Henry has just started preschool! It's an exciting new phase for our family. As Henry embarks on this new chapter, I thought it would be fun to document his School lunch experience. I am relaunching How to Feed a Henry with a focus on his lunchbox.
| Henry on his first day of school |
Henry will be attending school five full days, which means packing five school lunches each week. My plan is to photograph Henry's lunchbox contents each day -- possibly before and after pictures to see what he actually eats. My intent is to post a photo log of the week's lunches; this will help with our family's weekly grocery planning and spark menu ideas for the following week. I may write occasional product reviews or other topics related to school lunches.
Henry will be eating lunch in a noisy cafeteria with lots of kids at a public school. He will have 30 minutes for his lunch break. This may seem like sufficient time, but Henry is not known for being a quick eater. He takes his time and can become distracted easily. Henry may sometimes purchase a hot lunch, but bringing a lunch from home seems like a less stressful option for him; we'll see if this theory holds true after we get into the school routine. Avoiding the hot lunch line should give him more time to eat.
Henry will be taking the lead on packing his lunch. His dad and I will provide guidance and assist as needed, but he is in charge what to put in his lunchbox. We've found that he is more likely to eat a meal if he is included in the planning and decision-making processes. The guidelines include packing at least one protein and two fruits or vegetables. We try to stock the pantry with healthy and balanced food options, but you won't see gourmet meals or artistic bento designs on this blog. Some of the food may be home cooked but much of it will come from a grocery story; Our family typically shops at Trader Joe's, Costco, Safeway and Metropolitan Market.
Henry does not have any known food allergies and there are no policies at the school restricting any allergen foods in the cafeteria. He is a big fan of peanuts and other nuts, so those are likely to appear on the menu frequently. His other likely protein choices are meat, beans, and cheese.
| Henry arriving at school for the first day of class. |
I'm excited for to explore this topic and I hope you'll follow along for the journey.
