You probably read recently about the kids in high schools around the country who are being systematically starved by the new school lunch program guidelines. Ok, that's a bit of hyperbole. But I just can't get my brain around guidelines that are calorie-based, as though all of us have the exact same caloric needs.
If you are a petite slender woman, you probably need overall fewer calories than a big, muscular guy, right? So why expect our teenagers to all have the same needs? Oh, right, I forgot. They are all obese, or at least that's what some in the media want us to believe.
In my little slice of heaven, we don't have any obese kids, or at least so few as to be almost non-existent. Our community prides itself on offering so much in the way of athletics that the few kids who don't play a sport are viewed as a bit strange. (That's wrong, I know, but true nonetheless.) And some parents shell out big bucks for club sports so that their little angels will eventually be drafted by the Angels. Didn't play club volleyball for four years? Don't bother trying out for the high school volleyball team. They'll laugh you right out of the gym.
My point is, we have kids who are seriously hungry.
My older son swims every day except Sunday, sometimes for two hours, and twice a week they have double practices - before school and then after school. A kid can get hungry swimming 3 - 4 hours in a day, not to mention the demands of school.
So, my suggestion is to pack your own food. Forget the school lunch program!
But wait, you say! I'm too busy! I can't find the time in my busy morning to pack a lunch for my child! I have a hard enough time getting myself out the door in the morning. It is much easier to hand Junior some money to buy lunch at school.
Here's my solution to the problem. I warn you - it is revolutionary. Prepare to be stunned.
Pack the lunch the night before.
Yes, you read that right - do it the night before. You have no idea how much less stressful the morning can be when you just pull out the bagged lunch from the refrigerator and hand it to your kid.
Better yet, teach your kid to be self-reliant and have him pack his own lunch. I know! What a concept!
I can already hear the objections. I can't do that, Bubble Lady, because my kid will pack a bunch of junk. Only I can pack a healthy lunch, and unfortunately I can only do that while I'm running around in the morning trying to get my mascara on.
Solution:
Ask your child to provide you with a list of items she deems acceptable for her lunch. Not each individual lunch, mind you, but a wide array of items she wouldn't mind seeing in her lunch on any given day. Buy enough of this list to have on hand, and coming up with lunch on a night to night basis (see how I did that?) is much easier.
After dinner, about the time the dishes are put in the dishwasher and the food is put away, pull out the lunch items (sandwich fixings, fruit, carrot sticks, yogurt, whatever) and lay it out. Pour a glass of wine for yourself and have a chat with your husband while you are getting the lunch put together.
See how easy that was? Or, if you are in the mood to teach some self-reliance, have your kid put together his own lunch while you are finishing up the dishes.
The exception to this rule is hot food. Sometimes one of my kids will ask for soup, so I get everything else ready the night before, and then just heat up the soup in the morning and throw the thermos in the bag.
So fight the Man! Tell big government to go stuff it! Pack your own lunches!
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