Beating the Lunch Box Blues

Longing for more than yet another limp salad? Tired of tussling with the kids over junk food lunch kits? Sounds like you’ve got the lunch box blues. J. M. Hirsch has the fix.

But it isn’t a cookbook. Because when it comes to lunch, nobody has time to break out a recipe to bang out a brown bag special. Busy people need lunch ideas. Lots of them. And those ideas need to be healthy, fast, easy, affordable, and delicious.

That’s what Beating the Lunch Box Blues is—an idea book to inspire anyone daunted by the daily ordeal of packing lunch. Jammed with nearly 200 photos and more than 500 tips and meals, this book is designed to save families time, money, and their sanity.

Whether you want to jazz up a grilled cheese, turn leftover steak into a DIY taco kit, or make pizza “sushi,” Hirsch has it covered. And because the best lunches often are built from the leftovers of great suppers, he has also included 30 fast and flavorful dinner recipes designed to make enough for tomorrow, too. Crazy good stuff like short ribs braised in a Rosemary-Port Sauce, Hoisin-Glazed Meatloaf, and kid-friendly classics such as Turkey Sloppy Joes and American Chop Suey.

With ideas this easy and this delicious, there’s no reason to let the lunch box blues get you down.

J.M. Hirsch is the national food editor for The Associated Press. He is on Instagram and Twitter as @JM_Hirsch. His previous books include Beating the Lunch Box Blues, High Flavor, Low Labor: Reinventing Weeknight Cooking and Venturesome Vegan Cooking. He lives in New Hampshire.

Rachael Ray is a New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty cookbooks. She is the host of the Food Network’s 30 Minute Meals and Rachael Ray’s Kids Cook-Off, as well as the Cooking Channel’s and the Food Network’s Week in a Day. She is also the star of the syndicated talk show Rachael Ray; founder and editorial director of her own lifestyle magazine, Every Day with Rachael Ray; and founder of the Yum-o! organization.