Healthy Lunch Box Ideas From Ziploc and Taste of Home

Parents and kids alike can use these fun, fresh and easy ideas to create edible characters and yummy eats. With recipes like the “Pepper Dip Man” and “Pizza Bears,” bringing playtime to the lunch table has never been easier!

butterfly sandwiches
YIELD: 4 servings.
I never have any trouble getting my grandchildren to eat lunch
when these cute sandwiches
are on the menu. You can use chives or little pieces of celery for the
antennae.
—MAGGIE LANKSBURY, SEATTLE,WASHINGTON
1/2 pound boneless skinless
chicken breasts
1 green onion, chopped
2 tablespoons shredded carrot
2 tablespoons shredded
cheddar cheese
4-1/2 teaspoons ranch salad
dressing mix
1/3 cup reduced-fat
mayonnaise
8 slices white bread
8 fresh baby carrots
16 fresh chives (about
2 to 4 inches long)
16 carrot strips (about
1-1/2 inches long)
Sliced pimiento-stuffed olives

•Place chicken in a large skillet; add enough water
to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and
simmer for 12-14 minutes or until chicken is tender
and juices run clear. Drain and cool.
• Shred chicken; place in a bowl. Add onions, carrot
and cheese. Combine the salad dressing mix and
mayonnaise; add to the chicken mixture.
• Spread over half of the bread slices; top with
remaining bread. Diagonally cut each sandwich in
quarters, creating four triangles. To form wings,
arrange two triangles with points toward each
other and crust facing out. For each butterfly
body, place one baby carrot between triangles; insert
two chives into filling for antennae. Place one
carrot strip in the center of each triangle. Place
olive slices on wings.

NUTRITION FACTS: 1 sandwich equals 303 calories, 11 g fat (2 g
saturated fat), 42 mg cholesterol, 1,276 mg sodium, 35 g carbohydrate,
2 g fiber, 16 g protein.
Tips:
Send the parts of this sandwich to school with your child in Ziploc®
Brand Sandwich Bags so he or she can assemble the butterfly to the
amazement of the other kids at the lunch table.

If you prefer, these sandwiches could be assembled using your favorite
tuna salad instead of the chicken salad in this recipe.
*recipes and photos courtesy of Taste of Home

pizza biscuit bears

YIELD: 6 servings.
These cute little bears, which get their
personality from pizza toppings, are absolutely
delicious.—TASTE OF HOME TEST KITCHEN

1 tube (16.3 ounces) large
refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
12 slices pepperoni
12 slices ripe olives
1 tablespoon chopped green
pepper
1 jar (2 ounces) sliced pimientos,
drained
2 tablespoons shredded part-skim
mozzarella cheese
1 can (8 ounces) pizza sauce,
optional

• Separate biscuits; place six biscuits 3 in.
apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Cut
each remaining biscuit into six pieces; roll
each into balls. Attach two balls to each
whole biscuit for ears; pinch dough to seal.
• Decorate each bear with a pepperoni slice
on each ear, olive slices for eyes, green
pepper for nose, two pimiento strips for
mouth and mozzarella cheese for furry
forelock. Bake at 375° for 15-20 minutes or
until golden brown. Serve with pizza sauce,
if desired.

NUTRITION FACTS: 1 bear equals 288 calories, 13 g fat
(4 g saturated fat), 5 mg cholesterol, 976 mg sodium, 35 g
carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 7 g protein.
*recipes and photos courtesy of Taste of Home

pepper dipman

YIELD: 3 servings (1 cup dip).
Spicy and slightly tangy, this special dip gets its kick
from hot pepper sauce and salsa. It’s a
nice consistency to serve in a hollowed out
half green pepper, like this cute
Pepper Dip Man.
—TASTE OF HOME TEST KITCHEN
3 small green peppers
1 small sweet red pepper
4 ounces reduced-fat cream
cheese
1/3 cup chunky salsa, drained
2 teaspoons sweet pickle
relish, drained
1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
2 tablespoons chopped
celery
2 tablespoons thinly sliced
green onion
3 pitted ripe olives
9 fresh baby carrots, cut
lengthwise into three
pieces

• Cut each green pepper in half; remove seeds.
Chop green pepper tops; set aside 2 tablespoons
for dip. Cut top off red pepper and remove seeds.
Cut out threemouths and chop 2 tablespoons red
pepper; set aside.
• In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, salsa,
pickle relish and pepper sauce until blended. Stir
in the celery, onion and reserved chopped peppers.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Make cuts for mouths and eyes. Insert olives for
eyes and reserved red pepper mouths. Place each
pepper in a Ziploc® Brand Twist ‘n Loc® Container.
Fill each with 1/3 cup dip. Insert reserved carrot
sticks into dip for hair.

NUTRITION FACTS: 1 serving equals 138 calories, 9 g fat (5 g saturated
fat), 27 mg cholesterol, 357 mg sodium, 11 g carbohydrate,
2 g fiber, 5 g protein.
*recipes and photos courtesy of Taste of Home