Lunchables...not a healthy alternative.

It's back to school time and having my toddler go for the first time for preschool, so I do vow to make yummy, thought-out lunches...at least this is my gung ho attitude at the beginning of the year when everything is still so new. Most parents start of great and then the time crunch happen and they go for - the easy to pack - lunchables?

According to Business Week, prepackaged lunches are a $750 million-a-year industry, and the category is dominated by Kraft's Oscar Mayer Lunchables, whose 44 varieties (at last count) command 85 percent of the "lunch kit" market. Despite some efforts to make them healthier, most of these meals are loaded with high fat, sodium, and harmful additives. In searching for alternatives - the choices are practically none.

Some local options exist: Fresh Direct delivers tasty-looking all-natural lunchboxes to its customers in New York City and some California branches of Whole Foods offer store-made lunchboxes, featuring items like all-organic sandwiches and fresh fruit. These are pretty good, I've tried these. Recognizing this hole in the market, boutique organic baby-food company

Homemade Baby

plans to start selling a line called Homemade Kids in Whole Foods stores nationwide sometime next year. Yummy, can't wait for that.

Here is the rest of the article

and includes a non-scientific taste tester study done by the author. It's a pretty interesting read. In the meantime...I'll continue packing a lunch while I'm still excited about it and I have time.
- LT