Twitter: Follow TBOmom on Twitter

Publix offers $3.99 kids meals

Posted Jul 30, 2010 by Beth Gaddis

Updated Jul 30, 2010 at 01:15 PM

Have hungry kids? There’s a new kids meal you can pick up on the run or pack in a lunchbox.

Publix just debuted five ready-to-eat kids meals. Each costs $3.99 and includes an entrée, two sides and a drink. The meals are made fresh in the deli each day, and each sandwich has a shelf life of two days, Publix spokeswoman Shannon Patten said.

Here’s a look at the options.

Chicken tenders: Publix Deli chicken tenders on a honey wheat roll, mini carrots, yogurt and a fruit drink.
Ham sandwich thins: Publix ham on a white sandwich thin, mini carrots, yogurt and apple juice.
Peanut butter apple wrap: Creamy peanut butter with apples in a multigrain wrap, string cheese, mini carrots, yogurt and a fruit drink.
Peanut butter rolls: Creamy peanut butter on a honey wheat roll, string cheese, apple sauce, mini carrots and a fruit drink.
Turkey rolls: Publix oven roasted turkey breast on a honey wheat roll, apple and grape packet, mini raisins and organic white milk.

Sorry, but Publix can’t make any changes to the meals.

“We worked with our in-house registered dietician to make sure each meal met or exceeded specific guidelines - sodium, saturated fat, et cetera - and that’s why the meals cannot be changed,” Patten said.

Each meal has at least one serving of the recommended food groups: grains, meat, beans, nuts, dairy, fruit and veggies. Deli workers can give the specific nutritional value for each sandwich, Patten said. The peanut butter apple wrap, for example, has 320 calories, 15 grams total fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 510 milligrams of sodium, 37 grams of carbohydrate, 12 grams of fiber, 10 grams of sugar and 16 grams of protein.

The meals come in clear plastic containers so kids’ can see what’s inside.

“Kids may not know what a peanut butter apple wrap is, but they can say, ‘I want that one,’” laughed Patten, who has a 4-year-old son and a 7-year-old daughter herself.

My colleague, Rich Mullins, wrote about the lunchbox battles going on and compared the Publix meals to Lunchables.  Click here for his story.