Two That Pass the Test for Back-to-School

It’s back-to-school time and that always means packing lunchboxes and having plenty of after-school snacks on hand.

If you’re a parent of small children, you know how hard it is to prepare lunches and snacks that your kids not only find appealing, but that are nutritious as well.

Of the hundreds of reader recipes we receive weekly, we thought it would be helpful and fun to offer two healthful favorites that are particularly suited for lunches or snacks.

The first recipe is for classic bran muffins, submitted by Bette Meyer of Delaware, Ohio. She states, “This recipe is over 30 years old. It was developed by the Kansas State Home Economics Department as a nutritious school breakfast offering. School children and everyone else I’ve baked them for, just love this wholesome muffin.” We loved them too and thought they might be a great addition to your child’s lunchbox.

The second recipe is from Erin Jones of Brentwood, Tenn. It’s a variation of today’s popular wraps that she calls granola wraps. “Wraps are so quick and easy to make,” she says. “You can put just about anything in them. This is an after-school and lunchbox favorite.”

We hope you find these two recipes as fun and easy to make as we did, and, as always, we look forward to hearing from you.

Bran Muffins - Bette Meyer, Delaware, Ohio

• 2 cups boiling water
• 2 cups raisins
• 5 teaspoons baking soda
• Combine above ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
• 1 cup margarine or butter (2 sticks)
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 quart buttermilk
• 5 and 1/2 cups flour, sifted
• 1 cup chopped nuts
• 4 cups all-bran cereal
• 2 cups 40-percent bran flakes
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, cream sugar and margarine. Combine beaten eggs with buttermilk in a separate container. Mix together flour, cereals, salt and nuts in another bowl. Alternately add dry and wet ingredients to creamed mixture until just moistened. Stir in raisin mixture last. When ready to bake, fill greased muffin tins three-quarters full and bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Yields four dozen muffins.

Tips from our test kitchen: For a smaller batch, reduce recipe by half.

Granola Wraps - Erin Jones, Brentwood, Tenn.

• 10-inch flour tortillas
• peanut butter
• honey
• granola cereal
• bananas

Spread a thin, even coating of peanut butter and honey on tortilla, leaving about 1/2 inch uncovered around the edge. Sprinkle a thin layer of granola over the peanut butter and honey. Slice a banana in half from end to end and place it in the tortilla’s center. Roll up tortilla and slice into spirals for a snack, or keep it whole to eat as a sandwich.

Tips From Our Test Kitchen: The granola can be replaced with raisins, and the honey can be omitted or replaced with a fruit spread. A thin layer of cream cheese, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar makes a great wrap. Cut it into spirals and toast until just warm in a toaster oven.

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