Fed Up With Lunch: Eat Along Challenge

Mrs. Q over at Fed Up With Lunch posted a challenge for this week.  (apparently, I just can't turn down a challenge!)

This week, she's asking everyone who packs lunch for their children to post pictures of those lunches.  So, this morning, I set them out and took these inspiring pictures.

Marxo's Lunch

Fellan's Lunch

Actually, after setting out their lunches and looking at them, I really found nothing inspiring about them.  But, this is what they have every day.  It is what it is - and at least there are no preservatives, artificial colors, or flavors.

Marxo's lunch is always either a Babybel cheese OR yogurt, half a sweet peanut butter sandwich on home-made bread (natural peanut butter mixed with honey), water, fruit OR vegetable (typically cucumbers and carrots), and a cookie (which many times she doesn't eat because she doesn't have time or she's full).

Fellan always eats his full lunch.  His lunch is always a cheese stick, a toasted american cheese sandwich on home-made bread, Pringles, fruit (most of the time, the kids choose to have grapes), 2% milk, and a cookie... or two.

This year, we've been making the kids pack their own lunches.  They get their fruit, cookies, and Pringles ready the night before, we make their sandwiches for them in the morning, and then they're responsible for packing it all up before they leave.

They've also been going to after-school care this year at the school and if they want a snack (they're not allowed to usually have the snack from the school because it's generally crap-food), they're responsible for packing that the previous night, too.  Fellan usually chooses a mandarin orange cup and a package of Annie's Homegrown Bunny Crackers (similar to teddy grahams - chocolate is, of course, his favorite flavor, but we've been out of those for awhile...).

Marxo says she never has time to eat a snack after school, but I've been trying to make sure she has something in her bag, in case she gets hungry.  There's currently a smashed Kashi granola bar and some raisins in her bag.  And they've been in there since the beginning of the school year.  :o

I wouldn't consider these to be in the same class as the very original, cutsie, all-wholesome lunches and snacks that others provide for their kids, but I do think they serve the purpose and they're still relatively healthy.  And it works for us.  :)