{"id":9847,"date":"2011-09-14T10:01:16","date_gmt":"2011-09-14T15:01:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/crankymouse.com\/?p=9847"},"modified":"2011-09-14T11:47:54","modified_gmt":"2011-09-14T16:47:54","slug":"breaking-down-school-lunch-box-ideas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crankymouse.com\/index.php\/2011\/09\/14\/breaking-down-school-lunch-box-ideas\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking Down School Lunch Box Ideas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rethinking ideas for the school lunch box from sandwiches to wraps to crackers and cheese and fruit on a stick.<\/em>
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\nLet’s talk for a minute about this business of school lunches. Just one more time, I promise.
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We’re a week and a half in. I’ve sent hard boiled eggs with my kids three times.<\/strong> In my defense, my sweet kindergartener asked for them today while batting her long lashes and looking cute in her little red and blue dress, picked out specifically for “red” day.
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The point is, I’m already in a rut. Each morning I stare at the empty containers and try to think of something fun and exciting to put into them, and when I think I do a good job \u2013 fresh, local strawberries today \u2013 those little eyelashes return home and poo-poo my efforts.
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It’s an odd phenomenon how feeding a child at home can be so different than feeding the same child away from home with no parents or siblings to dictate<\/strong>. With Lene, for example, it’s not that she doesn’t like strawberries. She will happily eat strawberries any day of the week, but she did not appreciate strawberries in a container when opening her lunch today. Her reason: “They got slimy from bumping around in my lunchbox.” Lesson 1: Lene does not appreciate bruised fruit, not even a little bit.
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So here I sit, negotiating feeding another child away from home. What are the things that she will like, and what sorts of things can I try, try again or make interesting simply by adding, well, toothpicks. (Do not doubt the power of a toothpick or a small appetizer fork in the lunch box. It’s a powerful tool<\/strong>.)
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Here is my list of potential ways to twist the same food into as many different lunches as possible, keeping your kids interested and giving me plenty of options to try on that precocious little lass of mine.
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Apples<\/font><\/h2>\n