It’s that time of year again! Kids are both dreading and looking forward to heading back to school. Parents are also looking forward to sending their kids off but dreading having to pack lunches. Last fall I posted the One Less Challenge and this year I am throwing down the gauntlet again.

I took my own advice to heart last year and managed to cut down on the few store bought processed foods I was packing. These are some of the things we swapped out:

• Cold cuts: our kid wasn’t a big sandwich eater but when I packed them, I would often include deli meats. This year I was almost able to eliminate them and replaced them with other protein such as smoked firm tofu, homemade karaage (breaded chicken), salmon salad, leftover roast or grilled meat and homemade meatballs.

• Crackers: I got tired of paying big bucks for whole grain crackers that contained ingredients that were entirely unnecessary and that would be eaten within a few days, so I started making them. Cheap, healthy and delicious.

• Yogurt cups: We’ve never really bought them as I find pre-flavoured yogurt way too sweet and it contains more artificial stuff than I want. When the Kid went to summer camps, we’d fill up his chilled food thermos with frozen berries and plain yogurt sweetened with a touch of honey. By snack time and with enough jostling, he had a delicious frozen yogurt treat.

Ready for the challenge? Can you pack one less processed food in your kids’ lunches every week? Sure you can!

Happy back to school!