Lunchbox Love-Unwrap Some Fruit

This is for LifeAsMOM’s weekly recipe swap. Check out her post for links to other ideas for Lunchbox Love. This is hardly a recipe, but this special wrapped treat is how I say “I love you” to my guys when we spend the day apart.

A few months ago I posted about the boys lunches and how the stuff in their lunch box doesn’t look the same as the stuff in their friend’s lunch boxes. When we’re at home away from juice boxes, pretzels and fruit snacks they eat their whole wheat PBJ, raw veggies, yogurt bowls or cottage cheese n fruit with relish. But when they’re at school, their peer’s colorful packages containing salty or sweet snacks leave them wanting something different than my menu. I took a hint from Dave Grotto, author of 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life and decided to include Sunsweet Ones, individually wrapped prunes in their lunches. For those of you visiting from LifeasMom, stay tuned to Food with Kid Appeal in the upcoming weeks for a review of 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life and a chance to win a free copy!

When I opened the package today, Big Boo looked in and said, “Ooh what are those yummy candy in a wrapper?” and after eating one, “yum, so sweet, just like candy.” The human brain is somehow wired to infer tastiness and treat with individually wrapped items. It’s more likely that advertising and packaging budgets for food manufacturers are to blame for this association, but in this case it works in our favor.

Sunsweet Ones are just dried plums and one other additive as a preservative. It’s hard to find anything in a box, wrapper or package with just two items on the ingredient list. Eating one small prune gives the same fiber you’d get from eating a whole plum. And since they are a fruit they are loaded with antioxidants. When fruit is dried the natural sugars concentrate and the flesh of the fruit gets chewy. You end up with a mouthful of sweetness you wouldn’t expect from a piece of fruit.

For other healthy lunch box ideas see this post.

I know, the picture in this post is completely unrelated. One night big boo wanted to help get dinner on the table so I set him to task with pouring milk. This is how he worked that task! It was too precious a moment not to get captured. Plus, it's a better shot than the one of the individually wrapped prune, ha! The other morning he made my bed and his. Not sure where he got that idea because (shame shame) I am not a daily bed maker. You should have seen his bed. Comforter pulled up neat. All his lovies with their head on his pillow. Symmetry with two dinos on each side of the pillow. I love that kid!

What do you put in your loved one's lunch box to show your love?