Lunch for Monday, 02/10/14 in Fud

  • Feb. 9, 2014, 7:48 p.m.
  • |
  • Public

I've been asked why I'm not doing the daily lunch pictures any more. I got stuck in a rut and felt like they were boring and pointless, but I'm going to make more of an effort since at least four people are apparently interested. ;) Need to come up with some new ideas for lunch!

A big part of it is prepping the food the night before. Having more time to get things ready makes it a lot easier to go with homemade. I just hate doing it. Wah, wah. Better than while trying to get out the door in the morning, I suppose.

Lunch for Monday, 02/10/14

Clockwise from top left:

  • steamed jasmine rice w/vegetables
  • nitrate-free hot dog

  • raw carrots

  • vanilla Greek yogurt w/strawberry jam

  • Cheddar Bunnies

  • clementine

Trying the vanilla yogurt with jam, I would rather buy large cartons of yogurt for cheaper and split them up than individual portions.

Untitled

Clockwise from top left:

  • clementine

  • raw carrots

  • steamed jasmine rice w/vegetables

  • nitrate-free hot dog

My son - oh, my son. We have been waging an epic battle with him the past few months when it comes to lunch. It feels like he becomes progressively pickier and more difficult, at the same time sneaking in junky cafeteria treats whenever he can.

I don't want to wage food wars with him so I've decided not to pester him to eat what he's given. We are limiting what he can get at school and if he decides not to eat what he's given, then he can go hungry. Eventually things will even themselves out. I did ask him for a list of what he does like to eat and I'll do my best to work with that. At the same time, we have asked him to eat what he's given for the day and then tell me that evening if there was something he really didn't like.

The problem is he's become needlessly particular about stupid things, like not wanting ("not having time") to peel his clementine to then not wanting any white pith to remain in order for him to eat it. I peeled his tonight and had him try a piece to prove that it is sweet and delicious (I tried it first) so we'll start there, then work toward him peeling his own fruit. He saw what I prepared tonight and said, "But they'll be dry by tomorrow" and I replied that he doesn't want to peel them, so this is his alternative and he needs to suck it up and deal. Every little thing is a battle like that. It's exhausting.

So I've decided to stick to the tenet of "You don't have to eat it," but not allowing him to supplement with foods of his own choosing, either. Fingers crossed. He claims he really likes this rice and so he may be eating a whole lot of it in the coming weeks, either that or PB&J.


Hotaru February 09, 2014

I hate the white part that is left behind when you peel the clementines. I think mostly the texture bothers me. I have issues with certain textures. Maybe your son has the same problem.

Jane Says Hotaru ⋅ February 10, 2014

I hate it, too. I showed him how to peel it off but he always claims he doesn't have time during the lunch period (which is his BS way of getting out of eating it). I think he's just expressing himself because at other times he's fine with it. Fingers crossed :)

HollyDays February 09, 2014

lunches look delicious and healthy :) Definitely getting inspiration for my own!

Jane Says HollyDays ⋅ February 10, 2014

Thanks! I try to do better by them than my folks did for me. It's a struggle sometimes so the encouragement is encouraging :)

PepperGrape February 09, 2014

Oh man....I have the pickiest girl child. I am equally picky so I understand but it's hard! She is a competitive rower and has crew practice for 3 hours a day so she really needs to eat for fuel. She won't eat meat. Pretty much hates most veggies and fruits since she got her braces. Textures are her trigger. Basically, she lives on breads, cheese, pasta, chocolate milk. It's getting ridiculous. She's 15 and slender, having her father's crazy metabolism, so she doesn't have the body issues her far "fluffier" mother has, thank goodness, but still. She needs to eat better. We got her a sports nutrition book in hopes of involving her in the process. We'll see. You are not the only one struggling, just wanted to let you know!

Jane Says PepperGrape ⋅ February 10, 2014

That really does make me feel better. My son is so slim and very energetic, I worry about him getting enough protein. I'm hoping that once he starts doing a sport regularly again (gymnastics, probably) he'll realize on his own that, yeah, he NEEDS to be eating better body fuel. Sigh. KIDS.

Mandy H. February 09, 2014

I love that you sliced the hotdogs diagonally to make them fancier ;) Haha.

Good luck with Michael. I probably wouldn't have appreciated these awesome lunches either as a kid his age :( I sure as heck would appreciate them now, though.

Jane Says Mandy H. ⋅ February 09, 2014

They look like they take up more room that way :)

The lunch thing just drives me nuts, but hopefully with enough forced starvation he'll figure his shit out.

Fred February 09, 2014

They let him have pb and j at school? It's been banned at every child care environment my kids have ever been in!

Jane Says Fred ⋅ February 10, 2014

They do! Margaret can't have it in the elementary school since they eat in their classroom, but the cafeteria serves peanut butter so kids are allowed to have it. They do a really good job of keeping track of allergic kids and have epi-pens and the like in the cafeteria first aid kit.

Ponder February 09, 2014

I thought August was picky. Then I had Octavian. He is SOOO picky!!! He will only eat a handful of things and it drives is crazy. I am in a bind though because if I don't give in to his few thing a he will eat then he just keeps asking to nurse.

Jane Says Ponder ⋅ February 10, 2014

I commented to my girlfriend the other day, "We spend a whole lot of time an energy making sure our kids eat enough to stay alive. You'd think they would appreciate it more." :D

(I added you so you can see my FO entries - I'm glad you made the switch!)

salty*dog February 10, 2014

Same arguments, same issues here. I got around the drying out fruit thing by putting it on a damp papertowel before closing the box up. It does work!

Jane Says salty*dog ⋅ February 10, 2014

OH THAT IS SO SMART. That top compartment isn't watertight between the two sections, but a damp paper towel would be perfect. Bless you!

M February 10, 2014

I'd snarf that lunch down in a flash. Mom made me PB&J every single day for lunch when I took it to school. My brother and sister were content with sliced lunch meats. I wouldn't have any of it and insisted on PB&J every single day. Go figure.

Velveteen February 10, 2014

My mom worked full time, so I was always buying lunches in the cafeteria and eating them there. (Often, it was a plate of fries. Seriously.) I'm grateful that I had my dad's metabolism at the time at least, even if it's vanished since then!! ;) You're doing a great job, deep breath!

Overachiever February 10, 2014

I'm completely regretting letting my kids get school lunches. I did it when I was absolutely, flat-out overwhelmed at single-parenting. Dom is beyond help with food. He'll just refuse to eat and wait until there is any junkfood around and scarf it down for a meal.

missing maui February 10, 2014

Looks sooooo good to me. Thanks for the inspiration!

Jeneve February 24, 2014

Yay, found you :-)

Jane Says Jeneve ⋅ February 25, 2014

Hi there! I've added you so you can see my regular entries. :D

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