TPM Tidbit: First Day of Kindergarten, First Packed Lunch
August 13, 2012 in Paleo at School, Paleo at School, TPM Tidbits
My oldest is at school. Since we didn’t do preschool with her, that feels very strange to say. I was so excited yet calm this morning as we got ready (I was very organized and got up early enough to have tons of time for a relaxing breakfast, packing lunch and snack and even taking some photos). We dropped her off in carpool line. She was excited and confident. We said a cheerful goodbye and I started driving back home. About two blocks later it hit me, the enormity of what just happened (and I cried on and off for a couple of hours). I just dropped my oldest child off at school. Woah.
We have entered a new phase for our family. A phase where we have to get up in the morning and get out the door. A phase where my oldest is learning from people who aren’t me. A phase where the day is so much quieter with only one child to entertain at home. A phase where I have to pack school lunches!
I’m rather impressed with myself for having the wherewithal to remember to take a photo of my daughter’s first ever kindergarten lunch (or course, I forgot to take a photo of her snack). In her lunch I packed: about 3oz US Wellness Meats Grass-fed Beef Bologna (Nitrite/Nitrate Free) which we absolutely love, a carrot cut into sticks, a celery stalk, a couple of florets of leftover steamed broccoli, a whole apple, and a mix of shelled pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and pecans. This fit very nicely into our EasyLunchBox. To drink, I packed water.
For her snack, I packed a small bunch of grapes and two large homemade date squares (a version of my recipe for chocolate date squares where I add a few more nuts and omit the cocoa).
Sounds good!
I’m experimenting with my kiddos and lunch right now. School starts back up in 2 weeks for us. Sandwiches have always been a staple. Instead of making it sound like deprivation, I’m trying to spin it as something exciting. “Instead of sandwiches all the time, what if Mommy made you guys some different things. Would you like that?” They all agreed.
I did turkey roll ups with almonds and craisins the other day – that was a big hit! Baby steps! I’m looking forward to your lunch blogs for ideas in the future.
Two of my three kiddos love fruits and veggies, so they won’t be an issue. My oldest is autistic/adhd and just wants carbs carbs carbs 24/7. There are a few fruits/veggies he’ll eat, but not many. And getting his protein in is even more difficult!
Thanks for sharing. My oldest child starts Kindergarten in 3 weeks and as I read your post I had a few tears in my eyes thinking about how I will feel in 3 weeks time. I’m sure I will be crying on and off for a couple of hours as well. I really need to sit down with her this week and to talk about what we are going to put in her lunch box.
Remember to dip the apple in some lemon juice to keep it from turning brown by lunch time!
I love these for little kids: http://www.planetbox.com/
I’m going to love seeing your lunch photos!!! Congrats mommy for the new stage of life
That photo made me hungry! It all looks so good! Have fun with the after-school reunion.
Great job! I’m jealous, because our school is completely nut free, which doesn’t leave a lot of options for paleo-friendly meals and snacks
To make lunch packing easy, I made a lunch matrix. I broke it into categories “Protein, Veg, Fruit, Fat” and have a list on my fridge with my options for each. If I get stumped or need an idea for something new, I check it out. We also brain storm together and he can add items he’d like to see in his lunches.
And I just found these cool boxes called “Little Yellow Box” (google it) that are cheap and make paleo lunches easy easy easy!!
Can you share a link of some kind? I googled and couldn’t find anything that made sense.
Your post made me teary eyed! My oldest starts kindergarten next week and I’m trying to prepare myself but just thinking about it makes me weepy! I’ve got her new lunchbox and have started preparing menus for lunches as the cafeteria is off limits with our paleo diet. Please keep the lunch pics coming as I’m sure I’ll need inspiration in a few weeks.