Let’s see if I can get the formatting right on this post…
My son is sick for the third time as many weeks. Three weeks ago it was the flu, ten days ago it was a cold, and now it’s another virus with a fever. The only good thing is that I am not working and I can be there for him when he needs me. He’s still going to day care part-time for socialization and fun and I’m trying to decide if that’s worth it considering all the bugs he is picking up there. He hasn’t been this sick in at least six months.
I’m catching up by posting two weeks in one. Also, I’m not going to post my lunches this summer (instead I’m sharing recipes related to our CSA). I need a little break taking pictures of my own lunches. I’m hoping you’ll understand!
My son’s lunches
Monday 6/20
Wrap with turkey and spinach, pinto beans, rice crackers with hummus, and kiwi slices
I tried to match what the other kids were eating. Day care menu: Sliced turkey and mozzarella on a wheat tortilla, pinto beans, and diced peaches with yogurt and watermelon as snacks.
Tuesday 6/21
Bread with jam, ketchup for turkey burger, spinach, applesauce, cupcake
The day care was offering cherry Italian ices and I can’t compete with that. So I said that it would be ok if he partook even though I knew there had to be artificial flavors in the ices. Interestingly, after I picked him up and we got home, he threw a big tantrum. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was because he probably had an artificial flavor. He’s normally pretty easy going. For example, when I tell him about a change in plans, he often responds, “Dat okay!” Day care menu: Cheese ravioli, wheat bread, diced carrots and oranges with an apple muffin and cherry Italian ice
Monday 6/27
Apple and kiwi slices, chicken sausage cubed, pasta with sauce and broccoli, chocolate yogurt, bar
The day care menu was so odd. It sounded like an enormous lunch with two very similar foods for snacks. Day care menu: Beef stew with gravy, pasta with cheddar sauce, peas, and diced pears with yogurt and chocolate pudding as snacks
Tuesday 6/28
Applesauce, yellow smoothies, chocolate muffin, lamb with peppers, and brown rice
Day care menu: Sliced ham on English muffin, broccoli with cheddar sauce, and apple slices with a blueberry muffin and bananas as snacks
Wednesday 6/29
Salami wrap with spinach, kiwi slices, yellow peppers, red smoothie, and chocolate cookie
I sent him a little less since he hadn’t eaten that great the day before (I should have known that he was starting to get sick). The day care had crackers twice for snack? Really? Day care menu: Turkey tetrazzini with vegetables, focaccia bread, and oranges with graham crackers and soy nut butter on wheat crackers as snacks
My lunches
Monday 6/20
Turkey wrap, pinto beans, kiwi, KIND bar – YUM!
Tuesday 6/21
Salad with pinto beans and red pepper, turkey burger, almond yogurt, and a KIND bar
The almond yogurt did not fit into the Laptop Lunch box by the way. I just put it there for the photo. I enjoyed the almond yogurt and so does my son, but I can’t send those with him because lunches have to be nut free at his day care.
Why do lunches have to be nut free?
Because of nut allergies. It’s a common rule for many schools, day cares, etc.
What Lauren said! The day care is nut free
Just incase other children are allergic. Some are highly allergic and can get allergic reactions from it touching their skin etc.
Other kids allergies is usually the reason.
As for his tantrum after having artificial colors, I agree that it’s totally possible. Whenever I heard people say that dyes caused “hyperactivity in children,” I never actually believed them.
However, this last Easter, I was sitting at the dinner table with my young cousin. He ate all the red Jell-O off his plate, then ran back to the kitchen and got more. He literally ignored all the rest of his meal and just ate Jell-O for fifteen minutes. Curious, I watched for signs. Sure enough, he started spazzing out. Before he even finished his last round of Jell-O, he just got up and sprinted outside, where he proceeded to scream and sprint laps around the house. For an entire hour. Very suspicious…
Things that make you go “hmmm” 🙂
I don’t have my own kids but I can tell a difference in my own behaviour when I’ve had junk food and I’m an adult! I’ve got no doubt at all that you’d be able to tell the difference in your own child after he’s eaten something unusual. It doesn’t mean it applies to every child but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true.
Interesting. I feel like if your son was eating school-served food and getting sick this often, you’d blame the food. Instead, you’re ignoring the fact that he’s getting sick despite getting home-sent meals, and you’re only blaming the artificial flavoring for his tantrum because you’ve labeled it bad in your mind. You tend to blame as is most convenient…
Maybe it was the lunches I sent.
Somehow I doubt that.
True. Sometimes when you think somethign is bad, you automatically blame them. However, Artificial colourings do make children act hyperactive, hence why they are so naughty after dinner time. Blaming the food because he’s ill is a different matter. Kids get sick all the time…But it needs to be proven, so maybe you’re right, maybe you’re not 🙂
It looks like you’ve mastered the formatting thing, Mrs. Q! This post was really easy to follow.
Thanks!!
Can you tell me about the little smoothies your son has in his lunch (what exactly are they, where do you get them, etc). They look like a fun, nutritious snack idea. And for the record, I totally agree with you about the additives and dyes causing behavioral problems in children; as an early childhood teacher I witness it daily. I see/hear what the kiddos are eating and I can tell first hand how the artificial junk affects their little bodies. Sure this doesn’t happen to every single child, but it does affect a good amount of the population.
They are Ella’s brand. http://www.ellaskitchen.com/ I bought them online a while ago, but I think you can get them from Whole Foods too!
Thanks for commenting! 🙂
Doctors used to say that early exposure to virus, bacteria, dirt, etc is the way that adults stay healthy. The body cannot create anti-bodies if it never has contact with allergens, viruses, etc.
Do they still say that?
It is healthy.
You’re supposed to let your child play in mud. It increases their immune system and builds it up. letting your child get sick is not a bad thing! Means they’ll increase their immune system. Imagine a child that never gets sick, and when they do, they’ll be worse off, as the bacteria/virus…etc will hit them really hard as they wont have that build up of good stuff that fights things 🙂
I agree!
Yes, you are right. I try to tell myself that my son will not be sick as often as kids who stay at home until they start preschool. I really hope he’s as fit as a fiddle then!
How wonderful Mrs. Q, you’ve gotten the formatting down!
What I really like about these posts is that I can sometimes find something new for my son to try. I haven’t seen almond yogurt at my local supermarket, only coconut yogurt and soy yogurt. Since my son is GFCFSF, I would love for him to try this one so he has has more flavor options. He just loves yogurt!
I happen to agree with you about the dyes. My daughter is the same way, she tends to have behavioral issues after eating too many dyes, so try to avoid as much as possible. Otherwise, she gets extremely silly. She’s lucky though, I’ve known of cases where a child is allergic to dyes and needs to avoid completely. They cannot bathe or play with anything that use specific dyes. One boy in my son’s playgroup last summer couldn’t play with play dough unless it was homemade and dye free. He had to avoid lots of lotions, soaps and shampoos as well. If he did come in contact, he would breakout terribly.
The dye situation can range from “annoying” to “really bad.” Every kid is different. I’m learning my kid! 🙂
Wow your lucky, you get to even send you son to the Day Care with food. I’m not allowed to send my child with outside food, because they are afraid of food borne illness what if my son shares with other kids? I hate that honestly, but its pay criminal prices for a day care that’s over 45 minutes away for pay for the one that’s 30 minutes away and on the way home. At least they are letting me go and see him whenever I want and breatfeed…
Thanks for figuring out the the formatting Mrs. Q. Love it!
Thank you!! I figured it out.
Do you find it difficult getting foods that are nut free and still healthy? When my daughter’s daycare gave us the list of foods that would be “OK” to bring in because they were nut free and not manufactured in a plant where there are nuts I was appalled…so much HFCS and other additives. So we do alot of fresh fruit and veggies and things of that nature….
We love nuts at our house. It is a struggle. I do the best I can! It’s tough.
Wonderful format, really great! Thanks so much! Awesome!
I’d love to be able to make food and lunches like these. But sadly, my lunches aren’t so vaired. *Sigh* maybe when i have a more stable life, i’ll be able to do what you do…I’m only 20 after all haha 🙂
You’ve got a lot of time. I only just figured all this stuff out about food since eating school lunch for a year!
Does the daycare have two snacks a day? Or just two choices for one snack time?
The day care has two snacks a day 🙂
I usually enjoy reading your blog, but I have to agree with the person who said you tend to blame the most convenient. As a mother of 3, I have learned kids get sick. There is NO way to prevent it other than to put them in a bubble. As the mother of an ADHD child, I have tried cutting out artificial ingredients and flavorings. Guess what I learned? It doesn’t have much of an impact on tantrums or any other actions. ALL kids throw tantrums at one time or another, and it has nothing to do with what they do or do not eat. It’s just something kids do from time to time
I think it’s natural to look for a cause. I can’t figure out why he has gotten so sick over the past three weeks. It’s summer after all. Also he was healthy for a long time.
Regarding ADHD, some kids respond with special diets and others don’t. You’re right that it’s out of our control. I just want to control things, I guess.
I really enjoy seeing your son’s lunches. Our 11.5 month old is very much into eating table food now and I struggle to think of new ideas for foods to send to daycare for her. Seeing your son’s lunches gives me inspiration!
Her daycare provides breakfast (cold cereal, often sugary) and two snacks plus whole milk for the kids over one. Parents have to send a lunch every day, and if you want different foods for breakfast or snack (or a different milk) that also must be provided. We love our daycare and and one snack per day is usually something pretty healthy like fruit, veggies, yogurt, etc. but unfortunately the nutritional value of the second snack is usually not up to par. The breakfast cereal selection is also a mixed bag – Cheerios are fine for pre-toddlers but not Cinnamon Toast Crunch! Because it’s too much of a pain to go through the menu and figure out what’s OK and what we will send in, we just send in all of her food.
When she’s over 1 we will also send in organic milk for her once we exhaust the frozen breast milk (she is breastfed and will continue to nurse when we’re together). There are a number of families who send in organic/hormone free milk or rice or almond milk for their kids so we’re not alone in this. There are also a few families who also send in all of their kids’ food but I’ve been a bit shocked to see how many parents are apparently OK with their older babies and young toddlers having a sugary Popsicle or a pudding cup for their afternoon snack.