My oldest started kindergarten last week. I know, right? What a huge milestone for her and my husband and me. A milestone that, like all other milestones, came with a plethora of emotions ranging from pride to sadness and disbelief at how fast she's growing, and back to pride again.
In preparation for her first day, I asked her whether she wanted to eat the school lunch or bring a packed lunch from home. Without hesitation, she declared she wanted mommy to pack her lunch because mom makes the BEST food (yes, I'm soaking up that unconditional love and admiration while I can!). She picked out a unicorn-themed lunchbox (because everything is unicorn these days), and she was all set.
I wasn't too daunted by the task of packing lunch, as I've been doing that for years. But in order to prevent getting into a rut of preparing the same three lunches over and over again, to help with my grocery shopping and to avoid having to muster up my creativity each and every night and decide what to pack, I devised a little chart for myself of "cold lunch-friendly" options from each of the five food groups that I can use to mix and match for a slightly different lunch each day. And because I love to share my wisdom with others, I've included it in this blogpost for you to glean ideas from!
Kids' bodies (and adults' too!) need nourishment from a balanced meal about every four hours. A balanced meal means choosing something from at least three, four or five of the food groups. Notice I didn't include portion sizes in this chart. That's because portion sizes vary from person to person, depending on hunger level. Kids might eat very little one day and eat like a horse the next, so I would advise packing a little more than what you think they might eat. Better to have some food come back home uneaten than a kid who didn't get their fill at lunch.
One last bit of wisdom before I wrap this up: remember the division of responsibility in feeding your child. You are responsible for providing the choices in the lunchbox, and your child is responsible for what they choose to eat (from the choices provided), how much to eat and in what order they want to eat it. When that lunch box is returned and you find your child hasn't touched his vegetables or fruit, try your very best not to panic! Simply continue to include a vegetable and fruit in your child's lunch every day. That consistent exposure is important and sooner or later you'll see they nibbled on that carrot or bell pepper slice, and that is success!
Happy lunching!
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