Out to Lunch

Taking lunch to school is no longer the simple process it once was. My biggest struggle every morning, other than getting people to put their shoes on, is what to send for lunch. P. will not eat the school lunch, so I'd rather not waste my money. E. has to bring her lunch because there is no cafeteria. And unless you have a child in school you are probably wondering, what's wrong with a pb&j? Well, it could kill somebody. There were two incidences at P.'s school in the first week where paramedics had to be called and it was a life-threatening situation. Why are peanut allergies suddenly on the rise? It's an interesting question that I have no answer for. But I don't want to take the risk of having my child's lunch kill one of their friends. Plus P. won't eat peanut butter sandwiches. He doesn't like much in the way of food. When he turned 2 he stopped eating good food. I do take partial blame. I was pregnant with E. and nearly threw up everytime I opened the refrigerator, so we opted for foods that had low odor. Every year he adds one or two new foods to his repertoire. Here are the foods he will eat regularly:

Most cold cereals--this is how we sneak fiber in his diet.
Cheese
Milk
Water
pop-tarts
Pizza--cheese only
chips and crackers
granola bars-the chewy kind
waffles/pancakes
bread
pretzels
ice cream

You can probably see the theme--carbs.

When he's in the mood he will also eat:

watermelon
grapes
apples
carrots
bagels

Very rarely he will eat:
lunch meat
oranges

So packing a lunch for him is a nightmare. I try to vary it from week to week, switching out pretzels for chips, etc. But basically it's the same everyday. I tried sending him carrots last year. He didn't like that. I keep waiting for someone to call and tell me how unnutritious my sons lunch is and maybe I should send better food. But I decided somewhere along the way I would rather him eat something than nothing. And, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I was told that for years his father would only eat fries, ketchup and coke when they went out. His food preferences have expanded over the years, but there is still a rather limited pool to select from. And now Baby M is exhibiting all the classic signs of carb dependence. As with P. when he was a baby, I think it has to do a lot with texture and temperature. They will not touch anything wet, cold, or hot. Their food tends to be orange or brown. M. will fortunately still eat baby food, so I try to get him some greens that way. I have snuck in chunks of real food, and he will eat a few spoonfuls, then start batting the spoon away. Baby W, on the other hand, will eat whatever you put on his plate. Occasionally he will refuse something, but it is rare. He eats with quiet deliberation, delicately picking up his food one piece at a time, while his brother shovels his food in by the handful. E. will eat most things, too. My secret hope is that we will all one day sit down to a meal and everyone is eating the same thing. And it includes vegetables.