At our kids' school there's only one day a week that offers a hot lunch (prepared by parent volunteers). That means four out of five mornings each week we confront the dreaded "what will we eat for lunch?" dilemma.

How do you face down that morning-monster with your kids?

I confess: we inevitably succumb to the supermarket temptations of convenience and individual packaging. The differences in sales receipt totals for a cart full of cold-lunch necessities versus a cart full of real food is atrocious. We can eat breakfast and dinner for a full week on the amount spent for kiddie lunch-box-friendly foods. (I use the term "food" very loosely here.)

Mini-carrots, mini-tomatoes, individually-wrapped cheeses, chips in tiny packages, pint-sized yogurt drinks, juice boxes, and don't-you-dare-fo…