punky’s dilemma
by wreke

it’s almost back-to-school time. and this year, i have not one, but two critters hitting the local elementary school. egads. i’m in luck in terms of school supplies: the local PTA has a fundraiser where they put together supply packs for each grade. you merely write a check and voila! you’re done. (i actually priced supplies online before writing my check. the PTA’s prices beat anyone’s, hands-down. i suspect it has something to do with a tax-exempt purchasing power. hey, as long as i don’t have to drive to staples nd fight with other over-achieving moms over the last pink pearl eraser, i’m a happy lady.)

anyway, since i don’t have to think too much about actual supplies, it gives me ample time to obsess about my lunchtime strategies. see, last year, BC (Beloved Child), my magical daughter who is 9 going on 40, discovered that school lunches apparently are da bomb. i was shocked. in my day, admitting you liked school lunch was on par with admitting you were a member of the Donny Osmond Fan Club. definitely not cool. over time, though, i noticed that her lunches were apparently heavy on the macaroni and cheese and chips department and light on the fruit, protein, and basically anything-with-green-in-it department.

truly not cool.

couple that with the fact that i think i used way too many plastic baggies in lunches she did bring, and well, you can see i was not part of the solution. multiply that by two this year and you can see i’m going to be doing my bit to contribute to global warming.

so here’s my mission: pack lunches in reusable containers, and pack lunches they’ll actually eat.

reusable containers: i have a bunch of little rubbermaid containers. i also have containers leftover from my husband’s lunch meat selections (they come in glad containers) — rather than throw them out, i use them for food storage. i know they aren’t necessarily the best solution, but i’m trying to be green here and not throw things into a landfill. (and no, i haven’t been able to get my beloved spouse to change lunch meat brands, so there i am.)

does anyone have better suggestions on the plastic front? those bento lunch boxes look cute, but not only are they costly, but they appear to be very small on the portion front. great for a preschooler; not so cool for a 10 year old.

lunch ideas: here’s the truly fun part. i have a daughter who doesn’t like meat. i have an underweight son who does. i have a daughter who loves fruit and dislikes veggies. i have a son who dislikes fruit and likes veggies for the most part. both love them some sugar.

a lot of times, i see lunch suggestions which look great… for a preschooler whose parent has carefully concocted items for him that are organic, perfectly nutritious, and great if the child lives in a bubble and doesn’t have to enter a world with other children. children who have older siblings. children who have seen commercials for cereal straws and all sorts of other things that are not necessarily healthy snacks.

don’t get me wrong: i give parents who do that sort of thing an A+ for effort. but once their child enters public school and a real school cafeteria where the kids will either laugh at him for having a weird lunch or introduce said child to other goodies that lack a speck of nutritional value, well, hilarity might ensue, so to speak. i’m all about healthy choices; i’m also all about having my kids actually eat their lunches, and eat them in peace.

incidentally, i don’t want to lose my mind completely while packing lunches each day. i’m not a short-order cook, nor do i play one on TV.

suggestions in the comment area are absolutely encouraged and graciously appreciated!

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