I have been delaying posting on lunchboxes because this year came with new trials of demanding children with different tastes in food. I have a six year old boy named Luyo that started Grade 1 this year, a four year old girl called Aya who is at crèche and two year old boy named Zuko who is at a play school. My two older kids have become very fussy when it comes to their food. One day one eats nuts and the following day he or she doesn’t and for no special reason.

Letting go of bread

When the year started I wanted to change one key thing in their lunchboxes. That was bread. I think my kids were suffering from sandwich fatigue. The sandwiches were coming back from school uneaten despite experimenting with different fillings and spreads.

And you know how heartbreaking that can be when you are a mom, chef and an accountant? You start thinking food costs, the budget, lack of nutrition and of course food waste.

I knew things had to change. I added home baked goods to their lunch box menu, primarily muffins and scones. Because I bake them myself, I know what goes in the products and am able to control how much sugar I add. This is not possible if one buys ready made goods.

Home-made bran and raisin muffins

I alternate between carrot/bran/banana and basic muffins.  I do not put nuts in them because my eldest doesn’t like them. I keep the baked goods menu simple so that it is also easy for the nanny to make and she generally bakes the day before. On muffin day I add cheese or jam as a side.

The kids get a fruit on the menu daily so it is something I do not have to worry about as the fridge is always stocked with these. My job is to ensure they have different fruit at least three times a week. I usually buy fruits that are  in season which are generally the fruits that you find cheap at the stores.

Catering to different customer needs

I have also become intentional about adding variety to their diet. Where previously it was a sandwich and a fruit daily I have also added vegetables like sweet corn or sweet potato as a main item, sometimes with protein (mostly sliced chicken breast when there are leftovers from supper). I restricted sandwiches to twice a week which gave me two days less to worry about.

While I was thriving on the reduced bread consumption, a new challenge emerged of two kids with different tastes and needs. On days we make cheese and tomato sandwiches, one is toasted and the other isn’t. Then on boiled egg or egg mayo sandwich day I have to think of an alternative for Aya as she doesn’t eat eggs. She doesn’t like mayonnaise either so chicken mayo sandwich doesn’t work for her. I don’t like that she doesn’t like this easy to make sandwich which I make with leftovers of roasted full chicken.

On days when I am making something that Aya doesn’t eat she will get crackers with carrot/cucumber or cheese sticks or cocktail tomatoes and nuts. I love that these don’t require any work, so I forgive her for he fussiness. I think I may have a vegan in the making.

Other lunch box menu options

Peer pressure

Sometimes I will add a snack of popcorn, pretzels or biltong if we have. I had to call my mom to remind me how to make popcorn from scratch as we had become used to microwave popcorn. These are snacks the kids specifically asked for similar to how they asked for burgers and pizza and hot dogs because their friends bring these to school.
I realized that my kids were suffering from lunchbox FOMO (fear of missing out) . This called for a different conversation with the kids. I explained to them where those items come from, how they’re made and why I don’t like them. The conversation included demonstrating how long it would take me to make pizza or a burger at home; and why I couldn’t compete with their friend’s moms as they were probably buying them ready made.

And before the government confirmed the source of the Listeriosis outbreak I would offer my kids hot dogs too. This was primarily because it was convenient and I felt pressured to give them something they wanted and which they were seeing in their friend’s lunchboxes too.

Friends’ lunch boxes

One of the biggest challenges I struggled with was my kids eating their friends’ lunchboxes and coming back home with unfinished lunchboxes. I got around this by changing the rules about the afternoon snack. Whoever doesn’t finish their lunch at school has that as their afternoon snack. And often they do not want to miss that snack because I make special treats for them.

Water

Until this year the kids didn’t carry juice to school. Juice and soft drinks were treats reserved for the weekend when we ate out or once or twice a month when I felt like I was being hard on the kids and gave in. But this year I succumbed to peer-pressure for them to carry juice because they are allowed to.  But I would only give them juice on days when they carried a sandwich. That was until my eldest came back from school one day and asked that I pack an extra bottle of water for him. I realized then that there wasn’t a need for juice as he was clearly doing well with just water. That was towards the end of January and I have since discontinued the practice of carrying juice regularly to school.

I am learning a lot about customer’s different tastes and palettes from preparing the kid’s lunchboxes. And as the resident Chef, it is my job to please my customers, regardless of age. We have improved on the menu through trial and error and through the process I have got to know which foods are the kid’s favourite and the least favourite. Adding variety (textures, colours, components) to their lunch box has become a priority in my menu planning. And as we now have a menu,the nanny knows what my expectations for a lunchbox are. The menu  also provides her with options for substitute ingredients. The biggest achievement is that the kids feel very important as they now have a say with regards to what ends up in their lunchboxes.

How do you deal with the challenges of feeding your little ones?