My trio will be starting kindy in the fall and that means they will be eating lunch at school for the first time. I know at least one daughter will probably eat some things. The other two kids, I'm not as sure about. DS is VERY picky and this summer I have mostly been fixing about 3 things for lunch.

The problem is I really, really, really don't want to have to make lunches for them everyday for school. I would love to hear about your experiences with the kids eating at school. I remember my teachers being very uptight about forcing us to eat what we were given and we couldn't leave until things were at least tried. It was torture for me.

How do I make this a good experience for them without having to make lunches for the rest of their lives???????

Thanks,

Andi
g/b/g
triplets
almost 6 yrs. old

School lunches have been good to my soon-to-be second graders. Two have expanded what they will eat and do school lunch several days a week. But the quality can be a tad iffy. I'm not a fan of ground meat, but the school lunch people are, although there is often a vegetarian alternative. But the kids eat more cheese than they used to,and baked beans and chickeny dishes. My picky eater is just as picky as ever and I am condemned to fixing him the EXACT same lunch every day, poor guy.

I think they all were intimidated at first by the unfamiliar process of going thru the line and handling a tray and dealing with the lunch ladies and paying for it. But once they were more comfortable with that (and it depends on having nice lunch ladies and cafeteria monitors, and a generally friendly atmosphere), it got better and more focused on the food itself.

Maybe you could actually go to lunch with them a couple of times and show them how it is done. I did not do that, but other parents did and I bet it helped alot.

Making lunches is not so bad, either. Think of it as a gesture of love!

Nancy

mom to beautiful BBG triplets, born February 2002 at 33 wks, 4 days

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Don't worry, if they don't like the lunch (pizza 4 times per week) they can buy snacks! Fruit roll-ups, oreo cakesters, ice cream, fruit gushers. So nutritious!

Sorry, I have a war going with the school cafeteria, they claim to serve healthy nutritious food and I claim they're full of crap. The problem is my kids love to buy lunch and I hate being the mean mommy that ALWAYS says no.

My kids eat in the cafeteria twice a week. Over the weekend we look at the menu and they decide which days to eat. Overall, I don't think the school lunches are nutritious, and my kids would waste much of the food if they ate school food daily.

At our school no one makes sure that kids eat their lunches. There are several lunchroom monitors focused on clean up and monitoring behavior, but no one is telling the kids to eat.

Lisa
Mom to Aidan, Christian, and Rachel (10.03.01 @ 36wks)

Overall, my kids have not been picky eaters -- except that they became immediate haters of anything that was a vegetable, and ds expanded this to include most fruits. What happened with "school lunches" (at pre-school, thank you) is that some peer pressure also occurred. Interestingly, since the meals were brought in by a company focused on nutrition, and since the staff insisted that the kids take a bite or two or everything, my children came to like a lot more foods than they had before.

Mine will be at school this year, too, and I've had the same question about lunches. Frankly, I'm more than a bit peeved at the fact that they keep the kids over to 11:55 so that they have to be there for lunch, when if they simply released them at 11:30, there would be no official school lunch time. And, hearing about the kinds of things being served at the schools (thanks, ladies!), I'm even less thrilled. I'll probably wind up packing their lunches, though, because we are on a budget now and as I've become much more aware of the pennies, I've become much more miserly about where the pennies go... or, this lunch packing thing could just become an act of love...

Cat w/3 Kittens
Caidan, Carina and Caeleigh
Born at 31 weeks, 1/8/04.
It is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all. In memory of Carina, who was greatly loved.

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My DS was permitted to buy once a week. The same will go for the girls next year. Fact is, I can usually make a lunch for much less than the $2.30 cafeteria cost.

My DS pretty much lives on PB+(something). Would live on snack foods if allowed. Buys on hot dog day (won't be allowing that anymore as I can send them all with hot dogs for much less now that I've learned how to keep it hot).

For my girls, a couple of them will get a decent value from the bought lunch, as they'll hit the fruit and salad bar. I'm pretty sure DS has no idea that it exists, and if he does, I'm sure he's convinced it has an impenatrable force field around it.

My girls are also more adventurous. They've been asking for dinner foods to go into their lunches. Yeah! I'm happy to warm leftovers and put them in a Thermos, as in my mind, it's practically a free lunch. Some will even have soup in the winter.

One thing we do is to have them NOT throw out their trash or leftovers when they pack*. That way you have an idea of what they are actually eating. Help them understand that it's wasteful and they will not be in trouble for not eating it. My DS would come home and finish off his lunch almost every day, the minute he walked in the door.

*Caution: You will have to tell them to toss the yogurt and applesauce container, otherwise it will come home ALL OVER the inside of the lunch box. OR, next year since I'll have 5 packing, I'll buy a jar of applesauce and put some in those screw top plastic containers.

MonsterMom6
10 year old ^b^ b twins @ 30w5d (1 survivor) and
8 year old gggg quads @ 32w0d

OK, I'll bite. HOW DO YOU KEEP THE HOT DOG HOT? I need to know, because I have a very picky eater and he likes chicken nuggets and hot dogs and the occassional PBJ. Oh, and cheese. He never turns down cheese.

I would love to save my $3.25 and send him to school with the hot dog instead of buying the hot lunch!

BBB born 7/26/04 at 35 weeks

>OK, I'll bite. HOW DO YOU KEEP THE HOT DOG HOT? I need to
>know, because I have a very picky eater and he likes chicken
>nuggets and hot dogs and the occassional PBJ. Oh, and cheese.
> He never turns down cheese.

Your picky eater and my DS could dine together and be very happy. Mine has expanded his tastes a bit this summer and I think I can send him with a ham/cheese wrap now & then. He does live on PB, though.

Back to the hotdog. Two ways:

1. For the whole family, get a thermos tall enough to hold the dogs. Heat dogs on stove in water. Place dogs in thermos then pour greasy hot dog water over dogs. Just be careful if you use a plastic thermos. My water was a bit hot and it kind of warped the inside plastic a bit. Next time I'll allow to cool more before pouring in the water.

2. For single dogs, heat in micro or boil. Wrap the dog in foil. I do 2 layers. Then wrap in paper towel. This helps to insulate it a little more and keep cold things from coming into contact. I also put it in a plastic baggie in case it leaks out the foil. Put the bun in baggie or sandwich box. You can put ketchup and mustard on the bread. Did this for a day camp and kids said their dogs were warm at lunch and YUMMY.

2a. Warm dog. Place in foil. Dress to taste. Wrap entire thing in foil, then again in paper towel. Bread may be a bit wrinkly & soggy and smooshed, but still tasty. A friend did this when we met for lunch at a park. I think she packed shortly before picking up kids at VBS and driving to the park, so it wasn't all AM. Not sure how long it stays hot that way.

Like this because it's a bit cheaper and you can control the "go withs". I like whole wheat buns and I know they aren't gettign that from the lunch ladies. Also like a "natural" dog we started buying at Costco. OK, maybe not cheaper, but healthier...as hot dogs go. Won't be more than once a week in my house and hopefully less.

MonsterMom6
10 year old ^b^ b twins @ 30w5d (1 survivor) and
8 year old gggg quads @ 32w0d

The "keep the hot dog hot" trick reminds me of how I avoided having to stumble downstairs to prepare bottles during the middle of the night (2:00 a.m.??) feedings. I'd prepare a hot (warmer than usual) bottle for each baby, then roll it in a big fluffy towel and set it next to the bed for when the first wee one woke up. It's so good to know that this technique continues to feed the hordes!!

I, too, really itched to know how to keep the old hot dog warm!! Thanks!!


Cat w/3 Kittens

Thanks! I am going to try this. I am very choosy about the dogs we buy as well! I didn't know the 2 layers of foil/paper towel would keep it warm.

And yes, then I can control what goes with it. That is precisely my motivation!

Because even if the school serves healthy "go-withs" I have no guarantee my picky eater will eat it! Like he will only eat cold uncooked carrots - not the hot kind they sometimes serve in the cafeteria. There aren't a lot of fruits he'll eat, but he likes dried blueberries and raisins and dates -- so I can pack those and know he is getting some fruit. I can pack multi-grain sunchips instead of potato chips or tator tots on the hot lunch menu.

Plus I can add his favorite -- a stick of string cheese .

BBB born 7/26/04 at 35 weeks

In our school they are given three choices, the daily menu item, a PB&J sandwich or a yogurt cup with granola for lunch. They can choose wich of those three the would like to have. Mine have always been fairly good eaters, with a few minor exclusions for one or the other, but they have also learned to like things that I don't normally fix (can't stand fish myself, so it's a rarity in our house.)

Most schools will send home, or at the very least have online, a monthly lunch menu so you can see what each day is going to offer. You can prepare them ahead of time, or even give them the option of eating a sack lunch or school lunch. You could limit the number of sack lunches you will make a week (say 2 per child) and then they have to eat at school for the other days. Call your school to see if they offer substitutions and see what they are. You could get lunchables to pack instead of making one for the days they don't like school lunch.

Just some ideas...

Kim
Nate, Nick & Noel(36w4d)and Nia.

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Thanks everyone. Yes, I will try to think of making lunch for them as a labor of love. Though I am sort of looking forward to having a peaceful lunch once they are in school. So many good ideas. (think we will have hot dogs for lunch today

I do remember seeing parents come for lunch sometimes when taking DS to speech. Some even brought fast food though that doesn't seem fair to eat in front of someone stuck with cafeteria fare.

Great idea to limit them to 2 cold lunches a week. Even if it ends up cheaper to pack a lunch, I would rather have the convienience of them eating at school.

I think they also have a snack or 2 at school so that should help them not be so hungry if they don't eat much at lunch. Oh, the pain of them being gone all day every day is starting to hit me though.

Andi
g/b/g
almost 6 yr. old
triplets

Make sure to send a note to school with their lunch (or their lunch money) not to force them to eat what they don't want. Some teachers do and some don't so it's better to give a written instruction so there's no question.

My nephew has a weak stomach (from previous malrotation) and just cannot eat sometimes, or not eat what is not appealing to him (without throwing up.) My SIL had to send a note to the school to get them to stop forcing him to eat (thus making him sick.) She had to do it in writing so each person would know.

Jane
Anna/Emma/John/^James^ (9/24/03-9/29/03) 26 wkers
In memory of my beloved Emma 9/24/03 - 1/19/07
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http://snanimals.blogspot.com (my blog)

This is kinda OT, but I wanted to post since I am the Supervisor for the Food Service Department at a large, urban public school district.

The nutritional value of school lunches is monitored very carefully by the Department of Education. There are many, many regulations on what is allowed to be served in a school lunch (and breakfast).

We are required to have a certain amount of calories, protein, carbs, fat, minerals and viatmins served each day, and we are audited regularly by the state on our menus for compliance. We got in trouble last year on our audit because we had too little fat on our menu -- we added a breadstick to the meal to get in compliance.

I think people would be surprised to know how we actually prepare our food and what is in our food nutirionally.

For example, a meal of chicken nuggets and french fries -- at our district those are all oven baked items and even have soy baked into the breading. All of our pizza are on whole wheat crust with soy baked into it and topped with low-fat cheese and turkey sausage. All of our hot dogs are turkey and soy.

We offer a chef salad every day, and a fresh fruit every day.

We use only whole wheat bread products, and offer skim or 1% milks. (It is a regulation that we have to offer two different fat contents and flavors -- hence the chocolate milk choice).

As for snacks, our school district has a Wellness Policy that will not allow for snacks that don't meet meal pattern nutritional guidelines ... so only baked chips, 100% fruit juices, Nutragrain bars, etc are allowed.

We are also regulated for our portion sizes for milk, vegetable, fruit, protein and bread.

Every school should be doing something called "Offer versus Serve". This means that the child can choose what they want to eat, not just be given a tray full of food. The child can choose to take all items offered, but they have to take at least three.

Each meal we serve has to have:
8oz fluid milk
2oz of protein (meat/meat alternative)
1/2 cup vegetable
1/4 cup fruit
~2 servings of bread/grains (minimum of one serving per day and 10 servings per week)

So, a child can take just fruit, vegetable, and milk if they don't like the entree for the day (or don't want a chef salad or the yogurt option). Or if the child really doesn't want the kiwi fruit, he doesn't have to take it. This helps teach the child not to waste food and to take what they want to eat -- not force them to eat. If your child is being made to eat, that is an issue to definintely want to discuss with your school.

So, if your child does buy lunch, it is probably not as bad as you think it is if your school is under the National School Lunch Program (which most public schools are).

Also, I'm so glad to see all the healthy things you all are talking about packing in lunches! It always KILLS me when I have a parent complain about our school lunch not being healthy, and then they send their child to school with a Lunchable and a can of pop!

Jessica
http://lilypie.com>