School Lunch Makeover

With two girls that are finicky eaters, one of my permanent worries is that they are getting enough food both nutrition wise and quantity wise in their bodies. I supplement their diets with daily multi-vitamins, etc. but every morning when I’m getting ready to prepare their lunches I think “here we go again”. I find it a challenge to come up with food options that they will eat and that are healthy.

I keep asking Kaitlin what the other kids bring for lunch and it all sounds like junk food to me. I look at the school menu to try and get ideas, but they won’t eat any of the things they serve at the school. So I keep sending the same boring lunches every day.

While discussing this with my cousin she sent me some suggestions and sent me a link to a woman that has been documenting her son’s school lunches with pictures. Isn't she creative?

I decided to start doing this with Natalie’s lunch yesterday. I have one of those Lock'n Lock sandwich boxes and using mini cupcake liners as dividers I sent mini sandwiches, cut-up fruit and veggies, fruit snacks & mini marshmallows, in addition to a yogurt and juice. It all looked so cute; I wish I had taken a picture of it. Actually, I took a picture of today’s lunch and I will upload it later today.

I’m so excited about this that is almost ridiculous! I kept looking at the clock yesterday wondering if Natalie would enjoy her lunch or not. When I picked her up I asked her about it and at first she did not react that excited, but when I asked more specific about the little different things I sent and the shapes etc. she let out a little smile, and asked me if I was going to do it again tomorrow.

I found myself last night thinking about what I could do different today, what shapes I could use, etc. You would think I have nothing else to do! I’m even thinking of getting Kaitlin a new lunch box that would fit the plastic container, so I can do it for her too.

It is something small, I know, but as a working mom, I always carry around some guilt that I am not able to spend more time with the girls. I am always looking for ways to make them think about me and put a smile on their face when I am away from them and creating cute and healthy school lunches might just be another way I let them know I love them.