So Miss. I'm-Almost-One has gone on an all out strike against any kind of baby food. I am having a hard time figuring out what to send her for lunch at school. Today she refused the food I sent so they gave her some green beans from the kitchen. Sure, she likes green beans. They also pointed out that she can eat the lunch that is offered there, which I'd never really thought about before. Our daycare is a private school that goes up to (I think) 3rd grade. So this is the lunch for everyone.
Problem is, well, *whispers* I'm kind of picky about what she eats. I just really want her to have good eating habits and eat a variety of good foods. I want to avoid that toddler I-only-eat-chicken-nuggets phase. Now, to be fair I'm not a health nut by any means. I would consider myself health conscious, even though I eat plenty of unhealthy things. I do try to make sure that 90% of the food we bring into the house is decent. I have made quite a bit, but not all, of her food up to this point. Now I'm looking at this menu they sent me home with and I see things like...little smokies and *gag* beanie weenie's. Little smokies are great for the Super Bowl but do I want her eating them on a weekly basis?
It looks like there is a main dish, veggie or legume, and fruit at most meals. Here are a few examples:
pizza bites, green beans, applesauce
corn dogs, baked beans, mandarin oranges
bean and cheese burrito, corn, pineapple
spaghetti O's, pears, carrots
pb&j, apples, chips
chicken nuggets, corn, pineapple
grilled cheese, sun chips, grapes
cheese pizza, carrots, bananas
soft chicken tacos, beans, grapes
Now, I don't expect them to serve Whole Foods free-range all white meat natural hand breaded organic chicken nuggets (although that would be cool, if such a product exists) but a lot of the main dishes seem kind of junky.
It would be nice for her to eat this lunch though because a) I wouldn't have to worry about making/packing her lunch and b) it is included in the cost and darned if I wouldn't like to get every penny's worth!
I think I'll put a poll in the sidebar so anyone can hide behind the cloak of anonymity when they tell me I'm a crazy control freak. I know it's our decision, but I'm curious to see what others do, would do, or have done with their children.
2 comments:
Don't even get me started on the quality of food at schools. It's the State Food Program. All of the schools, private schools, and daycare centers serve that crap. Maybe it happens because the teachers can't get most kids to eat healthy. Who knows? We've had attempts at picky eating habits at our house, but they are short lived. If you don't indulge, she won't be one of those toddlers. To maintain some control of their diet, I feed my kids breakfast and then, of course, dinner at our house.
I say let her eat at the school...it will take some stress off you for now. If she doesn't like it she will not eat that stuff either! Caiden does a mixture of both, school and take his own lunch. He really looks forward to lunch time with his friends and I think that in this weird way it helps establish relationships (like we do with food and our adult beverage time!) You can influence her at breakfast, dinner, snack time, and on the weekends. School is only one meal a day...let her live a little while she can :)
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