Brown bag specials

Five adaptable recipes for kids heading back to school — and parents, too

With the summer heat lingering, it’s time for the kids to leave the pools and head back into classrooms. Meanwhile, although many companies have delayed a return to the office, some workers are heading back to a physical workspace, at least part of the time, after months of video calls.

If you’re like us, you might be excited about seeing your co-workers again and anxious about managing the logistics of yet another big shift in your daily routine. But there’s one thing that doesn’t have to stress you out: packing tomorrow’s lunch.

Still, something about the process can zap the creativity right out of us. Instead of seizing the moment to create a nourishing, satisfying meal, we get stuck with the same old crutches: baby carrots and cheese sticks for

our son; some sort of drab, uninspired sandwich for the two of us.

So here’s a solution for the 2021 back-to-school, back-to-theoffice lunch conundrum: five delicious lunch ideas that work for everyone. They’re kid-friendly and adult-friendly, fun ideas that will have you counting down the hours until you get to open that lunch bag in the fridge. And they work just as well if that fridge is in your home kitchen rather than an office.

Each lunch idea starts with the baseline: a simple, paredback option designed to make eating fun for children. Then, it uses similar ingredients and flavors to transform it into a lunch that no-nonsense adults will love, too.

For example: What kid doesn’t love eating pasta … on a stick? Thread colorful veggies and tortelloni onto kebabs for children. The same ingredients transform into an elegant, zingy pasta salad you can take to work for a few days. (We promise your co-workers will be jealous.)

Another idea? Getting kids to eat their vegetables in the cafeteria can be near impossible. But everyone loves a nugget! Our baked falafel nuggets are packed with flavor and veggies (and gobbled up by our 4-year-old). For more adventurous eaters, let them in on the secret that the nuggets are amazing on top of a main-course salad with a makeshift hummus-based dressing.

Of course, all the concepts actually work for everyone. Who says adults don’t want pasta kebabs and dipping nuggets, too? Mix and match these ideas to fit all the eaters in your house and keep you eager for lunchtime for weeks to come.

Each recipe works in an insulated lunch bag with no refrigeration needed, and there are options for quick assembly or make ahead and freeze.

Use these ideas to break up the monotony of the brown-bag boredom. And hey: Maybe you’ll have a little fun with it, too.

Photos by Tom McCorkle / For the Washington Post Baked Falafel are actually crisp, veggie-packed “nuggets” — super-dippable for children and are just as irresistible for grown-ups. This recipe and more, page D7

Mediterranean Pinwheels are great finger food. Other nutritious kids’ snacks, page D8

Photos by Tom McCorkle / For the Washington Post Fun, kid- and adult-friendly meals work whether one opens a lunch bag at work, school or the home office.