What’s in the Lunchbox Wednesday – 1-30-13

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The Bug started pre-school this year, so I am packing lunches for the first time. I actually packed my lunch for most of junior high and high school, as well as for work, since I was never a fan of cafeteria food. Well, except in college. And no, I am not showing you the photos of the consequences of that. But, this is the first time I am packing lunch for my own child. I like to try to keep giving him the same variety as I would give him at home, when most days I repurpose leftovers into something different. The one challenge I have is that the pre-school he goes to is actually housed in a Jewish Temple, so one of the mandates is that all meals consumed on the premises adhere to Kosher rules (laws? Sorry if my terminology is bad. I am not Jewish.). Since kosher meals cannot have meat or dairy together, for simplicity, rather than worrying about if one kid’s meal conflicts with another kid’s, the rule is that all meals must be meatless. This is a challenge since we are decidedly NOT vegetarian. But I am totally in favor of some meals being vegetarian, so I actually love this. Luckily, we do not have to be nut-free, though I do try to minimize sending in nut-based items, simply for safety. So this has led to me getting quite creative.

Since packing lunches is something that many of us parents have to do, I thought I would start sharing with you what I pack for The Bug. I’ll give you links and recipes when they are available, and let you know what went over well, and what he was not a fan of. I’d love for you to share ideas, photos, and links in the comments, on Facebook, or Twitter every Wednesday. I think we could all help each other give our kids a variety of nutritious lunches! I know I am always looking for new items to pack. Plus, it is fun to be a little bit of a voyeur, right?! I will tell you, the photos aren’t up to the same quality as my recipe photos – I just take a quick shot with my iPhone while I am assembling lunch.

So here goes:

P.S. You’ll see we are having the ongoing saga of him not eating things at school that he happily ate at home. I am dealing 😉

Wednesday 1/23

What I Sent: “Mexican pizza” (pureed beans and salsa with cheese on flatbread, steamed veggies, raisins

  

What Came Home: Really didn’t eat anything, even though he ate the same pizza the day before. Even threw away most of his raisins.

Friday 1/25

What I Sent: Cashew butter and sliced strawberries on a whole wheat roll, steamed carrots and edamame, dehydrated apples

What Came Home: Just some of the edamame! Win!

Monday 1/28

What I Sent: Cheese and salsa rolled up in leftover phyllo, guacamole, pineapple

What Came Home: Everything but the pineapple. The cheese rollup had one bite out of it. He polished it off at dinnertime, and ate the guacamole on a quesadilla the next day. Go figure!

Share your ideas, recipes, links photos here, or on Facebook or Twitter. I know lots of mamas (and dads, too) who would love some lunchbox inspiration!!