Back To School Week - Pesto Pasta Please!

This week we are sharing Back-to-School lunchbox recipes and ideas. Our boys like sandwiches in their lunchbox but it's always nice to change things up a bit and go sandwichless a couple days during the week. Sunday I made a batch of Swiss Chard & Basil Pesto. This is the base for this healthy lunch.

I tried using a variety of colors, textures and flavors to keep the lunch interesting. This lunch was made with our 7 year old son, Sawyer, in mind. We are still harvesting from the garden and I wanted to include as much of these vitamin packed fruits and veggies as possible. Here's what you see in the picture:

• Swiss Chard & Basil Pesto with Whole Wheat Pasta
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Sliced Peaches and Blueberries
• Babybel Cheese

I usually froze a bottle of water the night before and used that as the ice pack to keep the lunch fresh. By the time the kids broke for lunch the water was just about thawed out. At the Montessori school the boys attended, and I worked, parents were asked to include cloth napkins and real utensils in the children's lunchboxes. The napkins served a dual purpose of place mat & napkin.