Welcome to vegcurious – the blog for people who are curious about plant-based eating.
As a newcomer to plant-based eating, or someone who is just vegcurious, you may not have children around who eat a plant-based diet...but maybe you have a friend, or a relative who could use these helpful tips when sending their kids off to school. Even if plant-based kids aren't in your orbit, there are lots of great ideas for work lunches and links to delicious and easy recipes from my favourite plant-based cookbook author, Ally Lazare.
Hi, I’m Ally, and I’m guest-blogging here today …thanks for reading along!
I’ve been a vegan chef, cookbook author, blogger, and mom of two school-aged vegan kids for over a decade. We adopted a plant-based diet when my eldest daughter was a toddler, and since then, I’ve been sharing family-friendly plant-based recipes, tips, and tricks online and in my cookbooks.
I often get asked about what it’s like raising plant-based kids and how I navigate feeding them outside our home – especially around this time of year when school starts. In fact, one of the most-asked questions I get is, “What do you send them for lunch?”
And it’s a fair question because no one loves packing school lunches. Between finding foods your kids actually like and will eat (this week, anyway), balancing “healthy choices” with “treats,” and avoiding foods restricted by your school or school board - our school board has a strict “no nuts or nut products” policy, navigating the parenting hell that is school lunch is enough to drive even the most seasoned cook crazy.
"After a decade of packing school lunches and managing classroom birthday parties, I’m here to share a few tips and reassure you that it can be done!"
Now try juggling all that AND being plant-based - or the parent of a kid with non-nut food allergies. I fall into both categories, and after a decade of packing school lunches and managing classroom birthday parties, I’m here to share a few tips and reassure you that it can be done – it just takes a little more planning.
Wow! That's plant-based?
I like to joke that I’ve been plant-based long enough to say, “Back when I first went plant-based…” in response to anyone who claims eating a plant-based diet is hard. I actually do remember when it WAS hard, back in the days before Beyond burgers, Impossible chick’n nuggets, and good cheese options. I remember when Daiya was the “new kid on the block” and hard to find in mainstream grocery stores.
And in those early days, figuring out what to send my kid for lunch required Olympic-level mental gymnastics. But now, creating lunches that look and taste like their omnivore friends’ counterparts is actually easier than you think because plant-based eating has become so mainstream, and so many food manufacturers have jumped on that bandwagon. That means a whole slew of options for your kid’s lunchbox, like these easy homemade vegan pizza pockets, Jamaican-style “beef” patties, or nut-free chocolate cherry granola bars.
Managing picky eaters
Of course, options only work if your kid is willing to eat them. One of mine would rather starve than eat a sandwich unless it’s peanut butter, but those are off-limits at school. So for about six weeks straight, she ate crackers, vegan cheese, and deli-style tofu slices daily.
Growing up, my mother always complained that I was a “fussy eater.” In hindsight, though, and through watching my own kids develop relationships with food, I don’t think I was fussy but just fearful. It’s a big world out there when you’re little. And new things can be scary. Especially food.
So, my rule has always been to pack familiar lunches - things I know they love, or will tolerate, and save the “new” or non-favorite items (ahem, cooked vegetables) for dinnertime. Because it’s hard to learn when you’re hungry, if cheese and crackers are all they’ll eat – so be it.
“What will my child eat so that they are fueled enough to focus on their day?”
Our favourite plant-based school lunches
I’ll be the first to admit it’s easy to fall into “auto-pilot” and make the same lunches repeatedly (lookin’ at you, tofu, cheese, and crackers), but when I do get creative, or a child finally gets bored of the same meal for six weeks in a row, these are some of our favorite lunchtime meals, click on the highlighted ones for easy recipes:
Pizza rolls or Pizza Pockets
Chick’n Nuggets with Dip
Plant-based deli slices and cheese sandwiches or wraps
Falafel and cut veggies with hummus
Mac and “cheese” or spaghetti - warmed up in the morning and stored in a thermos
Build-your-own tacos - this is an excellent lunch for the day after “Tuesday Taco" night
Again, I look at this from the perspective of “What will my child eat so that they are fueled enough to focus on their day?” I include plenty of fresh fruit and raw veggies in their snacks - cucumber slices, cherry tomatoes, and sliced peppers are favorites in our home, along with a couple of small treats and main dishes they will enjoy.
Food at school
Any parent with plant-based/vegetarian kids or kids with food allergies knows that lunches are only half the battle when it comes to food at school.
Our school offers paid lunch options a couple of days a week and treat days. And, of course, it’s someone’s birthday every other minute, which means classroom treats. These are my strategies for managing them:
School lunch programs
When my eldest daughter started school, I joined the PTA to help influence food-based events and make them more inclusive. For example, our school does pizza lunch once a week, and we use a pizza provider that offers dairy-free cheese options. I asked the parent council and the school administration to do a parent poll to find out how many kids in the school were plant-based, lactose-intolerant or allergic to dairy, and whether they would participate in a pizza lunch program if a dairy-free option were available.
Our parent council also ensures a vegetarian option for any other hot or paid lunch program. Pita Pit Fridays is a thing at our school, which is perfect because falafel and veggies work great in pita!
Even if you don’t have the time, or patience, to sit on your school’s parent council, advocating for plant-based lunch options is as easy as talking to your school administrators and the parent council chair. I’ve been a member of our school’s council for over a decade, and we appreciate all parental input.
"Advocating for plant-based lunch options is as easy as talking to your school administrators and the parent council chair."
Classroom parties
This one caught me off-guard when my first child started kindergarten. Up until that point, most birthday parties were family events or close friends who understood her dairy allergy and our plant-based lifestyle. So I never had to think about my child being left out of birthday party treats.
Fortunately for us, her teacher that year had a slew of food allergies, including dairy and eggs, so she always had a stash of plant-based treats in her class and came to the rescue the first time a parent dropped in with cupcakes for their kid’s birthday. She would also email parents when she knew about treats being sent in so we could plan accordingly.
Now, when September rolls around every year, I do the following:
1. Contact my child’s teacher and inform them about her allergy and our dietary preferences.
2. Provide the teacher with a stash of “safe” treats for unexpected classroom celebrations.
3. Keep a few safe treats in my freezer that I can send for planned classroom events.
It’s August, and as the summer winds down and you start navigating the back-to-school emails, shopping lists, and endless “where-did-we-put-your-backpack-no-I’m-not-buying-you-more-markers-what-do-you-mean-you-left-your-indoor-shoes-at-school” conversations, take comfort in the fact that at least now you’ve got school lunches covered.
Ally Lazare is a Toronto-based writer, recipe developer, carb enthusiast, and mom of two plant-based kids who are her reason for living (and the reason she loves coffee and wine.) She is the author of six plant-based cookbooks and a regular recipe contributor to Global Vegan Magazine, Centennial Media Special Interest Publications, HuffPost Food, and other online outlets. Find Ally online and on Instagram.
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I hope this blog has helped you find your way to plant-based eating. Remember…the goal is not to be perfect. Do the best you can and enjoy the journey! Sign up for the vegcurious monthly blog at vegcurious.ca
Note: It is strongly recommended that you consult with your primary care physician before making any changes to your diet. This blog is for educational purposes only and is not intended to recommend or endorse any particular product, diet or eating plan.
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