Brown Bagging in Style

Mini Hawaiian Ham Hoagies
Ono or "Delicious" Slammers (Classic PB&J, mini-style)

(Family Features) - With the school year in full swing, parents everywhere are faced with the challenge of packing nutritious and fun brown bag lunches for their kids. And, with October being National School Lunch Month, the adolescent palates are primed and the pressure is on. To assist parents nationwide, King's Hawaiian has developed a batch of tips and recipes to alleviate the stress and mess while offering some lunch-packing solutions that are quick, easy-to-eat and your children won't place them on the trading block at lunch.

Here are five brown bag strategies for back to school:

• Have several baskets or bags at home, one filled with fruits, another filled with whole grain snacks, and the last filled with a dessert choice such as applesauce. Each evening, let your child pick one item from each basket to be included in his lunch bag for the next day. You decide on the sandwich.
• Make and pack school lunches the night before. Store in the refrigerator overnight and then grab lunch bags on the way out the door to save precious time in the morning.
• Include bite-size items such as mini-muffins, pre-cut washed carrots, or crackers and cheese that are easy to eat and won't make Junior late for lunch recess!
• Use cookie cutters to cut out fun sandwich shapes. Hearts and dinosaurs will be big hits at the school lunch table.
• Don't forget to include a comic strip, a photo from the newspaper of your child's favorite sports figure, or best of all, a note from mom!

Add some fun and different flair into your children's school day diets with a Mini Hawaiian Ham Hoagie. Visit www.kingshawaiian.com for other great sandwich ideas.

Mini Hawaiian Ham Hoagies

1/2 pound deli ham (thinly sliced)
1 Roma tomato (prepped in 1/4-inch thick slices, seeded)
1 teaspoon mayo or mustard (if preferred)
2 leaves of romaine lettuce
2 King's Hawaiian Snacker Rolls (or four dinner rolls - break off rolls in pairs of two, if the latter)

1. Lay one lettuce leaf on each roll (this also protects the bottom half of the roll from absorbing moisture).
2. Place two to three slices of ham on each roll (folding to match shape of bread). Place 2-3 tomato slices atop ham.
3. If preferred, evenly spread mayo/mustard on the top half of each roll. Hint: To add calcium to the sandwiches, place a slice of Swiss or American cheese on ham.
4. Before brown-bagging, individually wrap each sandwich in plastic wrap (this allows for easier bag storage and allows your child to eat one as a mid-morning snack).

Makes two sandwiches (one serving, depending on appetite).

Ono or "Delicious" Slammers
(Classic PB&J, mini-style)

2 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tablespoons jam, jelly or your child's favorite fruit preserve
2 King's Hawaiian Snacker Rolls (or four dinner rolls - break off rolls in pairs of two, if the latter)

1. Evenly divide and spread the peanut butter onto one half of each roll, then do the same with the jelly on the remaining halves.
2. Individually wrap each sandwich in plastic wrap, to avoid smearing of the contents.

Healthy hints: To lighten the sandwich, use reduced fat peanut butter or almond butter. In place of jam/jelly, utilize all-fruit preserves.

Makes two mini-sandwiches.

SOURCE: King's Hawaiian