For the Love of Lunch!

I have a love hate realtionship with lunch.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm a live to eat. To an eat to live kinda chick but when it comes to school day lunches I may just lose mine.  I spend Monday through Friday eating my mid day meal with 3-6 year olds.  It's good times.  Well, at least the company and the tiny tables and the tiny chairs and the nicely decorated cafe that makes you forget that you are really in a double-wide.  But I could do without the food part.  It's all good, laughing and chatting and telling stories and then the next 19 minutes is a pleading battle of trying to convince the 3 year olds especially that it would really be in their best interest to eat something.  Anything.  

The occasional kindergartner turns her nose up at the school lunch or the lunchable that is squeezed into the lunch box but for the most part it's a battle of the 3 year old will. So here's the thing:  No.  More. Lunchables.  They tell you they want them.  They freak out on the lunchable aisle and throw down like their life depends on it but they are fibbing!  They heard a rumor on the playground, they watched a commercial, they saw their BFF with one.  I don't know what the deal is but they can't stand them and they won't eat them.  Best bet is to cut up a few pieces of meat and cheese and throw them in with some crackers and call it good!

Problem number 2 is school lunches.  Just forget it.  If your child doesn't eat adult food AKA collards, spinach, shepherds pie, meatball subs at home, they sure as heck aren't going to eat them at school.  It's hot food but it's adult food and they just won't eat it.

Now before you get all mad and think that I have kids who eat happily every day, no mam...it just isn't so.  That small punk complains about everything!  I have two sites that I have started frequenting for ideas, http://www.momables.com is an awesome resource for recipes and http://wendolonia.com/blog/ is just a menagerie of cuteness and who doesn't want a cute lunch?!?  Good luck on the perfect lunch quest and please share ideas that make your kiddos lunch a healthy, happy experience!