always a bonus. Maya adores it so it’s a total win!
Issue Two: Keeping lunchbox contents cool
This was actually relatively simple after walking through the entirety of a Wal-Mart super center searching for something, anything to fit in the lunch box and not take up too much room.
I kid you not, that’s the name of these glorious gadgets and I love them. All you have to do is tuck them in the sides of the lunch box and viola, a perfectly cooled lunch 
You can find them in the Hunting/Camping area of Wal-Mart for $1 a piece, at least that’s where I got these. Both Maya and Jesse have a set.
I think that we’ve finally found lunchbox success thus the salad you see today. Doesn’t it look delicious? So fresh and so green, I love it!
If you’d like to make one for yourself all you need is:
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cabbage (green and red here)
- 1 1/2 inches cucumber, sliced and prettied
- salad dressing of your choice (Maya chose EVOO, salt, and pepper)
- a sprig or two of cilantro torn or chopped into pieces (feel free to sub an herb or herbs to your liking)
At this point Maya’s lunches consist of two E028 Splashes, one salad, and a cup of cantaloupe either cubed or balled. Cantaloupe is the cheapest, best keeping fruit she has right now. I tried freezing cubed cantaloupe last night and stuck some in her lunch container today so I’ll have to report back to you as to whether or not it worked.
So tell me, how are school lunches going in your households? What do you pack? Inquiring minds desperately want….cough….need to know 
Tupperware’s midgets work great for dressings. Don’t know if they are bpa free, but I love them. And cheap!
Thanks! Will take a look
My daughter is allergic to dairy, eggs, nuts, peanuts, and wheat. As you can imagine, lunches have been a challenge over the years! I finally found the Laptop Lunch, which has inspired me to come up with colorful, healthy options and has resulted in the use of a LOT less disposable bags! Here is a post on my blog about the lunches: http://www.consciouseatery.com/2012/08/whats-for-lunch.html
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That does look yummy! I like the addition of the herbs, especially. Love basil on our salads! I found some containers by ziploc that are made for salads and have a little cup that screws into the bottom of the lid. If she ever gets tired of cabbage, you could check into those–I just got mine at Kroger. Glad things seem to be going well for Maya!
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I am fan no matter what, but thank you so much for your participation in today’s Living with Food Allergies Blog Carnival!
http://www.gratefulfoodie.com/living-with-food-allergies-blog-carnival/
I’m still cracking up over the shot glass. I would have done the same thing!
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We have been using OXO Good Grips Mini-Lock Top Containers this year. I got them in a 4-pack at Bed Bath and Beyond for $9.99. They are awesome! Two of them are tiny and the other two are a little bigger. They have a fun lock top that is easy for my kids (age 4 and 6) to snap on and off. They are air tight and leak-proof, BPA-free. And my kids think they are so cute and fun…it helps them to be excited about what’s IN their lunch, rather than focusing on what’s NOT in their lunch, if you know what I mean. I also rely heavily on my food thermos. It keeps things hot up to 5 hours and cold up to 7. It opens up tons of new possibilities for more exciting lunch foods and recipes. Good luck!!
For salad dressing look on amazon or on a bento building website for bento sauce bottles. They only hold about an ounce but have a top so they dont spill. You can also buy one ounce portion cups and lids like restaurants have. You can buy online in smaller quantities or at sams for a large box. They are disposable an much easier to fill. GOOD LUCK!
Thanks! I’ll definitely check that out
A lovely salad! It sounds like your packaging woes are all figured out, and this might not work for elementary school, but I have a colleague who swears by “Salad in a Jar”: http://www.thekitchn.com/salad-in-a-jar-make-a-week-of-lunches-173014. Dressing at the bottom, covered by something dressing-protective (like cabbage), then any other ingredients, shake and eat! Maybe there’s a tall plastic container that you could use to (forgive me) shake things up. Good luck!
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What a fantastic idea! Thank you
You are forgiven 
lol. I’ll be on the lookout for good plastic jars/jar-like containers.