Lunch...what do you think?

[Storm Bride]

Okay - I'm just interested in general opinions of this lunch, from a nutrition standpoint:

Small amounts of raw walnuts, pecans, almonds & sunflower seeds
Very small amounts of dried fruit (eg. 4-5 raisins, 2-3 dates or prunes, an apple ring)
Some raw veggies (carrots, broccoli, sugar snap peas, celery sticks...whatever)
Some fresh fruit.

Sometimes, I add some cheese and/or yogurt. Nine times out of ten, the accompanying beverage is water. Once in a while, it's herbal tea, juice or milk.

Does this sound like a reasonable lunch? It's so hard to put anything together that they'll eat and I feel okay about.

[lil_earthmomma]

Originally Posted by Storm Bride

Okay - I'm just interested in general opinions of this lunch, from a nutrition standpoint:

Small amounts of raw walnuts, pecans, almonds & sunflower seeds
Very small amounts of dried fruit (eg. 4-5 raisins, 2-3 dates or prunes, an apple ring)
Some raw veggies (carrots, broccoli, sugar snap peas, celery sticks...whatever)
Some fresh fruit.

Sometimes, I add some cheese and/or yogurt. Nine times out of ten, the accompanying beverage is water. Once in a while, it's herbal tea, juice or milk.

Does this sound like a reasonable lunch? It's so hard to put anything together that they'll eat and I feel okay about.

We eat primal, so this is a great lunch in my books! My kiddos usually eat from a snack platter with nuts, raw veggies, fresh fruit, cheese and meat every day. The only beverages offered are water and occasionally milk.

[Magelet]

Could you do cheese and yogurt more often? Add peices of leftover chicken or meat, or other meat?

And maybe some salad dressing/aoili/other dip for the veggies?

It seems a little low protein and low in healthy fats for growing littles.

Otherwise, it looks like a great meal.

[Zevy]

Agree that it seems a bit low in protein. Beans? Hummus?

[blueridgewoman]

Maybe even a big glass of milk or some hardboiled or deviled eggs?

[amma_mama]

Originally Posted by Zevy

Agree that it seems a bit low in protein. Beans? Hummus?

This would also add some good carbs, which would help sustain active children. I don't think that the original list sounded very filling for my very active 5yo. Hummus would make a great dip for the veggies. Otherwise it sounds good.

[Storm Bride]

I'd love to add leftover meat, but neither of them will eat it most days. (DD1 never would, and ds2 would on some days, but not others.)

DD1 won't touch a hard boiled egg, but ds2 eats them sometimes. I always have cold ones in the fridge (that's what I have for breakfast) and he gets one if he asks...usually about 2-3 times per week.

I'll try to add yogurt or cheese every time. I try to most days, but sometimes I don't, because of...duplication, I guess? Like if ds2 has afternoon preschool, he'll get a couple of slices of cheese in his snack, so I don't put it in his lunch those days, yk? And...sometimes, I just run out of yogurt.

I like the idea of a bit of a dip/dressing for the veggies.

Thanks, all. I'll keep this in mind, because the "bits and pieces lunch" seems to be a big hit, and I actually feel pretty good about feeding it to them? My brain is still programmed to not see it as a "meal", because it doesn't have a central feature (eg. meat) with sides. I'm working on that. I want out of PB&J rut...even with yogurt and some fruit or veggies, I really don't think they need to be eating it 4-5 times a week!

I do include all the nuts/seeds listed above each time. They both like the variety (although dd1 won't eat walnuts...ugh).

[amma_mama]

We will be moving to a "bits and pieces" snacky lunch as well. I only have to send DD her lunch 2X per week (she gets a hot lunch served the others days which she reportedly loves), but most of the time she is just not eating the "main course" that I send, even if it is something that she gobbled up the night before and exclaimed that I am "the bestest cook ever". I need to find a container, though, that is amenable to a snack tray approach as I know that she won't bother opening 4 different containers...