Thursday, September 11, 2008

Lunch Time!

So, today marks Doodle's first day at school where I drop him off and he eats lunch there.
It's a half day, but at his school they have 2 lunch times called nutrition breaks. One is around 10:30 and the other is around 1:30. so they advise parents to pack 2 lunches.
wow.
As if one isn't enough work.
Today is the first time I'm packing a lunch.
There are some guidelines. Obviously the lunch has to be peanut and tree nut free. No biggie - I like that rule. My confusion here is whether it can be a snack made in a facilty that processes nut products or if it just can't contain the nuts. And, what about home-made stuff? We have peanut butter in our house. So, can I make him non-nut muffins knowing my house has peanuts? Don't get me wrong - I'm totally okay with that (especially since there is a severe nut allergy in his class). But, I'm just unclear.
The next is that there's no junk allowed in their lunches. As in no sugary snacks. But, what does this allow and not allow? I'm trying to not give Doodle tons of junk and sugar anyway, but what about a (peanut/nut-free) granola bar? Or bear paws? Help!!!!
So back to today.
We have the Super Friends Lunch Bag.
And since Doodle will be there in the afternoon I need to pack for the afternoon nutrition break. I have no idea if this is more the lunch side of things or the snack side of things. So, true to form I overpacked.
For the lunchy part I sent in cheese and meat in cubes (he loves this) with crackers. And of course a pickle since he loves pickles.

Then I added some fruit.
And some yogurt.
And a fruit snack.
And a bear paw.
And some raisins.
And a drink.
I had a lot more stuff to put in there, but I have no more room.
I actually had to pile stuff.
So, what's a mom to do?
I'm planning to already give him a pretty fulsome lunch in a few minutes.
I'm thinking maybe I need to go and get a second lunch bag and number them - lunch one and two.
Or maybe I need to pack less.
Phat Daddy just kind of rolled his eyes. Because much like anything else, as a rookie I feel the need to overdo it just a bit.
But, I can't help but worry that I may not give him enough. Or he may be hungry.
Truthfully, this is probably his normal days' worth of food. I remember in highschool getting through the day (8:15-3) on an apple and a nutrigrain bar. And I had about 90 pounds on him! So, I'm guessing he will survive.
Is there any wonder that my mom and sister have both called me today to make sure I'm okay?
Now, I have to admit I have a friend who is kind of an expert mommy in all things school so I think I may just call her and see just what she puts in her son's lunch ... (kerry, I'm talking about you!)
I'm not about cheating on all this mommy stuff :)

3 comments:

Kerry Johnson said...

It's not cheating!! Why re-invent the wheel?? That lunch looks perfect to me. Just no nut products - you don't have to make sure they haven't been in contact. Today I sent bears paws, sandwich, apple, yogurt tube, rice krispie square, raisins and apple juice and water bottle. Call me and we'll chat.

Multi-tasking Mommy said...

Peanut/nut free items are so difficult. As long as you are not baking with the products, that is what counts.

The rule at our school was products bought at the store cannot say, "Made in a facility that may use peanuts or other nut products". You may want to ask what the rule at your school is.

As far as no sugary snacks are concerned, I would ask the teacher whether she is talking about all sugar (e.g. bear paws, baked treats) or just things like candy.

Good luck! Rules, rules, rules!

Badness Jones said...

I try to feed my kids healthy food, but I take offense at the school trying to tell me what I can and can't send in my daughter's lunch (other that the nut-free thing, which I'm more than happy to do). So most of the time she'll get a sandwich or pasta in a thermos, along with a yogurt, fruit, and a cookie for dessert. But sometimes she gets those 'fruit flavoured snacks' that are really just ju-jubes for a treat, and after Hallowe'en she gets to pick a candy to put in her lunch, and if we happen to have cake or cupcakes around I'll put one of those in too. Trust yourself, do what seems right to you.