So it's only the second day of school and Oliver is already asking if he can buy his lunch....I hope that's not a reflection on my school lunch making ability! I don't think it is, and the answer is sometimes, but not this week. I didn't have the school lunch menu available and wasn't sure what they might be serving... not that I'm that strict about what he eats, -- it's more I know what he won't eat and I'd hoped he'd be eating something to get him through the day.
So, for the first day I went with something tried and true that he asked for, spaghetti. I made spaghetti the night before tossed with a light sauce of Olive Oil, White Wine & Garlic and I sauteed some yellow squash to mix in. Easy. So, the next morning I heated up the spaghetti and squash, added a little red sauce and put it in his thermos. I also sent celery & peanut butter (we are not a peanut free school), and two cuties that I slightly opened for him. The only thing he ate was the celery and peanut butter. So much for my master plan of making sure he eats!
When I asked him why he didn't eat he said he couldn't get his thermos open, -- which may or may not be true. We bought a new thermos this year after our old one broke at the very end of last school year and it has a different top. But, we practiced opening it the night before -- and if he had really wanted it there is someone on lunch duty who can help the kindergartners with things like that. As for the oranges, he said he just didn't want them. He ate the rest of his lunch after school.
So, I decided to try a different tact for Tuesday. I went with another tried and true favorite (albeit one I would have thought he was sick of being its all he ate all summer) PB&J! I sent it with oranges again, this time I peeled and sectioned then and put them in a container, I also sent some carrots, a babybel cheese and some dried cranberries. The verdict: PB&J and oranges gone. Half of a baby bel lying in a sea of cranberries and untouched carrots. So, definitely better. But, a boy can't live on PB&J alone -- although, Oliver might try.
I wasn't really organized or ready for the lunch making process to resume. In fact, I think I was in deep denial that it was coming. Today, finally, --two days into school -- I got around to making a batch of whole wheat banana and banaberry muffins. I made a double batch to freeze some of them so Oliver is going to be eating banana muffins for a long time.
Lunches for Wednesday and Thursday look like this:
Thursday:
Pizzaadilla, vegetables, sauce and mozzarella, folded in a tortilla
Oranges
Banana Muffin
Friday:
Veggie & Hummus Wrap
Oranges
Banana Muffin
I haven't gotten my planning skills back on track yet.... but I'm going to try to start planning/incorporating our dinners and his lunches like I was doing last fall/spring. So, I'll keep you posted!
