I travel a lot. I enjoy traveling, but when I do it requires me to leave my household capable of coping without me. You know how moms are! When we are away from home we have to make family life as easy as possible without us. For me, that means I always leave plenty of lunch meat in the refrigerator because I know whenever my daughters get hungry they can make their own sandwich without asking their dad and they’re good to go

I’ve always thought of the sandwich as a simple, plain, run-of-the-mill lunch option, but since I’ve traveled so much recently I look at sandwiches much differently. They are heaven sent! Sandwiches are so simple to make for my daughters.  They can also be fixed in a variety of ways that can be innovative and fun food for children.

When I am traveling I want to leave my daughters as many options as possible when they make their sandwiches, so I give them at least four varieties of meat to choose from, two types of wheat bread, at least three types of cheeses, three types of lettuce, a variety of mustards and other toppings like mayonnaise, avocados, and even herbs. All of these options and condiments make fixing a sandwich fun for my children and when I return home they always rush to tell me the combinations they put together.  I love that! They’re becoming little foodies and I think it’s great.

Even when I am home and not on the go my daughters make sandwiches for me and their dad and I tell them to surprise me. Each time the combinations they make are delicious. Most of the time, their sandwiches include Land O’Frost’s Brown Sugar Ham. By the way, I can’t keep this flavor in my refrigerator. It’s always gone within a few days. It’s that good.

When making their sandwiches, not only do my daughters get the opportunity to find their way around the kitchen since they are getting older, they also get to test new foods and determine how they taste together. And, they also get a chance to make a meal themselves. It empowers them to become more independent. Since they’re growing so quickly it is important to me to make sure they don’t rely on me for every single thing. That was wonderful when they were small, but now that they are inching toward their teens they can definitely do things themselves and have fun in the process.

Do you have any traditions for your children that make fixing lunch fun for them?