Extreme Makeover – Lunchbox Edition

For the first year and a half of my daughter’s eating career, I prided myself on her broad palate of (mostly) healthy food choices. Making her lunch was an adventure in “what cool thing can I pack that’ll boost her up the food pyramid chart for the day.” Veggie-packed frittatas, Hummus, Avocado, Bean and Veggie Quesadillas, Pasta with Beets and Zucchini, and on and on. It was easy for me to accept her “snub my nose at dinner” attitude given her nutrition-packed lunch. As a health educator, I dreaded what I knew was coming. At about age 2 when children’s growth spurt slows is when picky eating behavior starts to rear its ugly nose.

And it happened. About a month after starting a new daycare the daily notes with the glaring “Did Not Eat” checks next to the lunch line came. Day after day, I sent her favorites – veggie burgers, spinach pizza – with the same results. DID…NOT…EAT. I kept trying and finally hit the jackpot with the single thing she would eat – hallelujah! - sunflower seed butter and fruit jam on whole wheat. Since I wasn’t there to encourage her eating and “tasting”, I easily got snagged in that working mom trap. I started sending the same lunch every day only mixing up the fruit to go along with her new favorite sandwich. Soon after, I learned that her new best friend was also a sandwich-only girl. I knew I had lost the battle. Not even a supermom can compete with a girl’s first best friend! But she can try.

This month, I’m calling in Ty and the team from Extreme Makeover to knock down this crumbling structure and to help build a more solid foundation. Well, at the least, I’m going to start slowly mixing up her lunches. My list is below which I hope to work through one by one. Wish me luck and please send your own lunch box suggestions.

• Hummus on whole grain bread or tortilla with cucumbers, shredded carrots, and/or spinach
• Low fat cream cheese on tortilla with cucumbers, shredded carrots, etc...
• Bagel puppets: whole wheat bagels spread with cream cheese and decorated with veggies
• Minestrone, lentil or vegetable soup
• Veggie sticks or kebobs with dip (hummus, bean dip, baba ghanouj)
• Burritos with veggies and cheese
• Quesadillas with roasted veggies and cheese
• Funny Face pizza
• Egg pizza (frittata cut in wedges)
• Veggie burgers

--Cooking Mom