By Chuck Martin
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Those kids. Sometimes they'll surprise you.

Take our taste test of store-bought take-to-school lunches, for instance. We asked nine kids, ages 10 to 17, to sample 11 items that could serve as a quick lunch - everything from tiny turkey bagel sandwiches to taco-flavored soup to pizza with the works.

Brace yourself: The kids' No. 1 favorite lunch food was Smucker's "Uncrustables" Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches. No surprise there. Kids love PB& Js. But when we asked registered dietitians at the Nutrition Council to rate the same lunch items (without telling them the kids' scores), they gave the Uncrustables sandwich a grade of "B," making it one of the healthiest lunches we tested.

And you thought kids didn't like to eat anything good for them.

From there, the youngsters and nutritionists diverged on lunch preferences. The students rated the Lean Pockets Steak Fajitas second in our taste test, which the nutritionists gave only an average grade for high sodium content. But the kids put Lunchables "Cracker Stackers" in third place, which the nutritionists gave a "D."

The kids and grownups disagreed most over Amy's Organic Burrito Especial, a meatless wrap stuffed with beans, rice, cheese and vegetables. Nutritionists loved the burrito, praising it for its low-calorie and saturated fat content. The kids hated the burrito, ranking it last.

"The burrito was nasty, " one wrote. " I didn't like the beans and the stuff inside."

Oh, those kids.

Taste test

In our latest taste test, nine children, ages 10 to 17, scored 11 lunch items on a 1 to 10 scale

(1 = poor; 10 = excellent). Here are their top three choices, with a grade from registered dietitians at the Nutrition Council, based on each food's nutrition content.

1. Smucker's "Uncrustables" Peanut Butter & Jelly

Kids' score: 8.7

Nutritionists' grade: B

2. Lean Pocket Steak Fajitas

Kids' score: 7.6

Nutritionists' grade: C

3. Oscar Mayer Lunchables "Cracker Stackers"

Kids' score: 7.3.

Nutritionists' grade: D.

Written resources

Stumped by a picky eater? Worried about your child's health? Open one of these books or visit www.kidshealth.org for information and tips on packing school lunches:

Brown Bag Success: Making Healthy Lunches Your Kids Won't Trade (Wiley; $12.95)

Healthy Eating: Kids' Snacks and Lunches (out-of-print).

Healthy Lunchbox: Simple Strategies for the Whole Family (Lifeline; $10.95)

Talk about lunch

EarthSave Cincinnati is hosting a discussion on starting a healthy school lunch program in Greater Cincinnati similar to a successful model in Wisconsin.

EarthSave's potluck dinner will begin at 6 p.m. Sunday at St. John's Unitarian Church, 320 Resor Ave., Clifton. The discussion begins at 7:15 p.m.

The dinner is open to non-EarthSave members, who should bring a vegan dish and donation. Information: 929-2500 or Web site.

E-mail cmartin@enquirer.com