So, we all know that it is important to send a good nutritious lunch to school with the kids. The real question is, how to get it done every day! I am often cooking dinner with one hand and making the next day's lunches with the other hand (while my third hand washes the containers that I sent today's lunches in).
Here's where "realistic" comes in. For me, it means allowing my 6 year old to choose 2 days per week (sometimes 1, sometimes 3) where she buys lunch. At her school she can buy the "featured lunch of the day", aka what is on the menu, OR have a hotdog or soup or something else that is on the menu everyday. I think that she only buys lunch when she wants the featured item, but maybe once or twice she got a hot dog.
Anyway, I can't control the healthiness of the school lunches. However, for me, the nutritional content is somewhat outweighed by the life lesson that she is learning by going through the lunch line, punching in her code (that she dutifully memorized on the first day of school) and walking into the crazy lunch room, carrying her tray and sitting down with some friends. She is SIX! I definitely didn't do that when I was six. In fact, I am not sure I ever did it with as much confidence as she has!
In addition, now with the food allergies and such, the peanut-allergic kids have to sit at their own table and the only kids who can sit with them are the kids who buy lunch, so my daughter can eat with the allergic kids if she buys.
Anyway, getting back to the days when I send lunch.
My kids are a bit picky. Well, maybe not picky, but particular.
My 6 year old doesn't really eat sandwiches - doesn't care for deli meat and doesn't eat condiments. Occasionally this results in a turkey and cheese sandwich on whole grain with ketchup! (eeew).
The typical lunch that I have been able to get her to eat these days is: a bagel with cream cheese, or cheese, crackers and pepperoni, with fruit and veggies on the side and a yogurt.
My 2 year old attends a Jewish day care and is required to take vegetarian lunch to keep with the Kosher rules. I send cold mac and cheese, which she sometimes eats or a bagel with cream cheese which she doesn't really eat or cold cheeze pizza which she definitely eats and fruits and veggies on the side. Some other successes I have had are: cheese tortellini that I boil the night before and of course, PB&J.
I am always looking for new and interesting approaches to the school lunch. I like to send something that says "I love you" when they open it up. I want them to know that I spent time putting it together and that is because I care about them even though I am at work and not with them.
Please share your photos and ideas for healthy, practical, preferably easy to make school lunches!
The next topic will be, what we send our lunches IN! Of cousre, this is the BPA versus glass/metal/etc debate. i am still formulating my thoughts on this, so will leave this post as-is for now and get cracking on my new thoughts.
Bon appetit!
Where did you find those handy "Lunchable" containers?! Great meals. BTW.
ReplyDeleteRachel I am loving reading your blog - I can definitely relate!
ReplyDeleteI spent a lot of time at the beginning of the school year searching for lunch ideas since we have Thayden on a restricted diet we have to send him with a lunch and snack every day.
We use the Pottery Barn lunch box and the Bento boxes that go with it: http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/spencer-bento-box-containers/?pkey=dtabletop-lunch-bags. I also have the plastic ones you picture above but unfortunately they don't fit in to T's lunchbox. I also got some from Laptop lunches (which by the way have some links to good lunch ideas) - http://www.laptoplunches.com/ . We do a lot of warm stuff in the Bento Jars. Troy found that if he puts boiling water in it while he is reheating leftovers from the night before it holds the heat until T's lunch time.
I don't think I can post a picture on here, but we do similar things. I found the hard way berries turn to liquid and leak all over everything if they are not in a separate sealed container. :) Thayden loves bell peppers raw so we do a lot of those, carrots, celery, etc. Grapes are a big hit as is mango. Thayden also doesn't like sandwiches, but sometimes we roll up deli meat and cheese.
Also, Troy started leaving notes in Thayden's lunch saying things like "I hope you are having a good day!" And Thayden loves them. He actually wrote Troy a note telling him that he liked his note, haha.
Oh - some other protein ideas for the ones who don't like deli meat (it is occasionally a struggle for us too)...
ReplyDelete1. hard boiled eggs either whole or sliced with chunks of cheese to eat with it.
2. yogurt (we love Noosa, T can eat an entire container.)
3. Scrambled eggs with cheese (hey, European's eat them cold all the time so it can't be that bad!)
4. Bacon. Surprisingly, T loves bacon. We buy the all natural stuff with no preservatives, etc which is spendy but tastes great. Troy makes it in the am for breakfast sometimes and then sticks a couple slices in his lunch.