I miss 4th grade.

4th grade was the last year that my mom packed my lunch for me, and from fifth grade onwards, I was forced to fend for myself. According to my mother, this new method of getting my lunch encouraged independence and self-reliance.

Well, that’€™s kind of true- I’€™ve come to realize that it’s REALLY HARD to think of things to put in your own lunch when you have to make it yourself. But making my own lunch also encourages laziness as well as either not eating or scavenging off of other people’€™s lunches.

In high school, I wanted to buy lunches from restaurants, or fast food places that were close to the high school. Unfortunately, these kind of trip dry up my $100 birthday money from February really quickly, not to mention it’€™s probably not the best health-wise. Now, I’€™m sure there’€™s a lot of kids out there who also fend for themselves.

So, for all of you readers in the same predicament, I will have a weekly updated list of easy foods to make for your lunch (that actually taste good). For starters, here’s a simple sandwich that takes about 3 brain cells to create: *2-3 slices of fresh mozzarella cheese *1 ripe tomato *2 slices of bread(whole wheat or white, whatever you want) *1-2 tsps extra virgin olive oil *ground black pepper *3-5 leaves of fresh basil

Directions: Slice the tomato in disks and spread them out on the bread. Wash the leaves of basil, and spread them on top. Add the mozzarella cheese to the bread, and drizzle 1-2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil on top. Finish with the crushed black ground pepper, and slap the other slice of bread on top. *For extra flavor, make the sandwich the night before and let the flavors soak into the bread*

This actually is a really great sandwich. It seems kind of simple, but it’€™s pretty filling. If you want to add meat to the sandwich, I would suggest roast chicken for added protein. You could also add humus to the sandwich of you’€™re vegetarian; there are plenty of options! Now, I know sandwiches are very cliche, so next week I’ll have a recipe that doesn’€™t include two slices of bread.