My son is doing better. He turned the corner last weekend and two weeks of crappy eating slowly came to an end. In fact, this week he ate more than usual at breakfast and dinner. My husband and I are wiping our brows. Phew!
Click below for the photos…
MY SON’S LUNCHES
MONDAY
Black rice heart, peas, mango, bacon, yogurt and pomegranate seeds,
ginger cookies, lollipop, crackers
For Valentine’s Day I sent my little guy a rice heart. I have noticed he’ll eat more rice when it’s shaped than when it’s loose (find the product here). When I made the rice, I used 1.5 cups white rice to 0.5 cups black rice, which you can purchase at Asian grocery stores. I like diluting the black rice, because when I have made “pure” black rice, it’s a little over-powering. This lunch felt sparse to me, but I after roughly two weeks of poor lunch eating, I scaled back a little. They didn’t give him the lollipop so when we left the daycare and people were handing out bright red cookies and milk chocolate, he was happily sucking on a Yummy Earth lollipop. Sometimes I feel like a food prude but it’s my son’s tummy and health at stake and I won’t compromise. Daycare menu: soynut butter and jelly sandwiches, mandarin oranges, peas with yogurt and fruit as snacks.
TUESDAY
Rice star, green beans, sliced chicken sausage, applesauce,
yogurt with pomegranate seeds, mango, carrot muffin
If it looks like someone raided this lunch and nibbled on a muffin, they did. When I make my son’s lunches, he’s often very interested in sampling what he’s going to get ahead of time. Daycare menu: Egg patty on bread, banana, green beans with fruit and a blueberry muffin for snacks
WEDNESDAY
Rice bear, sliced potatoes, smoked salmon, applesauce,
muffin, Ella’s fruit smoothie
I went with the school lunch rule that potatoes are a veggie and sent them with my son. I prepared them by slicing them thin and frying them in olive oil with a little sea salt. I thought they were perfect. I sent smoked salmon because my kid loves it. He gobbles it down. I have to agree that it is amazing. Daycare menu: ground beef and rice, diced pears, diced carrots, with fruit and ice cream as snacks.
THURSDAY
Gf fish sticks, bacon, applesauce, brussel sprouts, yogurt,
sliced pear, bag with pretzels
Of all of this week’s lunches, this was his favorite. I was told he ate everything. When I saw the gf fish sticks on sale at the store, I couldn’t resist. Have you noticed a lot of bacon and applesauce in my son’s lunches? Yeah, I see a trend. It’s hard not to send him with things I know he’ll love. Daycare menu: chicken patty, wheat bread, applesauce, peas with yogurt and fruit as snacks.
FRIDAY
tomato soup, brussel sprouts, applesauce, egg, yogurt
pretzels in the bag
He loves tomato soup so I sent some. I also brought the same for myself in my lunch (see below) and I found it to be saltier than I remembered. Daycare menu: cod nuggets, chicken and rice soup, diced peaches, baked beans with fruit and cheese & crackers as snacks.
MY LUNCHES
MONDAY
Mango, blueberries, tuna mac, KIND bar
I used that packaged “mac and chreese” stuff I mentioned before and added tuna and peas. Quick and easy dinner on a weeknight. Plus tuna and pasta is a comfort food for me.
TUESDAY
Baked zucchini spaghetti pie (No Whine with Dinner),
mango slices and KIND bar
I modified the original recipe (from the book I reviewed last week) to make it gluten and dairy free. It was good. I could have used more zucchini though. Or maybe I just used too much pasta!
WEDNESDAY
Squash soup, rice, potatoes, pear
I was nauseous on Wednesday. In fact, I was so nauseous in the morning that I joked to my husband that maybe I was pregnant. Just so it’s clear, I’m definitely not pregnant. But I was terribly nauseous and didn’t eat much breakfast. I had a tough time making my son’s lunch and throwing something together for myself. I didn’t have a clue what would appeal to me so I brought plain foods. The nausea was there all day and when lunch rolled around I didn’t want to eat much. I ate half a bowl of soup and once pear. If what I had was what my son had last week, no wonder he didn’t want to eat.
THURSDAY
Amy’s microwave meal
I felt like myself on Thursday after a good night of rest. I brought a microwave meal to work for the first time this year. I wasn’t able to do any cooking the night before because I was not feeling like myself. The day before I had left the rice at work in case I still wanted to eat something plain the next day, but I didn’t want to eat it. So I went ahead and heated up the frozen meal. You want to know something? Multiple coworkers commented on my meal! This was the first time anything I have eaten attracted any attention (probably because I eat weird food). They all said my lunch smelled great — it tasted good to me.
FRIDAY
Brussel sprouts, egg, Applegate pepperoni, crackers (above) and tomato soup
It’s a hodge-podge lunch for sure. I made little cracker sandwiches with the pepperoni — it’s like my own whacked version of lunchables! And there you have it.
Im so jealous of people who get to have hot lunches at work. we only have a hot water tap. I love the Amys GF/DF frozen meals for emergencies! all of these meals look great!
Funny about your coworkers commenting on the good aromas from the Amy's frozen meal – I almost always take my own food, but on the rare occasions when I do take a frozen meal, it is always one of the Amy's brand. And, the other teachers ALWAYS comment on the good smells!
I also really like the frozen meals from Trader Joes. They've got these pad thai bowls that totally rock. They're in like, a layered bowl thing with sauce in the bottom bowl which steams the pasta and veggies, then you dump it all into the sauce and mix it up and it is soooo gooood. It's been years since I've had one though, so I have no idea what the nutrition facts are. It was delicious, so I'm wondering if it was totally salt laden? Their pot pies rock too.
For two glorious photos I was wondering if your son's daycare had seen the light and was serving decent food to the kids (fruit and yogurt as snacks, fruit and muffins as snacks…) and then the ice cream came and all of my hopeful optimism came crashing down. Seriously. WHAT THE HELL?
What kind of ice cream are they giving kids? Is it like, the little scoops in the plastic cup with a wooden spoon? Ice cream bars? Ice cream sandwiches? Why ice cream? Why?! They had the right idea with yogurt and fruit and muffins. HOW are parents ok with this? Why isn't ice cream a "last friday of the month" treat or something? Why does this happen once a week? Several times a week sometimes?! It boggles the mind! :O
I always enjoy your lunch wrap up posts! Thanks, Mrs. Q!
@ Anon,
I read an article on Yahoo! last week that Amy does some private label Trader Joe's frozen meals. Perhaps the one you like is actually manufactured by Amy's!?!?!
Actually, the daycare's lunches don't sound so bad this week. Monday's especially sounded good.
I need to look into black rice, and I'll try to have fun with shapes, too! The heart and bear are adorable. 🙂
These are a great idea but I've seen you put bacon into his lunch every once in a while, is that a favorite of his which is better for him to eat than a processed snack or is it just left overs from breakfast?