Lunches in Lockdown: Tips for Feeding Hungry Kids

(Bloomberg Businessweek) -- Working from home is tough, even when you don’t have to be a short-order cook for hungry kids seeking constant sustenance—or bingeing on Cheetos and Pringles. There’s only so much time you can spend on meal prep while holding down a job, home-schooling, and dealing with fussy palates. Here are a few tips for those seeking to alleviate food-related stress for their children and themselves.

Get kids to help

Go into self-service mode, leaving out healthy snacks such as celery, cucumbers, carrots, or peppers and providing ingredients for dips; if kids make their own hummus, they’ll probably be more willing to eat it, says Sally Sampson, founder of ChopChop, a food magazine for kids. “Teach kids to cook, and that will empower them, but it will also give them tools for the future,” Sampson says.

Think ahead

Sampson suggests having the kids check the fridge to see what’s there, then plan lunches and dinners for the week. And find ways to repurpose your leftovers, says Bettina Elias Siegal, author of Kid Food. Grilled veggies can be puréed into a soup. If you have rotisserie chicken, add some cheese and chopped greens and make quesadillas.

Lower your expectations

“If you can afford it, there’s no shame in buying precooked items,” Siegal says. “Anything you can do to ease the burden.”

Be strategic and freeze

Double or triple recipes so you have leftovers for lunch or to stash in the freezer for next week, says Sally Kuzemchak, a registered dietitian who runs RealMomNutrition.com.

Work for dessert

It’s tempting to use sweet treats as a reward, but be careful, says Gary Bennett, director of Duke University’s Global Digital Health Science Center, who’s home with his wife, two school-age girls, and his mother. He offers fresh fruit for dessert, with a twist: He gives the kids a mason jar with heavy cream, vanilla, and sugar that they shake to make whipped cream.

Forge alliances

James Moore, a baker in Cambridge, Mass., is offering friends of his 9-year-old son baking lessons via Zoom. The parents banded together to buy a quarter-ton of flour and 20 pounds of yeast, and the kids have made cinnamon rolls, bread, muffins, and fruit galettes. The teenage sons of Karina Brown, who works in public relations at Ohio State University, face off against friends in a videoconference competition modeled after the TV show Chopped. Parents agree on the four ingredients ahead of time, then the families gather on Zoom. “The kids each describe their meal, and we enjoy dinner together,” Brown says.

Hold your ground

Full disclosure: This story grew out of my own exhaustion. My experience with my 9- and 11-year-olds has made me understand the burden of doing everything yourself—and how difficult it is to say no. If you’ve got recipes or tips to share, please send them to jlorin@bloomberg.net. And one last thing: Make sure the kids help with cleanup!

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.