GROUPON GUIDE TO CHICAGO

Four Tricked-Out PB&J Sandwiches

BY: Rachel Matuch |Dec 2, 2013
Four Tricked-Out PB&J SandwichesThe average American eats 2,500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before graduating high school, according to a totally unbiased survey by the J.M. Smucker Company. It’s a classic for a reason, but even kids who love it can get tired of the same ol' sandwich every day. With the school year nearly halfway over, here are a few fun—but easy—PB&J variations to put the spark back in lunchtime. 1. Deconstructed Peanut Butter and Jelly tricked-out-pbj_health_600c390 Moving away from processed foods? Channel Japanese bento boxes by filling separate compartments with roasted peanuts, fresh grapes, and multigrain crackers. 2. Black Belt PB&J tricked-out-pbg_600c390 Normally docile, PB&J gets fierce with the help of some ninjabread-men cookie cutters. As an added bonus, kids can use them to reenact scenes from classic ninja films—and you get to eat the crusts while packing lunches. Win-win. Available on Goods and through Fred & Friends. TIP: We’d recommend using a larger slice of bread for these, such as a wide Italian bread, to fit more than one ninja on each slice. Because they’re not very big, a sneaky ninja could easily fit into lunches anchored by another item. 3. DIY PB&J Pretzels tricked-out-pbj_600c390 There’s a lesson to be learned from Fun Dip, Handi-Snacks, and Lunchables. Kids like to be part of the snack-creation process. Separate the PB and J into two small containers, then pack pretzels for dipping magic. 4. Puzzling PB&J tricked-out-pbj_puzzle_600c390 We went in for the ninjabread-men cookie cutters and came out with this handy Fred & Friends Bites & Pieces crust cutter. The Tetris-shaped pieces the cutter made are beautifully, precisely shaped, but you could just as easily create a puzzle with a few careful slices of a paring knife. Available through Fred & Friends. Photo credit: Rachel Matuch, Groupon