School lunches advice from an expert: Kate Gosselin, mother of 8
If you want to learn about something, ask an expert.When I wanted hints about packing school lunches, I asked Kate Gosselin, the mom in TLC’s reality series Jon and Kate Plus Eight, who is speaking to food writers on behalf of the Grains Foods Foundation.
Granted, Kate’s got only two children in school — 7-year-old twins Mady and Cara are in the second grade — but she’s also got 4-year-old sextuplets at home. Aaden, Joel, Collin, Hannah, Leah and Alexis are in preschool three afternoons a week, which means that Kate and the kids must sit down to lunch at 10:50 a.m. on those days. Planning and organization are obvious necessities for the Gosselin family, but Kate’s also concerned with nutrition and variety.
She asks the older girls each evening what they’d like for lunch the next day, then gets to work as soon as she’s done with dinner. Nine times out of 10, Cara and Mady get sandwiches. “They rarely agree on what kind of sandwiches,” Kate says.
“I cut out the sandwiches in shapes sometimes, change the bread,” she says.
Each lunch also includes yogurt or a cheese stick, a piece of fruit and something crunchy, such as popcorn or an oatmeal-raisin cookie. Finally, she tucks in a note. “Just my way sending love along with them to school,” she says.
None of her kids are picky eaters, although Joel went through a phase where he wasn’t interested in dinner. “For about a month, we had to tell Joel to pick up his fork or he didn’t,” she says. To compensate: “I bulked up his breakfast and lunch.”
Kate says she’s always thinking about new and different recipes. “I’m constantly at the store looking for things that are healthy but kids like,” she says. “It’s kind of my hobby. I like to fill them with healthy calories.”
She buys bread in bulk, “a whole flat of bread that the bread man brings in,” because her family goes through a loaf a day. She has three chest freezers (and two refrigerators). “The advantages of having eight kids is nothing has a chance to go bad or get stale,” she says.
Here are some recipes that Kate Gosselin developed for the Grain Foods Foundation:
FALL HARVEST SANDWICH
2 slices whole-wheat bread
1 tablespoon honey mustard
1 slice Cheddar cheese
2 slices honey ham
1/2 Granny Smith apple, sliced thin
Top 1 piece of bread with mustard, then cheese, then ham, then apple slices. Top with the remaining piece of bread. Cut on the diagonal and serve.
PB & APPLE
2 slices whole-wheat white bread or oatmeal bread
Peanut butter
1/2 apple, thinly sliced and drizzled with a tiny amount of lemon juice
Spread each slice of bread with peanut butter. Place thin apple slices on one slice. Close sandwich and cut into triangles.
CREAM CHEESE ROLL
1 slice whole-wheat white bread
Light cream cheese
1 slice smoked turkey
1/2 cucumber, sliced lengthwise
Trim the crusts of the bread and gently roll out the slice so it resembles pastry. Spread with light cream cheese. Place the turkey slice in the center of the bread. Add cucumber slices. Roll the bread similar to a sushi roll and cut into mini rolls.
CREAM CHEESE ROLL (FOR ADULTS)
1 slice whole-wheat white bread
Light cream cheese
1 slice smoked salmon
1/2 avocado, sliced
Trim the crusts of the bread and gently roll out the slice so it resembles pastry. Spread with light cream cheese. Place the smoked salmon in the center of the bread. Add avocado slices. Roll the bread similar to a sushi roll and cut into mini rolls.
HANDY HUMMUS WRAP
2 or 3 leaves lettuce
1 whole wheat or whole-wheat white wrap
2 to 3 tablespoons hummus
1/2 cucumber, sliced lengthwise
1/2 red pepper, cut into long strips
Place lettuce leaves in the middle portion of the wrap. Top with hummus. Add sliced cucumber and red pepper. Roll and cut in half.
(107 votes, average: 2.48 out of 5)
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Judith Evans is the food and travel editor for the Post-Dispatch. 
Ty?
Actually it has been shown that the people that are “jealous” and “want what Kate has” are the Faithful Fans.
They don’t see Kate for who she really is, because they are just like her and they want what she has and they would be right there with Kate exploiting their kids for cash and freebies too.
They make excuse after excuse after excuse for Kate’s abusive and greedy behavior in spite of all the evidence that Kate is a nasty rude person and mother.
Judith? Kate’s book thats is soon coming out wasn’t written by her either, Beth Carson wrote it all and Kate used her and threw her away like trash too. If she didn’t write her own autobiography, she surely didn’t invent these recipes.
It is very telling that Kate’s entire family have turned down cash from the National Enquirer to tell their stories so as not to EXPLOIT Kate. Yet Kate’s actions have left her whole family up for public scorn, ridicule and scrutiny (including many false speculations that Kate’s Dad is toothless trailer trash) But Kate still EXPLOITS her own family and kids to get fame and fortune.
Since Kate is so eloquent in the kitchen, I wonder if she has ever used a turkey baster?
Teresa Rose- Where do you see abuse? And if you are going to say by Kate and Jon having these kids “working” 3 times a week, dont bother! Do you really believe those kids are being abused by doing what they normally do on a daily basis? Just because it’s filmed doesnt mean they are breakin a sweat and workin in a sweat factory! It’s 3 days week people!!! Thats nothing..You poeple act like there are no children on any other show that you watch right??
It seems like the faithfull fans would be you people that google her every move and watch every show over and over again to see what she’s doing wrong! Think about it..I watch their show every Monday night at 7:00..you watch her show every single time it comes on and you even replay it on your DVR or your Tivo and count how many cheese puffs she feeds her kids!!! Thats Pathetic…And to boot you people even use her sayings..like Lordy-Bee and Helllooooo and whatever else…Ive even seen people on the GWOP saying “oh I despise that woman but does anyone know where she bought her purse at..its cute”…hahaha..Thats funny stuff right there!!
Ty?
Oh lets see.
Blatant favoritism of certain children over others.
Blatantly not showing the boys affection or attention.
Calling her own boys icky and gross in clear earshot of them.
Driving the kids 75 miles to Jenkintown, pa to make Birthday cupcakes then withholding those cupcakes from her 3 boys while the 3 tup girls ate theirs in front of them while the boys cried.
Threatening to throw away a child’s security item while he freaks out cause he accidently got a little gum on it.
Not punishing one for the same crime that another got punished for.
Punishing a child for asking for anything twice.
Taking a child to a furniture store for a photo op when he had impacted constipation and was in clear pain and sweating to shop
for freebie bunk beds. Jon had to further humiliate the poor baby by dislodging the fecal impaction on camera in the van in the parking lot for eternity on film.
Removing all family members and cousins from their lives because Kate has psychological issues herself, and instead of seeking therapy, and working out the issues maturely, choses to selfishly hurt the children by banishing all their cousins and loved ones.
Not letting the Tups have any little friends in the neighborhood. Even going so far as to scream at little kids that ask to play with them from the neighborhood to “get off my property!”
Refusing to get one of her kids into therapy that is showing clear signs of problems cause she doesn’t want it to spoil her Perfect Supermom image.
Allowing a TV show and Director to install hidden cameras in her children’s rooms to catch the tups in private moments without their knowledge.
Hitting and degrading their father in front of them.
Transfering her own silly fears and phobias onto her children.
Blaming Mady for things she didn’t do and giving her a complex.
Never giving Mady cheers when she does good things.
Punishing a child for having accidents in his pants so much that he hides the dirty pants from her.
Teaching your kids to lie on national Tv, to cover up other lies to do Damage Control.
Lastly, putting your kids on a tv show so you can buy a multi million dollar house and free spa days, hairplugs and teeth whitening.
PS-Of course now that the PR person/Image Consultant has started sanitizing the show, this stuff isn’t being shown on the show much recently. And the PR team has told Kate to hug her boys more and not hold Hannie (her fave) as much, but Kate’s hair isn’t gonna change it’s stripes, and I’m certain that she hasn’t changed off camera due to her nasty treatment of fans that meet her off camera.
Wow! Clever Kate - all by herself she thought up the innovative idea of stickig little notes in her kids’ lunches. Not! I was doing that over 30 years ago when my kids were brown-bagging lunch to elementary school. I saw the episode where she first discussed the notes and then she read aloud the note she wrote to Maddy. I wonder if she uses the same notes over and over again to save her energy for bigger more important things.
the people who take joy from slagging Jon and Kate amaze me.
She is a stay at home mom now (she was a nurse)… with 8 kids the cost of childcare would be more than any RNs salary. Jon does have a job.
They don’t have a chef… on the few days/year that there is taping in their house then there is ‘craft services’ of course.
They are getting freebies yah, that’s fine. It is a novelty now and will wear off as the kids grow then they are stuck with the expense of raising 8 teenagers all at once (just think of the grocerybills…then there are all the other MANY expenses of raising kids…back to school costs are on average $200-300 per kid…TIMES EIGHT!! So they are enjoying their ‘15 minutes of Fame’ I would if I was given the opportunity too!!
Kate Gosselin “developed” these ideas? These are really simple basic recipes that many moms use. I’m on the fence with the verb choice here. Anyhow, I have to give this article 2 thumbs down because this is a mother who thinks allowing millions of viewers of TLC and YouTube see her children every day and every week is fine. Her lack of concern for the safety of her brood is creepy, to be honest. She is not someone I would ever look up to and I would definitely NOT take advice from her. I cannot believe her 15 minutes aren’t over and done with yet. I think the battery in the clock must be losing power because time is dragging on here. How many more Americans will continue to watch the show that shows such unloving and mean-spirited behaviour? Thanks anyway but I think from here on in, I’m going to “develop” my own sandwiches.
Wait..Kate COOKS? Who knew? I thought she only bitched, complained, pimped out her kids and yells at her jobless husband? I thought she had a personal chef? Oh that’s right SHE DOES! Like we believe Kate does anything around that house except boss everyone around and laugh all the way to the band. Shame on you TLC for letting this ridiculous show continue on as long as you have. Let those kids have their lives back, and make those 2 deadbeat parents get jobs.
These 2 parents are really sad.
They need to get jobs.
Real jobs, not the job of selling their kids out for money.
These kids are going to have so many problems when they grow up.
It’s hard enough to go through school, kids can be mean.
Can you imagine the teasing they’ll get for the way their mom is?
And the way their dad is such a wimp on TV every.single.episode?
And the times they’ve shown these kids in the underwears.
And going potty
And taking a bath.
And vomiting.
And screaming and crying.
And being belittled by their mother.
And being called gross (boys are so gross, right Kate?)
My goodness, these poor poor kids are going to get reamed by their peers.
We can only hope they’ll be taken off the air, and soon.
These sick parents just don’t have a clue for what the future holds for them.
People think Mady is bad.
Can you imagine the emotional mess the others will be?
Especially Joel and Alexis.
Hannah and Leah are so favored by Kate.
The rest just fall off her radar.
Yikes.
So so sad.