Lunch lady

Now that my guy has started JK full time, I have discovered the joy of making lunches!  I never had to worry about lunch before, it was part of the cost of daycare I was paying.  Now I have the pleasure of trying to decide WTF to put in his lunch on a daily basis.  Dollarama, thankfully, had the best selection of lunch containers.  They are easy to open and fit a fair amount of food in them.  My son's school operates on a balanced day, so they have 2 "nutrition breaks", mostly referred to as Lunch 1 and Lunch 2.  I'm grateful that for the most part, my son likes to see the same things in his lunch, so far.  If at some point I have to become more creative, I may go crazy.  I find it hard to not be able to throw in the old staple, eats it every time, peanut butter sandwich.  He has asked me so many times for a peanut butter sandwich, but it's just not possible.  There is one child in his classroom with an allergy so his lunches really need to be nut-free.  I do not want to kill anyone.  

Here is my sample menu:

Lunch 1

1/2 tortilla & ham roll-up
handful of grapes or sliced apple
cheese

Lunch 2

1/2 tortilla & ham roll-up
handful carrot sticks & celery w. roasted red pepper dip
cheese

Snacks:  nut-free granola bar, apple sauce, rice crackers

Drinks:  juice box, bottle of water

Yesterday I baked my own oatmeal/choc.chip/apple muffins and today switched out one of the ham sandwiches. 

I hope he is happy with that, because I really want him to enjoy what I give him and not get bored.  I remember throwing out parts of my lunch, especially the boring old apple, and I really don't want my guy to get into that habit.  There has to be some balance to be struck between including things that are nutritious that are also things he likes to eat.  I'm hesitant to send hot lunches for him, not sure that at 4 he can handle hot food in a thermos.

I am surprised to find out that the school has a catering menu.  WHAT?  Catering for grade school lunches?  This is a concept I just don't understand.  If you can't take literally 8 minutes to put a lunch together for your kid, I mean, come on!!  The prices are outrageous!  And since when is there pizza day every Monday and hot dog day every Thursday?  Ridiculous!  Back in my grade school years (St. Luke's represent!), these were infrequent and meant to be "treats"!  You can't even just buy in for one day, you have to commit to every Monday or every Thursday for 4 months, or both and provide the money up front.  First of all, it's unhealthy, second of all I don't want to pay for weekly pizza or hot dogs.  We can have those things at home for a fraction of the cost, and then I get to have some too! 

The joys of having a child start school. 

And where the hell is the "communication book" I paid $5 for?!?

Sincerely,

The Lunch Lady a.k.a. Mommy