(Mostly the) Same Ingredients, Different Lunches

As you can imagine, sometimes it can be difficult feeding a kid with food allergies. Especially when nobody else in the family has those same restrictions. Sometimes - frequently, actually - I have to make an entirely separate meal just for him, and follow stringent rules for cleaning and food handling to make sure no cross contamination occurs. It can be a lot of work! But other times, it is pretty easy to make a meal for Beaker that is similar to what the rest are eating, just by leaving out an ingredient or substituting something else.

Like these lunches! The lunch for Beaker and the lunches for Princess and Bean are pretty much the same. They contain mostly the same ingredients, with just a few minor changes for preference and allergies. To make all three lunches took roughly fifteen minutes total, so not much extra work at all.

For Beaker, a pair of ham rolls secured with a skewer are a great alternative to a sandwich. He also has gluten-free pretzel rings, strawberries from our garden, sliced cucumber and carrots, and some grapes and watermelon.

Cutting watermelon hearts is an easy way to make lunch special. Just slice the watermelon and use a mini cookie cutter to pop out shapes ~ it's that easy! You have to cut it to put in the lunch anyway ~ the extra step takes pretty much no extra time.

The pretzel rings are one of his favorite snacks. They are made by EnerG, and they are gluten-free, soy-free, vegan pretzels. They taste pretty good, actually, and Beaker loves them.

For Bean and Princess, ham-and-jam sandwiches (ew, but they love it) are cut with a CuteZCute sandwich cutter for a sweet little extra special effect.

They also have pretzel sicks, strawberry slices, cucumber and carrots, just like Beaker. Princess added a couple of grape tomatoes from the garden, and Bean has a handful of raspberries she picked in the morning from our berry bush.

Tasty, well balanced lunches don't have to be difficult or time consuming, even when dealing with allergies. With just a little effort and thought, they can be pretty easy!

Affiliate links to products used: