Friday, September 11, 2009

Ultimate School Lunch Challenge Showdown

We all survived the first week of 1st grade (yay!) and now the boys have got me fixated on lunch, too, only for different reasons. I somehow forgot that there was a high likelihood that their classrooms would be peanut-free, due to the severe allergies of several of their classmates. Actually, I think that I remembered at one point this summer and then promptly forgot again...

Really the only sandwich Owen eats is PB&J. He has expanded his hot food options beyond macaroni and cheese and chicken fingers (even being so bold as to eat spinach quesadillas and salmon!), but when it comes to sandwiches, the only thing he'll eat without someone standing over him saying, "Three more bites! C'mon, just three!" is PB&J.

Well, wouldn't you know that Owen got the peanut-free class, while Aidan, who has a wide ranging palate, can bring whatever he wants to eat. Great.

Compounding the problem is the fact that they apparently get 10 seconds to eat lunch. Okay, I think they get at least 20 minutes - maybe even half an hour - but my kids are slow eaters. Owen, in particular, is a slow eater, as he tends to drift off to space every few minutes - this has always made mealtime a challenge. Add in a table full of kids to distract him and I'm sure he completely forgets he's even hungry.

This has resulted in not a lot of lunch getting eaten. Today, Owen reported that he ate his tiny cup of applesauce and drank his chocolate milk and that's it. Results were only slightly better on the one day he took hot lunch (french toast sticks!), but hot lunch is only an option when they are serving something he is likely to eat without prompting, which pretty much limits us to macaroni and cheese, chicken fingers, pizza, and anything in the breakfast carb family (pancakes/waffles/french toast).

So my challenge is to find a nut-free lunch that he likes enough to want to eat it (quickly) and that provides enough protein to give him a fighting chance of making it through the rest of the school day without a meltdown. No lunch meat. No cheese slices. Nothing weirdly textured ("It has texture!" he will say). And he already vetoed sun butter on a trial run.

Please allow me to make my challenge yours...ideas? Winning ideas get a napkin autographed by Owen.

4 comments:

Ann R said...

by any chance does he like humous? or some kind of bean spread?

~Michelle @ Don't Eat That Cookie~ said...

Wow, that is a challenge!

I don't suppose he'd go for an egg salad sandwich?

Is it all nut-free or just PEANUT-free? You could try Nutella. What kid wouldn't eat chocolate for lunch? It isn't as high in protein as peanut butter, but there are hazelnuts and skim milk. It has to be healthier than not eating. When I was an exchange student in Germany we had these for lunch all the time.

Good luck solving your lunch dilemma!

Nikki said...

Maybe cream cheese and something? My son is the same way with texture, but I have found he likes honey and thinly sliced banana, I was hoping to get him to try guacamole, but that was a no go, lol.
Cream cheese and apple butter is yummy, even on crackers. Good luck in the never ending search for acceptable foods, I feel your pain!

KK said...

Leyla, it's really nut-free, as I checked to see if almond butter was okay and it's not.

I think hummus is going to be winner and I think we all might want to start eating apple butter and cream cheese sandwiches - yum!

Thanks everyone!