We have 15 days until school begins! Fifteen days of Summer to enjoy, play, watch more Olympics, have friends over and swim (of course we do live in Florida and the swim season doesn't end until late October). But with 15 days left along with our Summer fun we also must begin preparing for kindergarten. Our check list includes; drop off up-dated vaccination record at school office, practice riding new bike to school with daddy, bake pre-made healthy breakfasts and prepare for daily packing lunches.
Our school day starts very early so we need to have our lunches packed the day before, and our breakfast needs to be nutrient rich but also ready made. So here are a few things I am doing to make food enjoyable and tasty but also not the variable that slows us down. I really want to avoid rushing more than we have to so that we can make going to school pleasant for Marin's first year.
Breakfast
I am having a pre-start of school baking day. I am going to have healthy breakfasts in individual servings in my freezer ready to go for the school days when we have to rise early. Here are my requirements:
Nutrient Rich
High in Protein
Filling
Tasty
Freezes Well
Here are the recipes I will be rotating for the time being (of course there are others but this is a good start)
Baked Apple Pie Oatmeal by Naturally Ella
Banana and Dark Chocolate Waffles by Naturally Ella
Individual Sized Quiche--My Own Recipe (I'll post those later) OR
Baked Egg Cups by Thriving Home
Breakfast Sandwiches--I'll tweak this recipe and add ham
Spinach Feta Empanadas--My own recipe
I probably will not have all of this in my freezer by the time school starts but we need a few ready to go and I can add different batches as we need them. We will also make some of these Egg Toasts
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| Marin "makes" Egg Toasts (age 3) |
Lunch
Lunch can become really daunting. Packing lunch each day already has me worried. Last year I only had to pack them three days a week, and preschool started much later than Kindergarten. So like always I turned to my friends who pack lunches for four kids. I figure if they can come up with routines that work for four children, than it should go really smooth for me with just one (although some days Owen insists on eating out of a lunch box too). Here are the suggestions I have gotten:
Always pack lunches the day before. Pack each days lunch the day before and pack it in a container and place it in the fridge. This way each morning you can reach into the refrigerated and have everything you need to pack the lunch box(es).
Check your schools' requirements for what you can and cannot pack. Many schools are going peanut free. This means that not only the kids with allergies can't have peanuts but the entire building is peanut free, so no child can bring a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Other schools may have other rules. Be prepared for knowing options for lunch that fit within your schools rules.
If you have a small/young child don't pack foods in your child's lunch box that they cannot open. Don't use containers with really tight lids, individually wrapped foods that you child cannot open (those all natural fruit strips are really hard to open), drink containers that have had snap lids or straws that are difficult to get into the top. Teachers have to open a crazy amount of milk, juice, water cartons. You don't want your child to need help getting into their food and drink because this means they loose time getting to eat. And lunch time is never long enough for kids to sit and eat and have a period of rest and chatting with friends.
Don't pack things you know your child does not like. You will have a hungry child all day, and you will just unpack everything you took time to pack. I'm not saying you should put only cookies in your child's lunch, but if you know your child hates hummus don't pack it. Have your child learn to like foods at home. Teachers like to teach, but hungry children are not very good learners.
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| If you want menu ideas read Bread and Jam for frances by Russell Hoban |
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