At the beginning of each school year, I read all kinds of inspiring articles about lunchbox creativity. I buy “fun” (and healthy) new items to try, but within a month or so, we’ve settled into a few easy favorites (and by favorites I mean things that, for the most part, get eaten). This leads to Big rolling his eyes when I tell him what’s for lunch and me lecturing him about manners. But, frankly, I don’t blame him. I get tired of the same stuff too.
So when I saw what my friend, Terra, did with her boys recently, I had to share it. (It’s no surprise the most playful, unique spin I’ve seen on taste testing came from the owner of one of the coolest online stores for unique baby gifts—no exaggeration—FlyingPeas.com.) Prepare to be impressed…
When Terra’s son asked if he could “take a break from carrots”, she realized she was struggling with lunchbox creativity. But how does a dedicated mom of three—who also happens to work in the corporate world and run her own business—have the time or energy to spice things up for kids who tend to resist trying new things?
By making a game out of it, of course. One that would excite and empower her little guys and allow her to walk away with a great new list of food ideas.
Snack Attack!
Terra was well prepared. She started by making green, yellow and red voting cards with her kids’ initials on them to represent yes, maybe and no. Being the smarty pants that she is, she made 16 green, 8 red and 4 yellows for each kid—since letting them vote no on everything would defeat the purpose.
She invited the boys to come play the game and presented them with small tastes of a variety of foods, ranging from veggies to meats. As they sampled each item, the boys proudly cast their votes. Terra then snapped a picture of the food with the cards to be sure she could remember later. (Though she said if she did it again, she’d write the names of each food on a label sticker in advance, then just slap it on the card after each vote.)
After clean up (ok, so there is one downside to this activity), she put the results into a spreadsheet and printed one to keep in the kitchen and one to give to the kids’ nanny. Brilliant, right?
Ok parents, I challenge you to give this a try. I’m going to and I’ll be sure to share my results. It should be interesting in our house since Little is one of the pickiest eaters on earth…or maybe he’s just plain bored! Goodness knows my boys will love, love, love having the chance to form their very own opinion (that’s kind of their thing, after all), choosing the right color and casting their vote. Stay tuned…
A huge thank you to Terra for the inspiration (did I mention she’s the Terra of FlyingPeas, unique baby gifts fame?). If you have ideas that have worked well for your family, or if you give this a try, please share in the comments!
Amy Nelson says
March 24, 2011 at 2:13 pmWould love the lists of foods she put out…I am so stuck in what I give my kids I can’t think beyond that…need a little help:>
Love it!
Amy says
March 24, 2011 at 4:47 pmGreat point, Amy. I’ll share my list of go-to foods and hopefully others will too. (Little won’t eat most of this though…will be a whole new challenge next year!)
Main dish: chicken noodle soup, cream cheese on a mini wheat bagel, honey sandwich, jelly sandwich (saw one girl bring it on a hamburger bun and all the kids thought it was the coolest), ham & cheese wrap (1/2 a tortilla), leftover pasta, cold pasta salad with veggies & champagne dressing, rotisserie chicken.
Sides: yogurt, pita chips, pretzels, grapes, peach slices, berries, raisins, fruit cups, snap peas, baby carrots (sometimes partially cooked to make them easier to eat), cucumber slices, red/orange/yellow pepper slices, mushrooms.
I also did this post awhile back with ideas: https://usingourwords.com/2010/08/24/a-peanut-free-plea-with-a-side-of-lunch-ideas/
I’ll keep thinking and share more as I remember.
Amy says
March 24, 2011 at 2:45 pmI am in too. I will do almost anything to 1) seem fun and creative in the eyes of my young-and-sweet-but-quickly-morphing-into-sassy-and-stubborn-pre-pubescent-daughters and 2) to get their picky palates broadened.
Amy says
March 24, 2011 at 4:50 pmYay! Let me know what you try. Good luck with those picky-prepubescent loves of yours.
Ginger says
March 24, 2011 at 9:52 pmWhat a great idea! I’ll have to keep this in mind when my little one gets old enough to tell me his preferences!
Amy says
March 27, 2011 at 6:46 pmDefinitely…you’ll know why this is so brilliant in no time!
Jodie says
March 24, 2011 at 10:03 pmoh goodness… we start making lunches next year when Finn starts Kindergarten… I’m worried that some day i’m going to get to the point where I throw in pouch of dry ramen noodles, a can of peaches, and a can opener and hope for the best ;)!
Amy says
March 27, 2011 at 6:46 pmJodie, that’s not far from what I send…I figure it’s also teaching coordination.
Brittany says
April 5, 2011 at 9:20 amlove!!! I’m going to try this on Sunday 🙂 Thanks for the brilliant idea, Terra! Amy, I miss you and I think the newletter is amazing….now that I think of it…..YOU are amazing! Let me know if I can do anything for you 🙂
Amy says
April 5, 2011 at 10:54 amIsn’t this such a fun idea? Let me know how it goes when you try it. Thanks for the very sweet thoughts. I’ll certainly let you know if I think of anything…thanks!
Klaudia says
August 21, 2012 at 8:59 amI would add also lightly steamed broccoli (al dente), my kiddos accept it.. And raw cauliflower. Was fashionable in my teens with the dips..
My collegue also makes mini-veggie muffins with grilled veggies. Depends on spicing though very much to be interesting.