Friday, September 11, 2009
Suggestions Wanted
Lunches. The kids take a lunch to school, and I am running out of ideas. I would love to pack leftovers, but frankly my kids aren't that big of fans of dinner (yet), so mostly I get a resounding "NO" when I ask if they want last nights casserole or pasta. I have broken down and bought turkey (the good kind without all the gunk in it) for sandwiches. And of course they have peanut butter, but they can only eat so much peanut butter before they revolt. I think they have already tired of PBJ and PBH. They take Quesadilla's sometimes. I buy beans and rice from a Mexican deli and they take that sometimes, but they are growing tired of it. It is becoming such a struggle to come up with healthy, good lunch ideas. At today's dr. appointment Lucy had dropped well below normal on weight, which may or may not be a big deal. I can't get her to eat. Sometimes I feel like giving up and letting her eat the crap food she craves. HELP!!!!
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4 comments:
Keep trying- your efforts will pay off! Don't worry about her weight unless she is losing, try adding more avocado, olive oil things with good fats..
Have a family lesson on nutrition and talk about all the foods you CAN eat and from that list have the kids design menu ideas.
Some lunch ideas- homemade french fries, ketchup, carrot sticks
- rolled tacos
- veggie wraps- tortilla, hummus,veggies, sliced peppers, carrot peelings, zucchini peelings, avocado
- veggie sandwich- vegenaise, lettuce, tomato, avocado,
- crackers and hummus with vegetables and ranch
I have struggled with this too, especially since we don't eat cheese. We do eat a lot of PB stuff, but I try to mix it up sometimes I use tortillas, or sometimes with bananas, etc.
I sometimes make egg salad and they also like canned salmon sometimes (maybe like once or twice a month). It's on my list to make a list of lunch ideas this month too. I have one more year before I have to face this, but it's nice to be prepared.
Here are some things that work for us... my daughter loves fruit salads. I think this is because I let her make them herself. She will choose, for example, a banana, peach and kiwi...and chop them up with a butter knife. I usually make it in the morning if she wants to take it to school - sometimes I will just put the whole banana in the bag and she adds it at lunch time. I send this with a sandwhich or roll etc. I also get my children to help making dough in the bread machine (which I picked up for $15 at a thrift store). I find it convenient to put the ingredients in the night before and set the timer to have bread baked at 6am. The smell of baked bread improves everyone's appetites in the mornings! My children are still young so I do the measuring and let them toss it in the bowl. Homemade bread/rolls/ pizza that they have been a part of making always goes down well. I use whole wheat flour, and they are eating pizza - everyone is happy (also makes great left overs for lunch). I also send a hotdog every now and then - I get all "natural" hotdogs at costco without nitrites and preservatives. It is quick and enjoyed. When I am feeling burned out on ideas I let my daughter buy lunch once a week we talk about what she chose afterwards in the hopes that she will understand how to choose food that is good for her while still enjoying variety. This gives me one day a week to run late and not get lunch together. It makes it easier for me to put thought into the other days. I also do rolled tortillas, cut up veges with hummus etc. like others have mentioned. When I first started making hummus, once again, the children helped - I really think this contributes to how much they enjoy it when introducing a new food. Find a dip that your children enjoy - maybe a bean dip if hummus is not it. Once you have a dip that is loved ... you can intoduce all sorts of veges a little at a time.Also, be aware that much of tastes we enjoy are acquired. Continue to make foods and give them to your children in small amounts. You may start out making a face/picture with vege sticks and hummus etc. Next time they make their own... Same thing with fruit if they are less than eager to eat it. We made a fruit "cake" with watermelon, cantaloupe, berries etc. a while back and I was amazed at the amount my children consumed! I realise I have got off track a little with the school lunch topic.. but the greater variety of food your children enjoy... the easier it is to come up with a variety of lunches. Negotiate with your children - get a list of what they would like... if it is turkey sandwhiches, see if you can add a little spinach / sprouts and use good bread. Sprouts are also another great way to get nutrients into children- and a fun project to watch grow.
My kids will take Annie's pasta in a thermos, Wallaby's yogurt and granola is something everyone of my kids like in lunch, my kids have grown accostomed to hummus but they eat it with tortilla chips, I will also send homemade pico de gallo with the tortilla chips. I let the kids make their own lunches once a week, there are some loose rules about fruits, and not too many bread items, but mostly I don't look :) and my allowing them that control on one day makes them less averse to eating my lunches the other days.
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