Some simple recipes for thinking beyond peanut butter and jelly when packing your child’s lunch.

Cracker stackers

Ingredients:

2 slices cheese

2 slices deli-sliced turkey or ham

¼ cup hummus

Whole-grain crackers

Assorted precut vegetables, such as green beans, pea pods, celery sticks and cherry tomatoes

Method:

Use small cookie cutters to cut interesting shapes out of the cheese and deli slices. Place each in small containers or bags. Place the hummus in a small container with a tight-fitting lid. Bag the crackers and vegetables separately.

Encourage your children to use the ingredients to assemble their own stacks of crackers, meat and cheese. They can spread the hummus on the crackers with the cheese and meat, or use it as a dip for the vegetables. Servings: 1

Recipe adapted from “FamilyFun Cooking with Kids,” by the editors of FamilyFun magazine

Sandwich spirals

Ingredients:

½ cup low-fat cream cheese at room temperature

Chopped fresh herbs (such as several chives, a sprig of dill or 3 to 4 basil leaves) or 1 tablespoon vinaigrette salad dressing

2 large whole-grain flour tortillas

1 cup loosely packed baby spinach leaves

1 tomato, thinly sliced or 2 tablespoons dried cranberries

Method:

In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese and the chopped fresh herbs or salad dressing. Mix well. Spread half of the cream cheese mixture evenly over each tortilla, making sure to spread it all the way to the edge. Scatter half of the spinach leaves over each tortilla, then top that with half of the tomato slices or dried cranberries.

Starting on one side, carefully roll each tortilla, using the cream cheese alone the edge to seal it into a tight wrap. Use a serrated knife to carefully cut each wrap into five or six pieces. Servings: 2

Recipe adapted from “FamilyFun Cooking with Kids,” by the editors of FamilyFun magazine