School is coming up on me, and I just got that letter home telling us we can’t send any nut products for lunch or snack. The Girl was just about doing a happy dance when she heard the news. Last year I gave her PB&J sandwiches for about a month, and I finally got sick of making them and then throwing them away every day. She has refused them ever since.Still I was hoping that I could get away with a month of slathering bread with spreads with I waited for the coffee to kick in. No such luck.
So here’s an attempt to come up with a list of possible lunches that can survive without refrigeration but may require a hot thermos.
1. Some kind of pasta
2. Edamame
3. Sliced apples
4. Cheese and Apples
5. Fruit – all kinds
6. Red pepper strips (or orange, yellow, green)
7. Carrot sticks
8. Hummus and carrot sticks (or celery) or pita
9. Did I mention pasta?
10. Crackers and Cheese
11. Dried Fruit (esp. cherries because she’ll eat them)
I just asked Es what she sees other kids eating that she likes to eat. She said “pasta.”
12. Beans (esp. black beans)
13. Ravioli – oh right, that’s pasta
14. Tea Sandwiches: cucumber? Smoked turkey? Apple and cheese? [For mornings when I’ve already had a lot of coffee.]
15. Soup
Okay, so that’s my starting list. I’m going to keep adding to it…and suggestions are always welcome. What I don’t want to hear is how horrible dried fruit is or how bad anything else is on this list. I already left yoghurt off because of SFMom. And I’m telling you right now, chocolate milk is going to qualify as a snack in this house and that’s it!
And I'm also laying down the gauntlet to any folks from the nabe who scoff at Pizza Friday. They can start making lunch for my kid every Friday if they vote that little weekly reprieve down—and that goes for the little Anti-Pizza Friday contingent in my own house too!
4 comments:
School starts on Monday and I am DREADING dealing with my daughter's lunch. I can guarantee she won't eat most of the food on your list, particularly at room temp. But I am going for the thermos idea. What kind of mom couldn't think of a thermos on her own? me!
We also have the no PB rule. X was sad to be reminded because on vacation, she's been lugging around a jar of PB and J, striped. She loves the gross stuff.
MY sympathies. AND Thanks for the ideas! I will try, try again.
SF
I am still baffled...no child is allowed to bring pb&j to lunch? That was (and still may be) my favorite brown bag lunch.
What about plain yogurt with fresh fruit. I have discovered a love for plain yogurt with mango or banana. The trick is to have lots of fruit. My mom made that for me often for lunch. She also made me cheese sandwiches with tomato and lettuce. Those were very good too.
I have to say, I was at one school where many parents ordered lunch to be delivered to their children. (prepaid) So the deli guy, the salad shop, the pizza guy would all drop lunch off at the school. I thought it was totally ridiculous. Maybe I judged to harshly??
I like the plain yogurt idea. Es will eat that. And yes, sadly, many schools have a ban on peanuts (and some prohibit nuts of all kinds) because of the rampant nut allergies kids have today. Regarding the cheese, lettuce and tomato sandwich, didn't it get kind of soggy? Just wondering. Maybe it was on toast.
I think sogginess was a positive feature of sandwiches when i was a kid.
This morning, I took X to the local panederia to get muffins and milk to take for lunch. "Muffins" are just code for cake, of course--particularly the Mexican panederia variety. She wanted chocolate milk, because it lasts better without refrigeration. I lobbied for plain, telling her she might get in trouble with the "food police." In the end, I let her get the chocolate because she will drink it at noon in its warmer state. I told her if anyone complained, tell them I sent it as a yogurt substitute.
Plain yogurt is a wonderful thing. I wonder if I could doctor it enough to appeal to my picky eater.
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