“As a rule, children dislike foods which are said to be good for them, or are forced on them, and they take strong fancies to foods which they are not allowed to eat; advantage should be taken of these tendencies.”
– Eric Pritchard
Yaaayyy! It’s that time of the year again 😉 “Back to school” is a very exciting prospect for most mommies. Well, except for mommies of  first-time-school-goers; who are outright nervous to let go of their babies in this big bad world. To all those mommies out there…first and foremost, congratulations! Second, please relax. Your sweet, little baby will do just fine and have the time of his/her life, while you will be sulking away in misery. Trust me, you are going to thank your lucky stars once you get used to those precious few hours of tranquility and order (experience talking, haha).
Ok, now that we are done celebrating this auspicious time of the year, lets shed some light on the real dilemma. Deciding a daily lunch box menu for your child.
A couple of friends and I were discussing, the other day, our lack of intellectual ability to come up with an ideal lunch box menu for the picky li’l eaters in our life. We exchanged some notes over our whatsapp group and the matter was closed. Later on, thought of dedicating an entire post to this in the collective interest of humanity and mom-sanity. Because lets admit it…in spite of making concerted efforts, we do have a hard time coming up with a lunch box plan that would hit a home run.
So here are a few suggestions, a combination of which, can help you design an effortless menu for your child on a daily basis.
Disclaimer: I am not, in any way, suggesting that these classes and combinations of food would provide a ‘balanced’ meal for your child. If you think that any of the items mentioned herein is not healthy, please feel free to omit it from your plan. Or try a substitute. This is just something that works for me and hence I am sharing it with you.
Main items
1. Sandwich: Chicken sandwich, cheese sandwich, egg sandwich, pb&j sandwich, hazelnut spread sandwich, butter and jam sandwich, kebab sandwich
2. Mini pizzas
3. Paratha (indian flatbread) with cheese/ hazelnut spread or as is
4. Fast food: home made nuggets, mini burger
5. Breakfast items: mini muffins, pancakes, waffles, french toast
6. Pasta
Sides
1. Fruits: apple slices, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, peach slices, orange cut-ups, grapes
2. Veggies: peas, carrots, cucumber, broccoli, sweet corn
3. Snacks: cookies, chips, corn tortillas, bread sticks, pretzels
4. Breakfast cereal
5. Hard boiled eggs
6. Cheese squares
In order to manage expectations of my beloved fruit of labor (my child, in case you were wondering 😉 ) and to streamline this tedious task, I have designed a weekly lunch box plan and have mounted it on the fridge. Now, every night I pack the lunch box like a boss, without wasting any precious time deciding what item to give and what not to give for the next day. Added benefit: the weekly plan helps me monitor my grocery list as well. Bingo!
Feel free to use the weekly lunch box plan (displayed above or some variation of it) for your kiddos. And let me know if it made a difference to your life.
Have a great week ahead 🙂
